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 And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. 3 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has gone astray from His way, and He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided. 7 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 They wish that in some way you may yield, so they too might soften their stand. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 16 Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore that they would certainly cut off the produce in the morning, 17 And made no exception (for the Will of Allah); 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 At daybreak they called to each other: 21 Saying: "Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits." 22 So they went, while they consulted together secretly, 23 "Let no beggar come to the garden". 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 Belike our Lord may exchange for us better garden than this; verily we are unto our Lord beseechers. 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33