| | Aisha Bewley rendition of Surah The Ascending Stairways, The Ladders(al-Ma`arij)
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| 70:1 | | An inquirer asked about an impending punishment. |
| 70:2 | | It is for the kafirun and cannot be averted |
| 70:3 | | from Allah — the Lord of the Ascending Steps. |
| 70:4 | | The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day whose length is fifty thousand years. |
| 70:5 | | Therefore be patient with a patience which is beautiful. |
| 70:6 | | They see it as something distant, |
| 70:7 | | but We see it as very close. |
| 70:8 | | On the Day the sky is like molten brass |
| 70:9 | | and the mountains like tufts of coloured wool. |
| 70:10 | | no good friend will ask about his friend |
| 70:11 | | even though they can see each other. An evildoer will wish he could ransom himself from the punishment of that Day, by means of his sons, |
| 70:12 | | or his wife or his brother |
| 70:13 | | or his family who sheltered him |
| 70:14 | | or everyone else on earth, if that only meant that he could save himself. |
| 70:15 | | But no! It is a Raging Blaze |
| 70:16 | | stripping away the limbs and scalp, |
| 70:17 | | which calls for all who drew back and turned away, |
| 70:18 | | and amassed and hoarded up. |
| 70:19 | | Truly man was created headstrong — |
| 70:20 | | desperate when bad things happen, |
| 70:21 | | begrudging when good things come — |
| 70:22 | | except for those who do salat |
| 70:23 | | and are constant in it; |
| 70:24 | | those in whose wealth there is a known share |
| 70:25 | | for beggars and the destitute; |
| 70:26 | | those who affirm the Day of Judgement, |
| 70:27 | | those who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord |
| 70:28 | | (no one is safe from the punishment of his Lord); |
| 70:29 | | those who guard their private parts |
| 70:30 | | except from their wives and any slaves they own, in which case they incur no blame, |
| 70:31 | | but if anyone desires any more than that, they have overstepped the limits; |
| 70:32 | | those who honour their trusts and contracts; |
| 70:33 | | those who stand by their testimony; |
| 70:34 | | those who safeguard their salat; |
| 70:35 | | such people will be in Gardens, highly honoured. |
| 70:36 | | What is the matter with those who are kafir? They run about in front of you, with outstretched necks and staring eyes, |
| 70:37 | | on the right and on the left in scattered groups! |
| 70:38 | | Does each one of them aspire to be admitted into a Garden of Delight? |
| 70:39 | | Certainly not! We created them from what they know full well. |
| 70:40 | | No! I swear by the Lord of the Easts and Wests that We have the power |
| 70:41 | | to replace them with something better than them. We will not be outstripped. |
| 70:42 | | So leave them to plunge and play around until they meet their Day which they are promised. |
| 70:43 | | The Day they will emerge swiftly from their graves as if rushing to rally to the flag, |
| 70:44 | | eyes downcast, darkened by debasement, that will be the Day which they were promised. |
