The Heights (Al-Ma'aarej)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
ONE who is minded to ask might ask about the suffering which [in the hereafter] is bound to befall 1 The Unbelievers, the which there is none to ward off,- 2 (A Penalty) from Allah, Lord of the Ways of Ascent. 3 The angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him during a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years. 4 But be patient (O Muhammad) with a patience fair to see. 5 They deem it to be remote. 6 But We see it (quite) near. 7 On that Day the heavens shall become like molten brass, 8 And the mountains shall be as tufts of wool 9 And no familiar friend will ask a question of 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 His wife and his brother, 12 And his kin that sheltered him. 13 And all that are in the earth, if then it might deliver him. 14 By no means! For the raging flames of the fire 15 snatching away the scalp, 16 calling him who drew back and turned away, 17 who amassed and hoarded. 18 ۞ Verily, man (disbeliever) was created very impatient; 19 If evil befalls him he is perturbed; 20 and tight-fisted when good fortune visits him, 21 Except those devoted to Salat (prayers) 22 Those who remain constant in their Salat (prayers); 23 And those within whose wealth is a known right 24 For the (needy) who asks and him who is prevented (for some reason from asking); 25 And those who accept the truth of the judgment day 26 And those who fear the punishment of their Lord, -- 27 surely the chastisement of their Lord is a thing none can feel secure from – 28 those who preserve 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 whoso seeks after more than that, they are the transgressors), 31 and those who fulfil their trusts and their covenants, 32 and those who stand by their testimony 33 And those who guard (the sacredness) of their worship;- 34 Those shall be in Gardens, high-honoured. 35