The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
A doubter once demanded that punishment be immediately meted out, 1 The Unbelievers, the which there is none to ward off,- 2 From Allah, Owner of the ascending steps. 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 Verily they think that the chastisement is far off, 6 while We think that it is near at hand. 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 become like wool, 9 even intimate friends will not inquire about their friends, 10 though they may see each other. A sinner will wish that he could save himself from the torment of that day by sacrificing his children, 11 And his wife and his brother. 12 the kinsmen who gave him shelter, 13 and whosoever is in the earth, all together, so that then it might deliver him. 14 But no! There is a raging blaze 15 stripping away his skin, 16 Calling: "[O Kafir (O disbeliever in Allah, His angels, His Book, His Messengers, Day of Resurrection and in Al-Qadar (Divine Preordainments), O Mushrik (O polytheist, disbeliever in the Oneness of Allah)] (all) such as turn their backs and turn away their faces (from Faith) [picking and swallowing them up from that great gathering of mankind (on the Day of Resurrection) just as a bird picks up a food-grain from the earth with its beak and swallows it up] [Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Vol. 18, Page 289] 17 and amass [wealth] and thereupon withhold [it from their fellow-men]. 18 ۞ Indeed man is created very impatient, greedy. 19 [As a rule,] whenever misfortune touches him, he is filled with self-pity; 20 and whenever good fortune comes to him, he selfishly withholds it [from others]. 21 except those who are steadfast 22 Who persevere in devotion, 23 and those in whose wealth there is a known right 24 for those that ask and those that are dispossessed, 25 And those who believe in the Day of Judgement, 26 And those who are fearful of their Lord's torment 27 Surely the chastisement of their Lord is (a thing) not to be felt secure of-- 28 those who preserve their chastity 29 Except with their wives and the (women slaves and captives) whom their right hands possess, for (then) they are not to be blamed, 30 but whoever goes beyond this is a transgressor; 31 (Those) who keep their trusts and their covenant, 32 And those who are upright in their testimonies, 33 And those who [carefully] maintain their prayer: 34 all these shall live honourably in the Gardens. 35