The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Noon. By the Pen and that (the angels) write, 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 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 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." 15 We shall brand him over the nose! 16 We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden who had sworn that in the morning they would reap it, 17 And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 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 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They answered: "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!" 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 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 is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33