The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
A beseecher besought the visitation of chastisement, 1 To the disbelievers; of it there is no preventer. 2 from punishing them. He is the Lord of the Ascending Stairways, 3 Whereby the angels ascend unto Him and also the spirit, On a Day whereof the measure is fifty thousand years. 4 Therefore, [O believer,] endure all adversity with goodly patience: 5 Lo! they behold it afar off 6 but We see it near. 7 [It will take place] on a Day when the sky will be like molten lead, 8 And the hills become as flakes of wool, 9 and [when] no friend will ask about his friend, 10 (Though) they shall be made to see each other. The guilty one would fain redeem himself from the chastisement of that day by (sacrificing) his children, 11 And his wife and his brother 12 and his kinsfolk who gave him shelter, 13 and all persons of the earth, if only he could thus save himself. 14 By no means! For the raging flames of the fire 15 Eager to roast; 16 It shall claim him who turned and fled (from truth), 17 Who amasses and then hoards. 18 ۞ Indeed, the human was created grudging and impatient. 19 [As a rule,] whenever misfortune touches him, he is filled with self-pity; 20 And refraining, when good reaches him. 21 Not so, however, those who consciously turn towards God in prayer. 22 Who persevere in devotion, 23 and those in whose wealth there is a known right 24 For those who beg, and for the needy who cannot even ask. 25 who acknowledge the Day of Judgment, 26 and go in fear of the punishment of their Lord, 27 Lo! the doom of their Lord is that before which none can feel secure - 28 and those who guard their private parts, 29 Except with their wives and the bondwomen in their possession, for there is no reproach on them. 30 but whoever goes beyond this is a transgressor; 31 And those who keep their pledges and their covenant, 32 and standby their witnessing, 33 And those who are mindful of their moral obligations. 34 all these shall live honourably in the Gardens. 35