The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
A doubter once demanded that punishment be immediately meted out, 1 The Unbelievers, the which there is none to ward off,- 2 From Allah, the Lord of all pinnacles. 3 To Him the angels and the Spirit (Gabriel) ascend in a day, the measure of which is fifty thousand years. 4 But be patient (O Muhammad) with a patience fair to see. 5 They deem it to be remote. 6 But We see it very near. 7 On that Day the heaven shall become like molten copper, 8 and the mountains shall be as plucked wool-tufts, 9 and no bosom friend will enquire about any of his bosom friends 10 although they shall be within sight of one another. The guilty one would fain ransom himself from the torment of that Day by offering his children, 11 his wife, his brother, 12 and his kinsfolk who gave him shelter, 13 and whosoever is in the earth, altogether, so that it might save him. 14 No, in truth, it is a Furnace! 15 Eager to roast; 16 It shall insistently summon him who turned his back and retreated, 17 Who amasses and then hoards. 18 ۞ Surely man is greedy by nature. 19 bewailing when evil befalls him, 20 And refraining, when good reaches him. 21 But not so the worshippers 22 Who persevere in devotion, 23 And those in whose wealth there is a known right, 24 for the needy and the deprived, 25 those who firmly believe in the Day of Recompense, 26 and who stand in dread of their Sustainer's chastisement 27 surely the chastisement of their Lord is a thing none can feel secure from – 28 who guard their carnal desires 29 Save in regard to their spouses or those whom their right hands own; so verily they are not blameworthy 30 but any who seeks to go beyond that, it is indeed they who are the 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 guard their Salat (prayers) well. 34 They will be honoured in the Gardens of Bliss. 35