Surah 70 · Meccan · 44 Verses
المعارج
SURAH AL-MA'ARIJ
The Ascending Stairways
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
سَأَلَ سَآئِلٌۢ بِعَذَابٍۢ وَاقِعٍۢ
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لِّلْكَٰفِرِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ دَافِعٌۭ
To the disbelievers; of it there is no preventer.
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مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ذِى ٱلْمَعَارِجِ
[It is] from Allāh, owner of the ways of ascent.
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تَعْرُجُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ فِى يَوْمٍۢ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُۥ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍۢ
The angels and the Spirit [i.e., Gabriel] will ascend to Him during a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years.
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فَٱصْبِرْ صَبْرًۭا جَمِيلًا
So be patient with gracious patience.
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إِنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَهُۥ بَعِيدًۭا
Indeed, they see it [as] distant,
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وَنَرَىٰهُ قَرِيبًۭا
But We see it [as] near.
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وَلَا يَسْـَٔلُ حَمِيمٌ حَمِيمًۭا
And no friend will ask [anything of] a friend,
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يُبَصَّرُونَهُمْ ۚ يَوَدُّ ٱلْمُجْرِمُ لَوْ يَفْتَدِى مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِئِذٍۭ بِبَنِيهِ
They will be shown each other. The criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children
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وَصَٰحِبَتِهِۦ وَأَخِيهِ
And his wife and his brother
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وَفَصِيلَتِهِ ٱلَّتِى تُـْٔوِيهِ
And his nearest kindred who shelter him
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وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًۭا ثُمَّ يُنجِيهِ
And whoever is on earth entirely [so] then it could save him.
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تَدْعُوا۟ مَنْ أَدْبَرَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ
It invites he who turned his back [on truth] and went away [from obedience]
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وَجَمَعَ فَأَوْعَىٰٓ
And collected [wealth] and hoarded.
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۞ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ خُلِقَ هَلُوعًا
Indeed, mankind was created anxious:
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إِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلشَّرُّ جَزُوعًۭا
When evil touches him, impatient,
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وَإِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلْخَيْرُ مَنُوعًا
And when good touches him, withholding [of it],
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إِلَّا ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ
Except the observers of prayer -
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ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ دَآئِمُونَ
Those who are constant in their prayer
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وَٱلَّذِينَ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ حَقٌّۭ مَّعْلُومٌۭ
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لِّلسَّآئِلِ وَٱلْمَحْرُومِ
For the petitioner and the deprived -
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وَٱلَّذِينَ يُصَدِّقُونَ بِيَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ
And those who believe in the Day of Recompense
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وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم مِّنْ عَذَابِ رَبِّهِم مُّشْفِقُونَ
And those who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord -
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إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّهِمْ غَيْرُ مَأْمُونٍۢ
Indeed, the punishment of their Lord is not that from which one is safe -
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وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَٰفِظُونَ
And those who guard their private parts
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إِلَّا عَلَىٰٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ
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فَمَنِ ٱبْتَغَىٰ وَرَآءَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْعَادُونَ
But whoever seeks beyond that, then they are the transgressors -
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وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَٰنَٰتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَٰعُونَ
And those who are to their trusts and promises attentive
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وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم بِشَهَٰدَٰتِهِمْ قَآئِمُونَ
And those who are in their testimonies upright
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وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ
And those who [carefully] maintain their prayer:
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فَمَالِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ قِبَلَكَ مُهْطِعِينَ
So what is [the matter] with those who disbelieve, hastening [from] before you, [O Muḥammad],
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عَنِ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ ٱلشِّمَالِ عِزِينَ
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أَيَطْمَعُ كُلُّ ٱمْرِئٍۢ مِّنْهُمْ أَن يُدْخَلَ جَنَّةَ نَعِيمٍۢ
Does every person among them aspire to enter a garden of pleasure?
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كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَٰهُم مِّمَّا يَعْلَمُونَ
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فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْمَشَٰرِقِ وَٱلْمَغَٰرِبِ إِنَّا لَقَٰدِرُونَ
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عَلَىٰٓ أَن نُّبَدِّلَ خَيْرًۭا مِّنْهُمْ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَسْبُوقِينَ
To replace them with better than them; and We are not to be outdone.
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فَذَرْهُمْ يَخُوضُوا۟ وَيَلْعَبُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يُلَٰقُوا۟ يَوْمَهُمُ ٱلَّذِى يُوعَدُونَ
So leave them to converse vainly and amuse themselves until they meet their Day which they are promised -
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يَوْمَ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ ٱلْأَجْدَاثِ سِرَاعًۭا كَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ نُصُبٍۢ يُوفِضُونَ
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خَٰشِعَةً أَبْصَٰرُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌۭ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْيَوْمُ ٱلَّذِى كَانُوا۟ يُوعَدُونَ
Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. That is the Day which they had been promised.
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About This Surah
Surah Al-Ma'arij answers a demand to hasten punishment with the scale of divine judgment, then describes human impatience and the practices that reform it: steady prayer, recognized rights in wealth, belief in accountability, sexual restraint, trusts, testimony, and guarded worship. Its “fifty thousand years” imagery concerns the final scale and must not be converted into physics calculations or end-times dates.
Al-Ma'arij begins with someone demanding punishment and states that no one can repel what comes from God. Angels and the Spirit ascend in a day described as fifty thousand years. This image communicates the scale of divine judgment; it does not provide a formula for cosmology, relativity, calendar conversion, or dating the Hour.
The Messenger is told to exercise beautiful patience while people regard judgment as distant. The day’s terror exposes how even intimate relationships and accumulated wealth cannot purchase rescue. Such imagery should not be used to celebrate suffering or threaten named individuals.
Human beings are described as anxious when harm touches them and withholding when good arrives, with an important exception: people constant in prayer, those whose wealth contains a recognized right for the asker and deprived, those who believe in judgment, protect sexual boundaries, honor trusts and testimony, and preserve prayer. The chapter therefore moves from diagnosis of moral instability to habits of responsibility.
Historical sexual vocabulary requires qualified interpretation and never excuses coercion or abuse. Giving rights in wealth encourages justice and charity without guaranteeing financial multiplication. The closing challenges arrogant expectations of paradise and returns creation, death, replacement, and final emergence to God’s authority.
Core Themes
- Divine judgment beyond human haste
- Beautiful patience under mockery
- Human anxiety and possessiveness
- Steady prayer as moral formation
- Recognized rights in wealth
- Trusts, testimony, sexuality, and accountability
Structure
Verses 1-18: Demanded punishment and the scale of the Day — 1-18
This section develops demanded punishment and the scale of the day across verses 1-18. Read it as part of Surah Al-Ma'arij’s complete sequence; it does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, or guaranteed outcome.
Verses 19-35: Human instability and the qualities of worshippers — 19-35
This section develops human instability and the qualities of worshippers across verses 19-35. Read it as part of Surah Al-Ma'arij’s complete sequence; it does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, or guaranteed outcome.
Verses 36-41: Arrogant expectation and divine creative power — 36-41
This section develops arrogant expectation and divine creative power across verses 36-41. Read it as part of Surah Al-Ma'arij’s complete sequence; it does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, or guaranteed outcome.
Verses 42-44: Final emergence and fulfilled warning — 42-44
This section develops final emergence and fulfilled warning across verses 42-44. Read it as part of Surah Al-Ma'arij’s complete sequence; it does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, or guaranteed outcome.
Reading Guide
Safety-focused reading step 1
Keep this boundary visible: The fifty-thousand-year image is not a physics equation or date-setting tool. Compare the relevant passage with the complete surah before drawing any contemporary conclusion.
Safety-focused reading step 2
Keep this boundary visible: Judgment scenes must not be used to threaten named individuals or celebrate suffering. Compare the relevant passage with the complete surah before drawing any contemporary conclusion.
Safety-focused reading step 3
Keep this boundary visible: Sexual-boundary vocabulary never authorizes coercion, exploitation, or abuse. Compare the relevant passage with the complete surah before drawing any contemporary conclusion.
Safety-focused reading step 4
Keep this boundary visible: Charity and recognized wealth rights do not guarantee financial multiplication. Compare the relevant passage with the complete surah before drawing any contemporary conclusion.
Key Passages
Demanded punishment and the scale of the Day — 1-18
Verses 1-18 address demanded punishment and the scale of the day. Their placement in Surah Al-Ma'arij supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, or guaranteed worldly result.
Human instability and the qualities of worshippers — 19-35
Verses 19-35 address human instability and the qualities of worshippers. Their placement in Surah Al-Ma'arij supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, or guaranteed worldly result.
Arrogant expectation and divine creative power — 36-41
Verses 36-41 address arrogant expectation and divine creative power. Their placement in Surah Al-Ma'arij supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, or guaranteed worldly result.
Final emergence and fulfilled warning — 42-44
Verses 42-44 address final emergence and fulfilled warning. Their placement in Surah Al-Ma'arij supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, or guaranteed worldly result.
Recitation Note
No exclusive time, fixed repetition count, or guaranteed worldly outcome is asserted here for reciting Surah Al-Ma'arij. Reading it is worship and study; any claim about protection, healing, provision, family outcomes, or a prescribed number requires separate exact evidence and narrow wording.
Interpretation Limits
- The fifty-thousand-year image is not a physics equation or date-setting tool.
- Judgment scenes must not be used to threaten named individuals or celebrate suffering.
- Sexual-boundary vocabulary never authorizes coercion, exploitation, or abuse.
- Charity and recognized wealth rights do not guarantee financial multiplication.