The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
A supplicant asked for a punishment bound to happen 1 Upon the disbelievers, which none can avert, 2 from God, the Lord of the Stairways. 3 On that Day (of Judgment), long as fifty thousand years, the angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him. 4 So, (O Prophet), persevere with gracious perseverance. 5 Verily! They see it (the torment) afar off, 6 But We see it (quite) near. 7 The Day that the sky will be like molten brass, 8 And the mountains will be like wool, 9 and [when] no friend will ask about his friend, 10 though they shall be within sight of each other. The guilty one will gladly ransom himself from the torment of that Day by sacrificing his own children, 11 His wife and his brother, 12 and his kinsfolk who had stood by him, 13 And all, all that is on earth,- so it could 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 will summon whoever turns his back and flees, 17 and amass [wealth] and thereupon withhold [it from their fellow-men]. 18 ۞ Human beings are created greedy. 19 when evil visits him, impatient, 20 and whenever good fortune comes to him, he grows niggardly. 21 But not so the worshippers 22 Who persevere in devotion, 23 And those in whose wealth there is a known right, 24 for those that ask and those that are dispossessed, 25 those who firmly believe in the Day of Recompense, 26 And those who are fearful of the chastisement of their Lord-- 27 for none may ever feel secure from the punishment of their Lord; 28 and those who guard their private parts, 29 except from their wives and slave girls, in which case they are not to be blamed, 30 but whoever goes beyond this is a transgressor; 31 and who preserve their trusts and their covenant, 32 And those who stand firm in their testimonies. 33 And those who are attentive at their worship. 34 They will live in gardens with honour. 35