The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
A doubter once demanded that punishment be immediately meted out, 1 the unbelievers which none can prevent. 2 [It is] from Allah, owner of the ways of ascent. 3 To Him the angels and the Spirit (Gabriel) ascend in a day, the measure of which is fifty thousand years. 4 Wherefore be thou patient with a becoming patience. 5 Lo! they behold it afar off 6 while We think that it is near at hand. 7 Upon the day when heaven shall be as molten copper 8 And the hills become as flakes of wool, 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 and of his spouse, and of his brother, 12 his kin who sheltered him, 13 and all the people of the earth, if that could deliver him. 14 No, in truth, it is a Furnace! 15 stripping 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 ۞ Indeed man is created very impatient, greedy. 19 when misfortune touches him he starts lamenting, 20 and whenever good fortune comes to him, he grows niggardly. 21 Except those who establish prayer. 22 Who are constant at their worship 23 and in whose possessions there is a due share, acknowledged [by them,] 24 For the beggar who asks, and for the unlucky who has lost his property and wealth, (and his means of living has been straitened); 25 those who firmly believe in the Day of Recompense, 26 and go in fear of the punishment of their Lord, 27 for, behold, of their Sustainer's chastisement none may ever feel [wholly] secure; 28 And those who of their private parts are guards. 29 [not giving way to their desires] with any but their spouses - that is, those whom they rightfully possess [through wedlock]: for then, behold, they are free of all blame, 30 but those who go beyond that limit are transgressors; 31 And those who keep their pledges and their covenant, 32 And those who are firm upon their testimonies. 33 And those who keep a guard on their prayer, 34 Those are highly honored in the Gardens. 35