The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Noon. I swear by the pen and what the angels write, 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, 5 Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil]. 6 Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright. 7 Do not yield to those who reject the Truth. 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 or that because he may possess wealth and children. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 We will brand him on the nose. 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak. 20 They then called out to each other at daybreak. 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. 25 But when they saw it they said: 'We have surely gone astray. 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers." 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 They said: woe unto us! verily we! we have been arrogant. 31 [But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!" 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33