Al-Ma'arij

sa-ala sāilun biʿadhābin wāqiʿin

A man [mockingly] demanded the punishment.

lil'kāfirīna laysa lahu dāfiʿun

It will fall on the disbelievers––none can deflect it––

mina l-lahi dhī l-maʿāriji

from God, the Lord of the Ways of Ascent,

taʿruju l-malāikatu wal-rūḥu ilayhi fī yawmin kāna miq'dāruhu khamsīna alfa sanatin

by which the angels and the Spirit ascend to Him, on a Day whose length is fifty thousand years.

fa-iṣ'bir ṣabran jamīlan

So be patient, [Prophet], as befits you.

innahum yarawnahu baʿīdan

The disbelievers think it is distant,

wanarāhu qarīban

but We know it to be close.

yawma takūnu l-samāu kal-muh'li

On a Day when the heavens will be like molten brass

watakūnu l-jibālu kal-ʿih'ni

and the mountains like tufts of wool,

walā yasalu ḥamīmun ḥamīman

when no friend will ask about his friend,

yubaṣṣarūnahum yawaddu l-muj'rimu law yaftadī min ʿadhābi yawmi-idhin bibanīhi

even when they are within sight of one another. The guilty person will wish he could save himself from the suffering of that Day by sacrificing his sons,

waṣāḥibatihi wa-akhīhi

his spouse, his brother,

wafaṣīlatihi allatī tu'wīhi

the kinsfolk who gave him shelter,

waman fī l-arḍi jamīʿan thumma yunjīhi

and everyone on earth, if it could save him.

kallā innahā laẓā

But no! There is a raging flame

nazzāʿatan lilshawā

that strips away the skin,

tadʿū man adbara watawallā

and it will claim everyone who rejects the truth, turns away,

wajamaʿa fa-awʿā

amasses wealth and hoards it.

inna l-insāna khuliqa halūʿan

Man was truly created anxious:

idhā massahu l-sharu jazūʿan

he is fretful when misfortune touches him,

wa-idhā massahu l-khayru manūʿan

but tight-fisted when good fortune comes his way.

illā l-muṣalīna

Not so those who pray

alladhīna hum ʿalā ṣalātihim dāimūna

and are constant in their prayers;

wa-alladhīna fī amwālihim ḥaqqun maʿlūmun

who give a due share of their wealth

lilssāili wal-maḥrūmi

to beggars and the deprived;

wa-alladhīna yuṣaddiqūna biyawmi l-dīni

who believe in the Day of Judgement

wa-alladhīna hum min ʿadhābi rabbihim mush'fiqūna

and fear the punishment of their Lord––

inna ʿadhāba rabbihim ghayru mamūnin

none may feel wholly secure from it––

wa-alladhīna hum lifurūjihim ḥāfiẓūna

who guard their chastity

illā ʿalā azwājihim aw mā malakat aymānuhum fa-innahum ghayru malūmīna

from all but their spouses or their slave-girls––there is no blame attached to [relations with] these,

famani ib'taghā warāa dhālika fa-ulāika humu l-ʿādūna

but those whose desires exceed this limit are truly transgressors––

wa-alladhīna hum li-amānātihim waʿahdihim rāʿūna

who are faithful to their trusts and their pledges;

wa-alladhīna hum bishahādātihim qāimūna

who give honest testimony

wa-alladhīna hum ʿalā ṣalātihim yuḥāfiẓūna

and are steadfast in their prayers.

ulāika fī jannātin muk'ramūna

They will be honoured in Gardens of bliss.

famāli alladhīna kafarū qibalaka muh'ṭiʿīna

What is wrong with the disbelievers? Why do they rush to peer at you [Prophet],

ʿani l-yamīni waʿani l-shimāli ʿizīna

from right and left, in crowds?

ayaṭmaʿu kullu im'ri-in min'hum an yud'khala jannata naʿīmin

Does every one of them expect to enter a Garden of bliss?

kallā innā khalaqnāhum mimmā yaʿlamūna

No! We created them from the substance they know,

falā uq'simu birabbi l-mashāriqi wal-maghāribi innā laqādirūna

and, by the Lord of every sunrise and sunset, We have the power

ʿalā an nubaddila khayran min'hum wamā naḥnu bimasbūqīna

to substitute for them others better than they are- nothing can prevent Us from doing this.

fadharhum yakhūḍū wayalʿabū ḥattā yulāqū yawmahumu alladhī yūʿadūna

So leave them to wallow in idle talk, until they come face to face with their promised Day,

yawma yakhrujūna mina l-ajdāthi sirāʿan ka-annahum ilā nuṣubin yūfiḍūna

the Day they will rush out of their graves as if rallying to a flag,

khāshiʿatan abṣāruhum tarhaquhum dhillatun dhālika l-yawmu alladhī kānū yūʿadūna

eyes downcast and covered in shame: that is the Day of which they were warned.