The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Noon. By the Pen and that (the angels) write, 1 (Muhammad), you are not insane, thanks to the bounty of your Lord. 2 There is surely reward unending for you, 3 For you are truly of a sublime character. 4 And thou wilt see and they will see 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 So do not comply with those who deny: 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 And obey not thou any swearer ignominous. 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 Because he possesses wealth and sons. 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So they went off, while whispering to one another. 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 And they went out betimes determined in purpose. 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 rather, we are utterly ruined.” 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 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 torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33