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, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. 2 and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward, 3 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 Fain would they that thou shouldst be pliant, so that they will be pliant. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 Who hinders men from (doing) good, the transgressor, the iniquitous, 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 Because he possesses wealth and sons. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 16 Verily, We have tried them as We tried the people of the garden, when they swore to pluck the fruits of the (garden) in the morning, 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep. 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones (saying), 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 rather, we are utterly ruined.” 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 31 We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our sins, and reward us in the Hereafter)." 32 Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33