The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
Someone has (needlessly) demanded to experience the torment (of God), 1 The Unbelievers, the which there is none to ward off,- 2 from punishing them. He is the Lord of the Ascending Stairways, 3 To whom the angels and the soul take a day to ascend, whose length is fifty thousand years. 4 But be patient (O Muhammad) with a patience fair to see. 5 Verily! They see it (the torment) afar off, 6 but, We see it as near! 7 Upon the day when heaven shall be as molten copper 8 and the mountains will become like dyed tufts of wool, 9 and no friend will ask about his 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 of his spouse, and of his brother, 12 and his kinsfolk who gave him shelter, 13 And all those who are on the earth, to save himself. 14 By no means! Surely it is a flaming fire 15 that will strip off the scalp. 16 Calling: "[O Kafir (O disbeliever in Allah, His angels, His Book, His Messengers, Day of Resurrection and in Al-Qadar (Divine Preordainments), O Mushrik (O polytheist, disbeliever in the Oneness of Allah)] (all) such as turn their backs and turn away their faces (from Faith) [picking and swallowing them up from that great gathering of mankind (on the Day of Resurrection) just as a bird picks up a food-grain from the earth with its beak and swallows it up] [Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Vol. 18, Page 289] 17 And collect (wealth) and hide it (from use)! 18 ۞ VERILY, man is born with a restless disposition. 19 Fretful when evil befalleth him 20 but when good comes upon him, he is grudging 21 Except those devoted to Salat (prayers) 22 Those who remain constant in their Salat (prayers); 23 and those in whose wealth there is a known right 24 for those that ask and those that are dispossessed, 25 who confirm the Day of Reckoning 26 and are fearful of the punishment of their Lord; 27 Surely the chastisement of their Lord is (a thing) not to be felt secure of-- 28 who guard their privates 29 except in regard to their spouses and those whom their right hands possess, for in regard to them they are not reproachable, 30 but whoever goes beyond this is a transgressor; 31 And those who are faithful to their trusts and their covenant 32 And those who stand firm in their testimonies; 33 and (finally) those who do not miss their ritual - prayers at the prescribed times; 34 Those are highly honored in the Gardens. 35