The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
A doubter once demanded that punishment be immediately meted out, 1 those who deny the truth. [Know, then, that] nothing can ward it off, 2 [It is] from Allah, owner of the ways of ascent. 3 by which the angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him in one Day which will last for fifty thousand years. 4 So persevere with becoming patience. 5 Indeed, they see it [as] distant, 6 But We see it (quite) near. 7 On the day when the heaven shall be as molten copper 8 And the mountains shall be as tufts of wool 9 And not a friend shall ask 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 family who had stood by him, 13 And all those who are on the earth, to save himself. 14 Never! That is indeed a blazing fire. 15 tearing away his skin! 16 and it shall call him who withdrew and turned his back 17 and who accumulated wealth without spending it for a good purpose. 18 ۞ Surely man is greedy by nature. 19 [As a rule,] whenever misfortune touches him, he is filled with self-pity; 20 And when good toucheth him he is begrudging. 21 Not so, however, those who consciously turn towards God in prayer. 22 and continue at their prayers, 23 And those in whose riches is a known right. 24 for the beggar and the outcast, 25 And those who believe in the Day of Recompense 26 And those who fear the punishment of their Lord. 27 for none is secure from the punishment of their Lord, 28 who guard their carnal desires 29 Except with their wives and the bondwomen in their possession, for there is no reproach on them. 30 But whosoever seeks beyond that, they are the transgressors. 31 and who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges: 32 And those who stand by their testimony 33 and (finally) those who do not miss their ritual - prayers at the prescribed times; 34 They will be in gardens, honored. 35