The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
A doubter once demanded that punishment be immediately meted out, 1 Upon the disbelievers, which none can repel, 2 a chastisement from Allah, the Lord 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 So be thou patient with a sweet patience; 5 Lo! they behold it afar off 6 But We see it (quite) near. 7 The day when the sky will become as molten copper, 8 and the mountains shall be like puffs of wool. 9 And not a friend shall ask a friend, 10 They will be shown each other. The criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children 11 his wife, his brother, 12 his kinsmen who gave him refuge (from hardship) 13 And all those that are in the earth, (wishing) then (that) this might deliver him. 14 But nay! Verily, all [that awaits him] is a raging flame, 15 A fire that melts the hide. 16 It shall call him who turneth back and backslideth. 17 And masseth and then hoardeth. 18 ۞ Surely man is greedy by nature. 19 When evil comes upon him he is impatient; 20 but when good comes upon him, he is grudging 21 Not so, however, those who consciously turn towards God in prayer. 22 and constant in their prayers. 23 And those in whose wealth exists a recognised right, 24 For the (needy) who asks and him who is prevented (for some reason from asking); 25 And those who testify to the Day of Requital. 26 and are fearful of the punishment 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 any who seeks to go beyond that, it is indeed they who are the transgressors, 31 and who preserve their trusts and their covenant, 32 and those who stand by their testimony 33 And those who are mindful of their moral obligations. 34 Such shall dwell in the Gardens (i.e. Paradise) honoured. 35