The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
A questioner asked of a chastisement about to fall 1 for the unbelievers, which none may avert, 2 From God, the Lord of the steps (of progression), 3 The angels and the spirit ascend unto him in a Day the measure whereof is (as) 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 And We see it nigh. 7 The day when the sky will be like molten silver. 8 The mountains like the tufts of (carded) wool, 9 And not a friend shall ask a friend, 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 And his spouse and his brother. 12 and his kinsfolk who gave him shelter, 13 and of whoever [else] lives on earth, all of them - so that he could but save himself. 14 By no means! It will be the fierce flame 15 tearing away his skin! 16 and it shall call him who withdrew and turned his back 17 and amass [wealth] and thereupon withhold [it from their fellow-men]. 18 ۞ Verily man is impatient by nature: 19 Fretful when evil touches him; 20 when good visits him, grudging, 21 Save worshippers. 22 Those who are constant at their prayer 23 who, from their wealth is a known right 24 For those who beg, and for the needy who cannot even ask. 25 And those who believe in the Day of Recompense, 26 And those who are fearful of the chastisement of their Lord-- 27 the punishment of their Lord is not something for them to feel secure of, 28 and who are mindful of their chastity, 29 save from their wives and what their right hands own, then not being blameworthy 30 but any who seeks to go beyond that, it is indeed they who are the transgressors, 31 and who preserve their trusts and their covenant, 32 Who uphold their testimonies, 33 and who observe their prayers. 34 such people will receive due honor in Paradise. 35