Chapter 70, 44 verses
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. A questioner questioned concerning the doom about to fall
A supplicant asked for a punishment bound to happen
One demanding, demanded the chastisement which must befall
Upon the disbelievers, which none can repel,
To the disbelievers; of it there is no preventer.
The unbelievers - - there is none to avert it - -
From Allah, Lord of the Ascending Stairways
[It is] from Allah, owner of the ways of ascent.
From Allah, the Lord of the ways of Ascent.
(Whereby) the angels and the Spirit ascend unto Him in a Day whereof the span is fifty thousand years.
The angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him during a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years.
To Him ascend the angels and the Spirit in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years.
But be patient (O Muhammad) with a patience fair to see.
So be patient with gracious patience.
Therefore endure with a goodly patience.
Lo! they behold it afar off
Indeed, they see it [as] distant,
Surely they think it to be far off,
While we behold it nigh:
But We see it [as] near.
And We see it nigh.
The day when the sky will become as molten copper,
On the Day the sky will be like murky oil,
On the day when the heaven shall be as molten copper
And the hills become as flakes of wool,
And the mountains will be like wool,
And the mountains shall be as tufts of wool
And no familiar friend will ask a question of his friend
And no friend will ask [anything of] a friend,
And friend shall not ask of 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 children
They will be shown each other. The criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children
(Though) they shall be made to see each other. The guilty one would fain redeem himself from the chastisement of that day by (sacrificing) his children,
And his spouse and his brother
And his wife and his brother
And his wife and his brother
And his kin that harboured him
And his nearest kindred who shelter him
And the nearest of his kinsfolk who gave him shelter,
And all that are in the earth, if then it might deliver him.
And whoever is on earth entirely [so] then it could save him.
And all those that are in the earth, (wishing) then (that) this might deliver him.
But nay! for lo! it is the fire of hell
No! Indeed, it is the Flame [of Hell],
By no means! Surely it is a flaming fire
Eager to roast;
A remover of exteriors.
Dragging by the head,
It calleth him who turned and fled (from truth),
It invites he who turned his back [on truth] and went away [from obedience]
It shall claim him who turned and fled (from truth),
And hoarded (wealth) and withheld it.
And collected [wealth] and hoarded.
And amasses (wealth) then shuts it up.
Lo! man was created anxious,
Indeed, mankind was created anxious:
Surely man is created of a hasty temperament
Fretful when evil befalleth him
When evil touches him, impatient,
Being greatly grieved when evil afflicts him
And, when good befalleth him, grudging;
And when good touches him, withholding [of it],
And niggardly when good befalls him
Save worshippers.
Except the observers of prayer -
Except those who pray,
Who are constant at their worship
Those who are constant in their prayer
Those who are constant at their prayer
And in whose wealth there is a right acknowledged
And those within whose wealth is a known right
And those in whose wealth there is a fixed portion.
For the beggar and the destitute;
For the petitioner and the deprived -
For him who begs and for him who is denied (good)
And those who believe in the Day of Judgment,
And those who believe in the Day of Recompense
And those who accept the truth of the judgment day
And those who are fearful of their Lord's doom -
And those who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord -
And those who are fearful of the chastisement of their Lord - -
Lo! the doom of their Lord is that before which none can feel secure -
Indeed, the punishment of their Lord is not that from which one is safe -
Surely the chastisement of their Lord is (a thing) not to be felt secure of - -
And those who preserve their chastity
And those who guard their private parts
And those who guard their private parts,
Save with their wives and those whom their right hands possess, for thus they are not blameworthy;
Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they are not to be blamed -
Except in the case of their wives or those whom their right hands possess - - for these surely are not to be blamed,
But whoso seeketh more than that, those are they who are transgressors;
But whoever seeks beyond that, then they are the transgressors -
But he who seeks to go beyond this, these it is that go beyond the limits - -
And those who keep their pledges and their covenant,
And those who are to their trusts and promises attentive
And those who are faithful to their trusts and their covenant
And those who stand by their testimony
And those who are in their testimonies upright
And those who are upright in their testimonies,
And those who are attentive at their worship.
And those who [carefully] maintain their prayer:
And those who keep a guard on their prayer,
These will dwell in Gardens, honoured.
They will be in gardens, honored.
Those shall be in gardens, honored.
What aileth those who disbelieve, that they keep staring toward thee (O Muhammad), open - eyed,
So what is [the matter] with those who disbelieve, hastening [from] before you, [O Muhammad],
But what is the matter with those who disbelieve that they hasten on around you,
On the right and on the left, in groups ?
[To sit] on [your] right and [your] left in separate groups?
On the right hand and on the left, in sundry parties?
Doth every man among them hope to enter the Garden of Delight ?
Does every person among them aspire to enter a garden of pleasure?
Does every man of them desire that he should be made to enter the garden of bliss?
Nay, verily. Lo! We created them from what they know.
No! Indeed, We have created them from that which they know.
By no means! Surely We have created them of 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 Able
So I swear by the Lord of [all] risings and settings that indeed We are able
But nay! I swear by the Lord of the Easts and the Wests that We are certainly able
To replace them by (others) better than them. And we are not to be outrun.
To replace them with better than them; and We are not to be outdone.
To bring instead (others) better than them, and We shall not be overcome.
So let them chat and play until they meet their Day which they are promised,
So leave them to converse vainly and amuse themselves until they meet their Day which they are promised -
Therefore leave them alone to go on with the false discourses and to sport until they come face to face with that day of theirs with which they are threatened;
The day when they come forth from the graves in haste, as racing to a goal,
The Day they will emerge from the graves rapidly as if they were, toward an erected idol, hastening.
The day on which they shall come forth from their graves in haste, as if they were hastening on to a goal,
With eyes aghast, abasement stupefying them: Such is the Day which they are promised.
Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. That is the Day which they had been promised.
Their eyes cast down; disgrace shall overtake them; that is the day which they were threatened with.