The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
A questioner questioned concerning the doom about to fall 1 to those who deny the truth. No power can hinder God 2 [It is] from Allah, owner of the ways of ascent. 3 Whereby the angels ascend unto Him and also the spirit, On a Day whereof the measure is fifty thousand years. 4 So be patient with gracious patience. 5 they see it as being far off; 6 And We see it nigh. 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 hills become as flakes of wool, 9 And no familiar friend will ask a question of his friend 10 though they shall be within sight of each other. The guilty one will gladly ransom himself from the torment of that Day by sacrificing his own children, 11 And his wife and his brother 12 And his family who had stood by him, 13 and of whoever [else] lives on earth, all of them - so that he could but save himself. 14 By no means! For the raging flames of the fire 15 That would skin the scalp. 16 calling him who drew back and turned away, 17 and amass [wealth] and thereupon withhold [it from their fellow-men]. 18 ۞ Indeed, mankind was created anxious: 19 Fretful when evil befalleth him 20 And niggardly when good befalls him 21 Except those who pray, 22 Who persevere in devotion, 23 And those in whose wealth there is a known right, 24 for the needy and the deprived, 25 And those who believe in the Day of Recompense, 26 who are afraid of the torment 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 Are free of blame, 30 But whosoever seeks beyond that, they are the transgressors. 31 who honor their trust and promises, 32 And those who stand firm in their testimonies. 33 And those who keep a guard on their prayer, 34 Such shall dwell in the Gardens (i.e. Paradise) honoured. 35