Surah 70 of 114 · Makki · 44 ayat
Al-Ma'arij المعارج
The Ascending Stairways
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ سَأَلَ سَآئِلٌۢ بِعَذَابٍ وَاقِعٍ
PickthallA questioner questioned concerning the doom about to fall
Yusuf AliA questioner asked about a Penalty to befall-
The agreed readingA questioner asked about a punishment bound to fall. The commentaries agree the asking was a challenge rather than an enquiry — bring it on, if it is real.
لِّلْكَٰفِرِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ دَافِعٌ
PickthallUpon the disbelievers, which none can repel,
Yusuf AliThe Unbelievers, the which there is none to ward off,-
The agreed readingIt is for those who refuse, and there is nothing to turn it away. The commentaries take the two verses together: the thing he mockingly demanded is coming, and no one can hold it off.
مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ذِى ٱلْمَعَارِجِ
PickthallFrom Allah, Lord of the Ascending Stairways
Yusuf Ali(A Penalty) from Allah, Lord of the Ways of Ascent.
The agreed readingFrom God, Lord of the ways of ascent — the commentaries gloss the ways as the stages by which the angels rise, and by which what is good rises to Him.
تَعْرُجُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ فِى يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُۥ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ
Pickthall(Whereby) the angels and the Spirit ascend unto Him in a Day whereof the span is fifty thousand years.
Yusuf AliThe angels and the spirit ascend unto him in a Day the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand years:
The agreed readingThe angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a Day whose measure is fifty thousand years. The commentaries take the length as conveying the enormity of that Day rather than a figure to be reckoned with.
فَٱصْبِرْ صَبْرًا جَمِيلًا
PickthallBut be patient (O Muhammad) with a patience fair to see.
Yusuf AliTherefore do thou hold Patience,- a Patience of beautiful (contentment).
The agreed readingSo be patient with a beautiful patience — patience with no complaint in it, the commentaries agree.
إِنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَهُۥ بَعِيدًا
PickthallLo! they behold it afar off
Yusuf AliThey see the (Day) indeed as a far-off (event):
The agreed readingThey see it as far off — a thing they treat as too distant to reckon with, if it comes at all.
وَنَرَىٰهُ قَرِيبًا
PickthallWhile we behold it nigh:
Yusuf AliBut We see it (quite) near.
The agreed readingand We see it near. The commentaries agree the distance is not in time but in their reckoning: they treat it as impossible, and it is certain.
يَوْمَ تَكُونُ ٱلسَّمَآءُ كَٱلْمُهْلِ
PickthallThe day when the sky will become as molten copper,
Yusuf AliThe Day that the sky will be like molten brass,
The agreed readingOn the Day when the sky is like molten dregs — the commentaries liken it to metal or oil-residue melted down, its firmness gone.
وَتَكُونُ ٱلْجِبَالُ كَٱلْعِهْنِ
PickthallAnd the hills become as flakes of wool,
Yusuf AliAnd the mountains will be like wool,
The agreed readingand the mountains are like tufts of dyed wool, so light that the wind carries them — the commentaries stress the lightness, the solidest things on earth blown about.
وَلَا يَسْـَٔلُ حَمِيمٌ حَمِيمًا
PickthallAnd no familiar friend will ask a question of his friend
Yusuf AliAnd no friend will ask after a friend,
The agreed readingand no loyal friend asks after his friend. The commentaries agree the silence is not coldness but preoccupation: each is taken up entirely with his own case.
يُبَصَّرُونَهُمْ يَوَدُّ ٱلْمُجْرِمُ لَوْ يَفْتَدِى مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِئِذٍۭ بِبَنِيهِ
PickthallThough 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
Yusuf AliThough they will be put in sight of each other,- the sinner's desire will be: Would that he could redeem himself from the Penalty of that Day by (sacrificing) his children,
The agreed readingthough they are put within sight of one another. The guilty man would give, to ransom himself from the punishment of that Day, his own sons —
وَصَٰحِبَتِهِۦ وَأَخِيهِ
PickthallAnd his spouse and his brother
Yusuf AliHis wife and his brother,
The agreed readingand his wife and his brother — the commentaries note the ransom rises through the people nearest him, each closer than the last.
وَفَصِيلَتِهِ ٱلَّتِى تُـْٔوِيهِ
PickthallAnd his kin that harboured him
Yusuf AliHis kindred who sheltered him,
The agreed readingand the kin who sheltered him — the clan that took him in and stood by him when things were hard.
وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ يُنجِيهِ
PickthallAnd all that are in the earth, if then it might deliver him.
Yusuf AliAnd all, all that is on earth,- so it could deliver him:
The agreed readingand everyone on earth besides, if only that would save him. The commentaries agree the ransom is imagined and refused: nothing offered can buy him out.
كَلَّآ إِنَّهَا لَظَىٰ
PickthallBut nay! for lo! it is the fire of hell
Yusuf AliBy no means! for it would be the Fire of Hell!-
The agreed readingNo. It is a flame — the commentaries take the word as a name for the Fire, from its blazing up.
نَزَّاعَةً لِّلشَّوَىٰ
PickthallEager to roast;
Yusuf AliPlucking out (his being) right to the skull!-
The agreed readingtearing away the scalp — the commentaries gloss the word as the skin of the head, and some as the extremities, either way what is stripped first.
تَدْعُوا۟ مَنْ أَدْبَرَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ
PickthallIt calleth him who turned and fled (from truth),
Yusuf AliInviting (all) such as turn their backs and turn away their faces (from the Right).
The agreed readingIt calls whoever turned his back and went away — turned away, the commentaries agree, from believing.
وَجَمَعَ فَأَوْعَىٰٓ
PickthallAnd hoarded (wealth) and withheld it.
Yusuf AliAnd collect (wealth) and hide it (from use)!
The agreed readingand gathered and hoarded, holding it in his store and not paying out of it what was due from it.
إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ خُلِقَ هَلُوعًا
PickthallLo! man was created anxious,
Yusuf AliTruly man was created very impatient;-
The agreed readingMan was created fretful — the commentaries gloss the word as at once grasping and unable to bear hardship, and the two verses following are its explanation.
إِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلشَّرُّ جَزُوعًا
PickthallFretful when evil befalleth him
Yusuf AliFretful when evil touches him;
The agreed readingwhen evil touches him, panicking — the commentaries take this and the next verse as the definition of the word before them, not a new description.
وَإِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلْخَيْرُ مَنُوعًا
PickthallAnd, when good befalleth him, grudging;
Yusuf AliAnd niggardly when good reaches him;-
The agreed readingand when good touches him, withholding — the commentaries agree the two together are the whole of the fault: no endurance in loss, no giving in plenty.
إِلَّا ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ
PickthallSave worshippers.
Yusuf AliNot so those devoted to Prayer;-
The agreed readingExcept those who pray — the commentaries mark the exception as the turn of the sūrah: what follows describes those in whom that fretfulness has been undone.
ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ دَآئِمُونَ
PickthallWho are constant at their worship
Yusuf AliThose who remain steadfast to their prayer;
The agreed readingwho are constant in their prayer, keeping to it rather than praying by fits and starts.
وَٱلَّذِينَ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ حَقٌّ مَّعْلُومٌ
PickthallAnd in whose wealth there is a right acknowledged
Yusuf AliAnd those in whose wealth is a recognised right.
The agreed readingand in whose wealth there is a known right — a due of a fixed and recognised amount, which they treat as belonging to another and not to themselves.
لِّلسَّآئِلِ وَٱلْمَحْرُومِ
PickthallFor the beggar and the destitute;
Yusuf AliFor the (needy) who asks and him who is prevented (for some reason from asking);
The agreed readingfor the one who asks and the one who is deprived. The commentaries agree the deprived is the one who does not ask, and so is passed over.
وَٱلَّذِينَ يُصَدِّقُونَ بِيَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ
PickthallAnd those who believe in the Day of Judgment,
Yusuf AliAnd those who hold to the truth of the Day of Judgment;
The agreed readingand who affirm the Day of Judgement — the commentaries gloss the word here as the day of recompense, when what was done is paid back.
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم مِّنْ عَذَابِ رَبِّهِم مُّشْفِقُونَ
PickthallAnd those who are fearful of their Lord's doom -
Yusuf AliAnd those who fear the displeasure of their Lord,-
The agreed readingand who are apprehensive of their Lord's punishment — the commentaries gloss the word as fear that stays with a man rather than fear that visits him.
إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّهِمْ غَيْرُ مَأْمُونٍ
PickthallLo! the doom of their Lord is that before which none can feel secure -
Yusuf AliFor their Lord's displeasure is the opposite of Peace and Tranquillity;-
The agreed readingfor their Lord's punishment is not a thing to feel safe from. The commentaries read it as holding for everyone: however far a man goes in obedience, he does not become secure.
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَٰفِظُونَ
PickthallAnd those who preserve their chastity
Yusuf AliAnd those who guard their chastity,
The agreed readingand who guard their private parts, keeping them from every way that is not permitted them.
إِلَّا عَلَىٰٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ
PickthallSave with their wives and those whom their right hands possess, for thus they are not blameworthy;
Yusuf AliExcept with their wives and the (captives) whom their right hands possess,- for (then) they are not to be blamed,
The agreed readingexcept with their wives and those their right hands possess, for there they are not blamed.
فَمَنِ ٱبْتَغَىٰ وَرَآءَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْعَادُونَ
PickthallBut whoso seeketh more than that, those are they who are transgressors;
Yusuf AliBut those who trespass beyond this are transgressors;-
The agreed readingBut whoever seeks beyond that — those are the ones who overstep what God has permitted.
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَٰنَٰتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَٰعُونَ
PickthallAnd those who keep their pledges and their covenant,
Yusuf AliAnd those who respect their trusts and covenants;
The agreed readingand who keep what they are trusted with and what they have promised, guarding both.
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم بِشَهَٰدَٰتِهِمْ قَآئِمُونَ
PickthallAnd those who stand by their testimony
Yusuf AliAnd those who stand firm in their testimonies;
The agreed readingand who stand by their testimony — the commentaries agree it means giving it and not concealing it.
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ
PickthallAnd those who are attentive at their worship.
Yusuf AliAnd those who guard (the sacredness) of their worship;-
The agreed readingand who keep up their prayer, observing its times and what it requires — the commentaries pair it with the constancy named at the start of the list, closing the circle.
أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ فِى جَنَّٰتٍ مُّكْرَمُونَ
PickthallThese will dwell in Gardens, honoured.
Yusuf AliSuch will be the honoured ones in the Gardens (of Bliss).
The agreed readingThose are in Gardens, honoured. The commentaries close the list where it began: the fretfulness described at the start is undone by everything in between.
فَمَالِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ قِبَلَكَ مُهْطِعِينَ
PickthallWhat aileth those who disbelieve, that they keep staring toward thee (O Muhammad), open-eyed,
Yusuf AliNow what is the matter with the Unbelievers that they rush madly before thee-
The agreed readingSo what is it with those who refuse, straining their necks towards you — the commentaries gloss it as staring fixedly, eyes not moving off him.
عَنِ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ ٱلشِّمَالِ عِزِينَ
PickthallOn the right and on the left, in groups?
Yusuf AliFrom the right and from the left, in crowds?
The agreed readingon the right and on the left, in scattered knots? The commentaries agree they gathered in groups around him, and that the staring was mockery.
أَيَطْمَعُ كُلُّ ٱمْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ أَن يُدْخَلَ جَنَّةَ نَعِيمٍ
PickthallDoth every man among them hope to enter the Garden of Delight?
Yusuf AliDoes every man of them long to enter the Garden of Bliss?
The agreed readingDoes every one of them hope to be admitted to a Garden of bliss? The commentaries take the question as refusing the claim: they expected to be given better than the believers there, as they had more here.
كَلَّآ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَٰهُم مِّمَّا يَعْلَمُونَ
PickthallNay, verily. Lo! We created them from what they know.
Yusuf AliBy no means! For We have created them out of the (base matter) they know!
The agreed readingNo. We created them from what they know — the commentaries gloss it as the fluid every man is made from, so there is nothing in their origin to found such a claim on.
فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْمَشَٰرِقِ وَٱلْمَغَٰرِبِ إِنَّا لَقَٰدِرُونَ
PickthallBut nay! I swear by the Lord of the rising-places and the setting-places of the planets that We verily are Able
Yusuf AliNow I do call to witness the Lord of all points in the East and the West that We can certainly-
The agreed readingSo I swear by the Lord of the risings and the settings — of the sun and moon and the stars, the commentaries agree — that We are able.
عَلَىٰٓ أَن نُّبَدِّلَ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَسْبُوقِينَ
PickthallTo replace them by (others) better than them. And we are not to be outrun.
Yusuf AliSubstitute for them better (men) than they; And We are not to be defeated (in Our Plan).
The agreed readingto replace them with better than them, and We are not to be outstripped. The commentaries agree the ability is stated but the act withheld; nothing prevents it.
فَذَرْهُمْ يَخُوضُوا۟ وَيَلْعَبُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يُلَٰقُوا۟ يَوْمَهُمُ ٱلَّذِى يُوعَدُونَ
PickthallSo let them chat and play until they meet their Day which they are promised,
Yusuf AliSo leave them to plunge in vain talk and play about, until they encounter that Day of theirs which they have been promised!-
The agreed readingSo leave them to their idle talk and their play until they meet the Day they are promised —
يَوْمَ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ ٱلْأَجْدَاثِ سِرَاعًا كَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ نُصُبٍ يُوفِضُونَ
PickthallThe day when they come forth from the graves in haste, as racing to a goal,
Yusuf AliThe Day whereon they will issue from their sepulchres in sudden haste as if they were rushing to a goal-post (fixed for them),-
The agreed readingthe Day they come out of the graves in haste, as though rushing to a standard set up for them.
خَٰشِعَةً أَبْصَٰرُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْيَوْمُ ٱلَّذِى كَانُوا۟ يُوعَدُونَ
PickthallWith eyes aghast, abasement stupefying them: Such is the Day which they are promised.
Yusuf AliTheir eyes lowered in dejection,- ignominy covering them (all over)! such is the Day the which they are promised!
The agreed readingtheir eyes lowered, humiliation covering them. That is the Day they were promised — the sūrah ends on the thing the questioner at its opening had demanded to see.