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 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 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 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 just because he has wealth and sons, 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 16 [As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow, 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 And it became as though reaped. 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, talking in low voices: 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw it they said: 'We have surely gone astray. 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33