The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
A doubter once demanded that punishment be immediately meted out, 1 which will inevitably seize the disbelievers. 2 (A punishment) from Allah, the Owner of the Elevated Passages. 3 Whereby the angels ascend unto Him and also the spirit, On a Day whereof the measure is fifty thousand years. 4 But be patient (O Muhammad) with a patience fair to see. 5 behold, men look upon that [reckoning] as something far away 6 but We see it is nigh. 7 The Day that the sky will be like the boiling filth of oil, (or molten copper or silver or lead, etc.). 8 And the mountains will be like wool, 9 And no friend will ask concerning his friend. 10 (Though) they shall be made to see each other. The guilty one would fain redeem himself from the chastisement of that day by (sacrificing) his children, 11 his wife, his brother, 12 His kindred who sheltered him, 13 and of whoever [else] lives on earth, all of them - so that he could but save himself. 14 By no means! for it would be the Fire of Hell!- 15 Plucking out (his being) right to the skull!- 16 and it shall call him who withdrew and turned his back 17 and amassed wealth and hoarded it. 18 ۞ Verily man is impatient by nature: 19 [As a rule,] whenever misfortune touches him, he is filled with self-pity; 20 And niggardly when good touches him; 21 Save worshippers. 22 Those who are constant at their prayer 23 and those in whose wealth there is a known right 24 For the needy and those dispossessed, 25 and who accept as true the [coming of the] Day of Judgment; 26 and are fearful of the punishment of their Lord; 27 Verily the torment of their Lord is not a thing to feel secure from. 28 And those who guard their private parts 29 Except in the case of their wives or those whom their right hands possess-- for these surely are not to be blamed, 30 But whosoever seeks beyond that, they are the transgressors. 31 (Those) who keep their trusts and their covenant, 32 and who stand firm whenever they bear witness; 33 And those who [carefully] maintain their prayer: 34 Those shall be in gardens, honored. 35