The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
A doubter once demanded that punishment be immediately meted out, 1 The Unbelievers, the which there is none to ward off,- 2 [It is] from Allah, owner of the ways of ascent. 3 (Whereby) the angels and the Spirit ascend unto Him in a Day whereof the span is fifty thousand years. 4 Therefore be patient, with a beautiful patience; 5 Verily! They see it (the torment) afar off, 6 While we behold it nigh: 7 On the day when the heaven shall be as molten copper 8 And the hills become as flakes of wool, 9 And friend shall not ask of friend 10 though they may be in one another's sight: [for,] everyone who was lost in sin will on that Day but desire to ransom himself from suffering at the price of his own children, 11 And his wife and his brother 12 his kinsmen who gave him refuge (from hardship) 13 and whosoever is in the earth, all together, so that then it might deliver him. 14 Nay, verily it is a furnace 15 stripping away his skin, 16 It will summon whoever turns his back and flees, 17 who amassed and hoarded. 18 ۞ Indeed, man is born impatient: 19 when evil visits him, impatient, 20 And niggardly when good reaches him;- 21 except those who are steadfast 22 and constant in their prayers. 23 And those in whose wealth there is a known right, 24 for such as ask [for help] and such as are deprived [of what is good in life]; 25 And those who believe in the Day of Recompense 26 And those who fear the displeasure of their Lord,- 27 Indeed, the punishment of their Lord is not that from which one is safe - 28 And those who guard their private parts, 29 except from their wives and slave girls, in which case they are not to be blamed, 30 But those who trespass beyond this are transgressors;- 31 And those who protect the property entrusted to them, and their agreements. 32 and who stand firm whenever they bear witness; 33 and are steadfast in their prayers. 34 all these shall live honourably in the Gardens. 35