The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
AN INQUIRER ASKED for the affliction that is to come 1 The unbelievers-- there is none to avert it-- 2 From God, the Lord of the steps (of progression), 3 Whereby the angels ascend unto Him and also the spirit, On a Day whereof the measure is fifty thousand years. 4 So, (O Prophet), persevere with gracious perseverance. 5 behold, men look upon that [reckoning] as something far away 6 And We see it nigh. 7 On that Day the heaven shall become like molten copper, 8 and the mountains will be like tufts of wool, 9 and no bosom friend will enquire about any of his bosom friends 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 nearest of his kinsfolk who gave him shelter, 13 and all persons of the earth, if only he could thus save himself. 14 By no means! For the raging flames of the fire 15 Dragging by the head, 16 It shall claim him who turned and fled (from truth), 17 And hoarded (wealth) and withheld it. 18 ۞ Indeed, mankind was created anxious: 19 Irritable (discontented) when evil touches him; 20 If good comes to him he holds back his hand, 21 except those that pray, 22 [and] who incessantly persevere in their prayer 23 And those in whose wealth there is a known right, 24 For the needy and those dispossessed, 25 And those who believe in the Day of Recompense 26 And those who are fearful of the chastisement of their Lord-- 27 Verily the torment of their Lord is not a thing to feel secure from. 28 And those who of their private parts are guards. 29 except from their wives and slave girls, in which case they are not to be blamed, 30 but those who go beyond that limit are transgressors; 31 and who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges: 32 Who uphold their testimonies, 33 And those who keep a guard on their prayer, 34 Those are highly honored in the Gardens. 35