— 44 verses
A doubter once demanded that punishment be immediately meted out
to those who deny the truth. No power can hinder Go
from punishing them. He is the Lord of the Ascending Stairways
by which the angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him in one Day which will last for fifty thousand years
Therefore, [O believers] behave with seemly patience
They see it [the Day of Judgement] to be far off
but We see it near at hand
On that Day the heavens shall become like molten brass
and the mountains will become like tufts of wool
and no friend will ask about his friend
though they shall be within sight of each other. The guilty one will gladly ransom himself from the torment of that Day by sacrificing his own children
his wife, his brother
and his kinsfolk who gave him shelter
and all the people of the earth, if that could deliver him
But no! There is a raging blaze
stripping away his skin
and it will claim all those who turned their backs [on the true faith] and turned away [from the truth]
and amassed wealth and hoarded it
Indeed, man is born impatient
when misfortune touches him he starts lamenting
and whenever good fortune comes to him, he grows niggardly
But not so the worshipper
who are steadfast in prayer
those who give a due share of their wealth
to those who ask [for help] and to the destitute
and those who believe in the Day of Judgemen
and are fearful of the punishment of their Lord
for none may ever feel secure from the punishment of their Lord
those who preserve their chastit
except from their spouses and those whom they rightfully possess [through wedlock], for which they incur no blam
but those who go beyond that limit are transgressors
and those who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges
and those who stand by their testimon
and are steadfast in their prayers
They will be honoured in the Gardens of Bliss
But what is the matter with those who deny the truth, that they come hastening towards yo
from the right and from the left, in crowds
Does every one of them aspire to be admitted into a Garden of Delight
Certainly not! They know quite well out of what We created them
But nay! I call to witness the Lord of the Easts and the Wests, that We have the power doing this
to replace them with others better than them: nothing can prevent Us from
so leave them to indulge in vain idle talk and amuse themselves, until they face the Day which they have been promised
the Day when they shall come out of their graves in haste, as if they were racing to a goal
with downcast eyes and faces distorted in shame; such is the Day which they are promised