— 44 verses
A questioner questioned concerning the doom about to fall
Upon the disbelievers, which none can repel
From Allah, Lord of the Ascending Stairway
(Whereby) the angels and the Spirit ascend unto Him in a Day whereof the span is fifty thousand years
But be patient (O Muhammad) with a patience fair to see
Lo! they behold it afar of
While we behold it nigh
The day when the sky will become as molten copper
And the hills become as flakes of wool
And no familiar friend will ask a question of his friend
Though they will be given sight of them. The guilty man will long to be able to ransom himself from the punishment of that day at the price of his childre
And his spouse and his brothe
And his kin that harboured hi
And all that are in the earth, if then it might deliver him
But nay! for lo! it is the fire of hel
Eager to roast
It calleth him who turned and fled (from truth)
And hoarded (wealth) and withheld it
Lo! man was created anxious
Fretful when evil befalleth hi
And, when good befalleth him, grudging
Save worshippers
Who are constant at their worship
And in whose wealth there is a right acknowledge
For the beggar and the destitute
And those who believe in the Day of Judgment
And those who are fearful of their Lord's doom
Lo! the doom of their Lord is that before which none can feel secure
And those who preserve their chastit
Save with their wives and those whom their right hands possess, for thus they are not blameworthy
But whoso seeketh more than that, those are they who are transgressors
And those who keep their pledges and their covenant
And those who stand by their testimon
And those who are attentive at their worship
These will dwell in Gardens, honoured
What aileth those who disbelieve, that they keep staring toward thee (O Muhammad), open-eyed
On the right and on the left, in groups
Doth every man among them hope to enter the Garden of Delight
Nay, verily. Lo! We created them from what they know
But nay! I swear by the Lord of the rising-places and the setting-places of the planets that We verily are Abl
To replace them by (others) better than them. And we are not to be outrun
So let them chat and play until they meet their Day which they are promised
The day when they come forth from the graves in haste, as racing to a goal
With eyes aghast, abasement stupefying them: Such is the Day which they are promised