The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
A doubter once demanded that punishment be immediately meted out, 1 Upon the disbelievers, which none can avert, 2 from punishing them. He is the Lord of the Ascending Stairways, 3 The angels and Jibreel, ascend towards Him – the punishment will befall on a day which spans fifty thousand years. 4 So be patient with gracious patience. 5 behold, men look upon that [reckoning] as something far away 6 And We behold it nigh. 7 On the Day the sky will be like murky oil, 8 And the hills become as flakes of wool, 9 And no friend will ask concerning his friend. 10 as they are given sight of them. The sinner will wish that he might ransom himself from the chastisement of that day even by his sons, 11 his wife, his brother, 12 and his kinsfolk who gave him shelter, 13 and whosoever is in the earth, all together, so that then it might deliver him. 14 But nay! for lo! it is the fire of hell 15 tearing away his skin! 16 and drag into it anyone who has turned away (from obeying God), 17 and amassed wealth and hoarded it. 18 ۞ Surely man is created of a hasty temperament 19 When evil touches him, impatient, 20 And niggardly when good reaches him;- 21 Save worshippers. 22 who are steadfast in prayer; 23 and those in whose wealth there is a known right 24 For the beggar and the destitute; 25 who acknowledge the Day of Judgment, 26 and are fearful of the punishment of their Lord; 27 Indeed the punishment of their Lord is not a thing to be unafraid of! 28 and who are mindful of their chastity, 29 Except in the case of their wives or those whom their right hands possess-- for these surely are not to be blamed, 30 but whoever goes beyond this is a transgressor; 31 And those who are to their trusts and promises attentive 32 and those who are upright in their testimonies; 33 And those who of their prayer are observant. 34 These will dwell in Gardens, honoured. 35