The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
ONE who is minded to ask might ask about the suffering which [in the hereafter] is bound to befall 1 To the disbelievers; of it there is no preventer. 2 (A Penalty) from Allah, Lord of the Ways of Ascent. 3 The angels and the Ruh [Jibrael (Gabriel)] ascend to Him in a Day the measure whereof is fifty thousand years, 4 Therefore, [O believer,] endure all adversity with goodly patience: 5 They surely take it to be far away, 6 while We think that it is near at hand. 7 It shall befall on a Day whereon the heaven shall become like unto dregs of oil. 8 and the mountains will be like tufts of wool, 9 And no friend will ask concerning his friend. 10 They will be seeing them; the guilty will wish if only he could redeem himself from the punishment of that day, by offering his sons. 11 And his wife and his brother, 12 And his family who had stood by him, 13 And whoever is on earth entirely [so] then it could save him. 14 By no means! Verily it is a Flame. 15 Dragging by the head, 16 It will claim all such as turn their backs [on what is right,] and turn away [from the truth,] 17 Who amasses and then hoards. 18 ۞ Verily man is impatient by nature: 19 Being greatly grieved when evil afflicts him 20 and tight-fisted when good fortune visits him, 21 Except those who establish prayer. 22 Those who remain constant in their Salat (prayers); 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 punishment of their Lord - 27 Verily the torment of their Lord is not a thing to feel secure from. 28 those who preserve their chastity 29 except from their wives and what their right hands own, for these they are not blameworthy. 30 But whosoever seeks beyond that, then it is those who are trespassers. 31 And those who are to their trusts and promises attentive 32 and who stand firm whenever they bear witness; 33 and who observe their prayers. 34 such people will receive due honor in Paradise. 35