The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
ONE who is minded to ask might ask about the suffering which [in the hereafter] is bound to befall 1 To the disbelievers; of it there is no preventer. 2 From Allah, the Lord of all pinnacles. 3 To Him ascend the angels and the Spirit in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years. 4 Wherefore be thou patient with a becoming patience. 5 behold, they see it as if far off; 6 But We see it [as] near. 7 On that Day the heavens shall become like molten brass, 8 And the mountains will be like wool, 9 and no friend will ask about his friend, 10 though they are in sight of each other. To ransom himself from the punishment of that Day, the sinner will wish that he might even ransom himself by his sons, 11 And his wife and his brother. 12 And the family in which he was. 13 And all that are in the earth, if then it might deliver him. 14 By no means! for it would be the Fire of Hell!- 15 That would skin the scalp. 16 and it will claim all those who turned their backs [on the true faith] and turned away [from the truth], 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 tight-fisted when good fortune visits him, 21 Except those devoted to Salat (prayers) 22 who are steadfast in prayer; 23 And in whose wealth there is a right acknowledged 24 For the needy and those dispossessed, 25 who confirm the Day of Doom 26 and go in fear of the punishment of their Lord, 27 for, behold, of their Sustainer's chastisement none may ever feel [wholly] secure; 28 those who preserve their chastity 29 except from their wives and slave girls, in which case they are not to be blamed, 30 But those who seek more than this will be transgressors; 31 And those who keep their trusts and covenants; 32 And those who are firm upon their testimonies. 33 And those who of their prayer are observant. 34 such people will receive due honor in Paradise. 35