AL MA’ARIJ (The Ways of Ascent)
In the Name of God,1 the Gracious, the Merciful 2
1 A questioner asked about the penalty to befall
2 The unbelievers, from which there is none to ward off,
3 From God, Lord of the ways of ascent.
4 The angels and the Spirit3 ascend to him in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years:
5 Therefore hold patience, a beautiful patience.
6 They see it indeed as far off,
7 But we see it as near.
8 The day that the sky will be like molten brass,
9 And the mountains will be like wool,
10 And no friend will ask after a friend,
11 Though they will be put in sight of each other, the sinner’s desire will be to redeem himself from the penalty of that day by his children,
12 His wife and his brother,
13 His kindred who sheltered him,
14 And all, all that is on earth, so it could deliver him:
15 By no means! For it would be the fire of hell!
16 Eager to roast!
17 It invites such as turn their backs and turn away their faces.
18 And hoarded and withheld their wealth.
19 Truly man was created very impatient;
20 Fretful when evil touches him;
21 And niggardly when good reaches him;
22 Not so those devoted to prayer;
23 Those who remain steadfast to their prayer;
24 And those in whose wealth is a recognized right
25 For the one who asks and he who is prevented;
26 And those who hold to the truth of the day of judgment;
27 And those who fear the displeasure of their Lord,
28 For their Lord’s displeasure is the opposite of peace and tranquillity;
29 And those who guard their chastity,
30 Except with their wives and the ones whom their right hands possess, for they are not to be blamed,
31 But those who trespass beyond this are transgressors;
32 And those who respect their trusts and covenants;
33 And those who stand firm in their testimonies;
34 And those who guard their worship;
35 Such will be the honoured ones in the gardens.
36 Now what is the matter with the unbelievers that they rush madly before you
37 From the right and from the left, in crowds?
38 Does every man of them long to enter the garden of bliss?
39 By no means! For we have created them from what they know!
40 Now I call to witness the Lord of all points in the east and the west that we can certainly
41 Substitute for them better men than they: and we are not to be defeated.
42 So leave them to plunge in vain talk and play about, until they encounter that day of which they have been promised!
43 The day whereon they will issue from their graves in sudden haste as if they were rushing to a goal post,
44 Their eyes lowered in dejection, ignominy covering them! Such is the day of which they are promised!
- God, in Arabic allah, referring to the one true God, as opposed to an idol or “god.” It is the Arabic equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew), alaha (Syriac), and theos (Greek), all of which accurately translate into English as “God.” This translation choice is consistent with respected English Quran translations including those of A. Yusuf Ali (original edition), S.H. Nasr (Study Quran), T.B. Irving, and T. Itani (Clear Quran). ↩︎
- the Gracious, the Merciful, the highlighting of God’s grace and mercy predates the Quran, coming down from the many hundreds of references in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil. A few samples follow:
Taurat, Exodus 34:6 — …YAHWEH, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Zabur 145:8 — YAHWEH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Taurat, Joel 2:13 — Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to YAHWEH your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
Taurat, Yunus 4:2 — …I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.”
Injil, 1 Timothy 1:2 — …Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and AL-MASIH ‘ISA our Lord.
Injil, Hebrews 4:16 — Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. ↩︎ - 70:4 the Spirit, this is terminology frequently used in the Taurat and Injil regarding someone also called the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God. The Spirit is not an angel or created being, but the uncreated, eternal Spirit of God himself who was present and active at the creation of heaven and earth (see Genesis 1:2). He is also the one who moved the prophets to speak God’s Word to humankind (see 2 Peter 1:21). He also lives inside of every follower of ‘ISA AL-MASIH, empowering them to live in a way pleasing to God. ↩︎