The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Noon. By the Pen and that (the angels) write, 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 You will see and they will also see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 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 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 Cruel, after all that base-born (of illegitimate birth), 13 Because he possesses wealth and sons. 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 16 Verily We! We have proved them even as We proved the fellows of a garden when they sware that they would surely reap it in the morning. 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 Then they called out one to another as soon as the morning broke, 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 [Saying], "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person." 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 Said the most right-minded among them: "Did I not tell you, 'Will you not extol God's limitless glory?'" 28 They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!" 29 and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches. 30 They said: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33