Al-Ma'arij 70
The Ascending StairwaysHow to read the Hangul
الرَّحْمَٰنِ르r라흐마니 بِسْمِ비스밀
- Bold = the stressed syllable of the word; a little stronger.
- Overline = long vowel (madd): hold it about two beats. Length matters most in recitation.
- Tiny = no vowel in the Arabic here — just the consonant, short.
- Small Latin letter = a sound Korean lacks, on the next syllable: f upper teeth on lower lip · θ/ð tongue tip between the teeth · r rolled tongue tip (a bare ㄹ is l).
How to read the Hangul
beginning the Christ salvation
- Bold, larger (ˈ) = say it strong and a little longer — the stressed syllable.
- Faint = weak and short (a reduced vowel). Don't give every syllable equal weight.
- Tiny 으 · 트 · 스 = barely voiced. English has no vowel there — stop on the consonant.
- Whole word faint (the, of, and, to…) = light and quick in a sentence; stress the content words.
- Small f v θ ð r = sounds Korean doesn't have — f: upper teeth on the lower lip; v: the same, voiced; θ/ð: tongue tip between the teeth; r: tongue curled back, touching nothing.
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Surah
About this surah
This surah is classified as revealed in the Meccan period. It begins with someone asking about a punishment bound to befall the disbelievers, and says it comes from God, Owner of the ways of ascent, to whom the angels and the Spirit ascend in a Day measuring fifty thousand years. After urging the Messenger to be patient, it describes the Day when the sky is like molten metal and the mountains like tufts of wool, and the wicked would offer his children, wife, brother and clan to ransom himself. It then observes that people are created anxious, impatient in hardship and tight-fisted in good times, except those who pray constantly, set aside a known share of their wealth for the needy, guard their chastity, and keep their trusts and promises; it lists these qualities in detail. It closes by warning of the Day people rush out of their graves.
- Lord of the ascents
- A fifty-thousand-year Day
- Human anxiety and greed
- Qualities of those who pray
- Rising from the graves
The name The name comes from verse 3, which describes God as Owner of the ways of ascent.
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A questioner asked about a punishment bound to befall
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the disbelievers, which none can repel,
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from God, Owner of the ways of ascent.
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The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a Day whose measure is fifty thousand years.
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So be patient with a beautiful patience.
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Indeed they see it as far off,
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but We see it as near.
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On the Day the sky will be like molten metal,
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and the mountains will be like tufts of wool,
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and no devoted friend will ask about a friend,
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though they will be shown each other. The wicked one will wish that he could ransom himself from the punishment of that Day with his children,
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and his wife and his brother,
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and his clan that sheltered him,
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and all who are on the earth — so that it might then save him.
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By no means! Indeed it is a raging flame,
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stripping away the scalp,
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calling whoever turned his back and turned away,
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and gathered [wealth] and hoarded it.
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Indeed man was created anxious:
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when evil touches him, impatient,
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and when good touches him, withholding,
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except those who pray,
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those who are constant in their prayer,
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and those in whose wealth there is a known right
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for the one who asks and the one who is deprived,
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and those who affirm the Day of Judgement,
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and who are in dread of their Lord's punishment —
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indeed the punishment of their Lord is not to be felt secure from —
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and those who guard their private parts,
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except from their wives or those whom their right hands possess, for then they are not to be blamed —
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but whoever seeks beyond that, they are the transgressors —
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and those who are faithful to their trusts and their promises,
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and those who stand firm in their testimonies,
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and those who carefully maintain their prayer.
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They will be in Gardens, honoured.
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So what is the matter with those who disbelieve, rushing toward you,
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from the right and from the left, in groups?
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Does every one of them hope to be admitted into a Garden of Bliss?
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By no means! Indeed We created them from what they know.
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Nay, I swear by the Lord of the places of sunrise and sunset that We certainly have the power
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to replace them with better than them, and We are not to be outrun.
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So leave them to indulge in idle talk and amuse themselves until they meet their Day which they are promised —
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the Day they will come out of the graves rapidly, as if they were racing toward a set target,
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their eyes downcast, humiliation covering them. That is the Day which they had been promised.