Surah Al-Ma'arij: Thematic English Translation (Mustafa Çevik)

One who never looks at his own creation and reflects on the greatness of Allah’s knowledge and power asks when the punishment promised to those who turn away from the call will come.

That promised punishment will surely be brought upon them by Allah, Possessor of all heights, and no power will be able to prevent their being struck with it. Allah alone knows its time; and besides, can your notion of time ever be the same as Allah’s?

The angels on duty, together with Gabriel (the Spirit), can reach Allah’s lofty station in a day that is, by your measure, fifty thousand years.

O Prophet, and the believers with him! Bear with patience the mocking words and attacks of those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth, and go on with your struggle, holding firm. The Last Hour and the Day of Reckoning, whose coming they do not believe in, are near in Our reckoning. When That Day comes, the sky will be like molten metal, and the mountains will fly apart like tufts of carded wool; no one will be in any state to ask after a kinsman or friend; everyone will be taken up with his own plight; though they see one another, they will look past one another. On That Day everyone who associated partners with Allah and denied the truth would gladly give as ransom his child, his wife, his brother, the clan he claimed as his own in the world, everyone and everything he has, if only he could save himself from the punishment of the Fire.

On That Day no one and no power can save those who ended their worldly lives with their backs turned on the truth from that painful punishment of fire that scorches and strips away the skin. Those ungrateful wrongdoers paid no heed to Allah’s call; they hoarded the wealth He bestowed on them and sat on it, and kept away from giving thanks to their Lord and spending to win His good pleasure. Hell will call them all to itself and draw them in.

The human being who turns away from the divine order that is the reason for his creation is impatient, greedy beyond measure, prejudiced, and grasping; when hardship befalls him and he falls into straits, he at once wails and laments; and when he attains a blessing, he clings to it tightly, is selfishly stingy, and does not use it for good.

But those who believe perform their prayers with awareness and care, use the blessings Allah bestows in His way, know that the poor have a right to their earnings, and give it. They believe wholeheartedly in the Day of Reckoning; they fear associating partners with Allah, being deprived of His compassion and mercy, and meeting His punishment; they know that no one can save one who deserves Allah’s punishment. These believers also guard their chastity scrupulously; they enter into no unlawful relations with any but the spouses they have lawfully married by marriage contract, and they are not blamed for their marital relations with their spouses.

But those who do not recognize these limits Allah has set have overstepped the bounds.

Those who believe are the ones who honor their trusts and the promises they give. They bear witness truly, give their worship its due, and never neglect it. These are the ones who will attain Allah’s very great hospitality in the Gardens.

O Prophet! While those who reject Allah’s call gather around you, mocking your call, they also say of the believers who believe with you, “If Paradise exists, we are more worthy of entering it than these weak, wretched people.”

No; it is never possible for them to enter Paradise.

We created both them and those they look down on from a drop of semen, which they know full well.

By the Lord of the places where the sun rises and sets: if We will, We can destroy those who persist in living in shirk and disbelief and bring in their place a people who believe. Allah has power to do what He wills; there is no one who can prevent Him from doing it.

O Prophet! Invite them with counsel and warnings to live what is right, and leave them to themselves to make their choices. Let them dawdle with empty, meaningless things until the Day of Resurrection. When That Day comes, they will come out of their graves and be gathered to give account, terror-stricken, their eyes as though about to burst from their sockets with fear; the promised day will have come at last.