The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Noon. I swear by the pen and what the angels write, 1 (Muhammad), you are not insane, thanks to the bounty of your Lord. 2 And verily, thine shall be a reward neverending 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 So do not yield to the rejecters. 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 Violent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,- 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!" 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 They then called out to each other at daybreak. 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 Saying: No poor man shall enter it today upon you. 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 nay, rather we have been robbed!' 27 Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' 28 They said, 'Glory be to God, our Lord; truly, we were evildoers.' 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 They said: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 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 punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33