The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Noon. I swear by the pen and what the angels write, 1 you are not, because of the favor of your Lord, mad. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil]. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor 12 Violent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,- 13 Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We will brand him upon the snout. 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 made no exception (for the Will of Allah); 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 At daybreak they called to each other: 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 Saying: No poor man shall enter it today upon you. 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 "It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!" 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the world to come, is assuredly greater, did they but know. 33