The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
ONE who is minded to ask might ask about the suffering which [in the hereafter] is bound to befall 1 To the disbelievers; of it there is no preventer. 2 From God, the Lord of the steps (of progression), 3 To whom the angels and the soul take a day to ascend, whose length is fifty thousand years. 4 But be patient (O Muhammad) with a patience fair to see. 5 Surely they think it to be far off, 6 but, We see it as near! 7 The day the sky becomes like molten brass, 8 and the mountains will become like dyed tufts of wool, 9 And no friend will ask [anything of] a friend, 10 though they may be in one another's sight: [for,] everyone who was lost in sin will on that Day but desire to ransom himself from suffering at the price of his own children, 11 And his wife and his brother, 12 And the family in which he was. 13 And all that are in the earth, if then it might deliver him. 14 But nay! Verily, all [that awaits him] is a raging flame, 15 Plucking out (his being) right to the skull!- 16 It shall call him who turneth back and backslideth. 17 who amassed and hoarded. 18 ۞ Surely man is created of a hasty temperament 19 [As a rule,] whenever misfortune touches him, he is filled with self-pity; 20 and whenever good fortune comes to him, he selfishly withholds it [from others]. 21 except those that pray, 22 and constant in their prayers. 23 who, from their wealth is a known right 24 for the beggar and the outcast, 25 who confirm the Day of Reckoning 26 And those who fear the punishment of their Lord, -- 27 for, behold, of their Sustainer's chastisement none may ever feel [wholly] secure; 28 and who are mindful of their chastity, 29 Save with their wives and those whom their right hands possess, for thus they are not blameworthy; 30 But whoso seeketh more than that, those are they who are transgressors; 31 And those who are to their trusts and promises attentive 32 and those who are upright in their testimonies; 33 And those who are attentive at their worship. 34 Those shall be in Gardens, high-honoured. 35