The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Noon. By the Pen and that (the angels) write, 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 And indeed for you is an unlimited reward. 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 which of you is the demented. 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 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables." 15 Soon We will brand him on the nose. 16 Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning 17 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 At daybreak they called to each other: 21 "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 rather, we are utterly ruined.” 27 The best among them said: “Did I not say to you: why do you not give glory to (your Lord)?” 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 Saying: "Alas the woe, we were iniquitous. 31 Perhaps our Lord will replace it with a better garden. We turn in repentance to our Lord". 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33