The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
ONE who is minded to ask might ask about the suffering which [in the hereafter] is bound to befall 1 (a chastisement meant) for the unbelievers, one which none can avert; 2 [since it will come] from God, unto whom there are many ways of ascent: 3 To Him ascend the angels and the Spirit in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years. 4 So be patient (O Muhammad SAW), with a good patience. 5 They surely take it to be far away, 6 And We see it nigh. 7 [It will take place] on a Day when the sky will be like molten lead, 8 And the hills will be light as wool. 9 And no friend will ask [anything of] 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 wife and his brother. 12 And his nearest kindred who shelter him 13 And all, all that is on earth,- so it could deliver him: 14 No, in truth, it is a Furnace! 15 A remover of exteriors. 16 and it shall call him who withdrew and turned his back 17 And collect (wealth) and hide it (from use)! 18 ۞ Surely man is created of a hasty temperament 19 Fretful when evil befalleth him 20 And refraining, when good reaches him. 21 Except those who closely follow (the Book of God), 22 [and] who incessantly persevere in their prayer 23 those who give a due share of their wealth 24 for the beggar and the outcast, 25 And those who hold to the truth of the Day of Judgment; 26 and go in fear of the punishment of their Lord, 27 For their Lord's displeasure is the opposite of Peace and Tranquillity;- 28 and guard their private parts 29 except in regard to their spouses and those whom their right hands possess, for in regard to them they are not reproachable, 30 But he who seeks to go beyond this, these it is that go beyond the limits-- 31 And those who keep their trusts and covenants; 32 and standby their witnessing, 33 and who observe their prayers. 34 Those are highly honored in the Gardens. 35