The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Noon. I swear by the pen and what the angels write, 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old. 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 16 We have put them [i.e., the Makkans] to test even as We put to test the owners of the orchard when they vowed that they would gather the fruit of their orchard in the morning, 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 A calamity from your Lord befell the orchard as they slept. 19 So it became as black, barren land. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 But when they saw it they said: 'We have surely gone astray. 26 nay, rather we have been robbed!' 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 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 the chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33