— 52 verses
By the inkstand and the pen and by that which they write
Thou art not, by the grace of thy Lord, a madman
And for thee, most surely, there is an unending reward
And thou dost, surely, possess sublime moral excellences
And thou wilt soon see and they, too, will see
Which of you is afflicted with madness
Surely, thy Lord knows best those who go astray from HIS way, and HE knows best those who follow guidance
So comply not with the wishes of those who reject the Truth
They wish that thou shouldst compromise so that they may also compromise
Yield thou not to any mean swearer
Backbiter, one who goes about slandering
Forbidder of good, transgressor, sinful
Ill-mannered and, in addition to that, of doubtful birth
Only because he possesses riches and children
When our Signs are recited unto him, he say, `Tales of the ancients.
WE will brand him on the snout
WE will, surely, try them as WE tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to each other that they would, certainly, gather all its fruit in the morning
And they made no exception and said not `If God Please.
Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it while they were asleep
And the morning found it like a garden cut down
So they called to one another at the break of dawn
Saying, `Go forth early in the morning to your field, if you would gather the fruit.
And they set out talking to one another in low tones
Saying, `Let no poor man today enter it while you are there.
Thus they went forth early in the morning, determined to be niggardly
But when they saw it, they said, `Surely, we have lost our way
`Nay we have been deprived of all our fruits.
The best among them said, `Did I not say to you, why do you not glorify God?
Thereupon, they said, `Glory be to our Lord ! Surely, we have been wrongdoers.
Then some of them turned to the others, reproaching one another
They said, `Woe to us ! We were indeed, rebellious
`May be, if we repent, our Lord will give us instead a better garden than this; we do humbly entreat our Lord.
Such is the punishment of this world. And, surely, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater. Did they but know
For the righteous, indeed, there are Gardens of Bliss with their Lord
Shall WE, then, treat those who submit to US as WE treat the guilty
What is the matter with you? How judge ye
Have you a book wherein you read
That you shall, surely, have in it whatever you choose
Or, have you taken any covenant binding on US till the Day of Resurrection that you shall, surely, have whatever you judge
Ask them, which of them will vouch for that
Or, have they any associate-gods? Let them, then, produce their associate-gods, if they are truthful
On the day when the truth shall be laid bare and they will be called upon to prostrate themselves, they will not be able to do so
Their eyes will be cast down, and humiliation will cover them; and they were, indeed, called upon to prostrate themselves when they were safe and sound, but they did not
So leave ME to deal with those who reject this word of Ours. WE shall draw them near to destruction step by step whence they know not
And I shall grant them long respite; for MY plan is sure
Dost thou ask a reward of them that they feel weighed down by its burden
Have they the knowledge of the unseen so that they write it down
So be thou steadfast in carrying out the command of thy Lord, and be not like the Man of the Fish when he called to his Lord and he was full of grief
Had it not been that a favour from his Lord had reached him, he would have, surely, been cast upon a barren waste to be blamed by his people
But his Lord chose him and placed him among the righteous
And those who disbelieve would fain have dislodged thee from thy God-given station with their angry looks when they heard the Reminder; and they keep saying, `He is, certainly, mad.
Nay, it is naught but a source of honour for all the worlds