Surah Al-Ma'arij (The Ascending Stairways)

44 Verses

[70:1] Sa'ala sa'ilun bi-'adhabin waqi'in

[70:2] Lil-kafirina laysa lahu dafi'un

[70:3] Min Allahi dhil-Ma'arij

Al-Ma'arij: (1) A Warner asked for a punishment...

Verse 1: { سأل سائل بعذاب } (A Warner asked for a punishment)

Know that regarding the word { سأل } (asked), there are two readings:

1. With a Hamza (سَأَلَ): This is the reading of the majority. This reading admits several interpretations:
   • First Interpretation: This refers to when Al-Nadr ibn Al-Harith said: {O Allah, if this is the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky or bring us a painful punishment} (Al-Anfal: 32). Allah revealed this verse in response. The meaning of {سأل سائل} (a Warner asked) is "a caller called for an imminent punishment," derived from the phrase da'a bi-kadha (he called for such-and-such). This is supported by the verse: {They will call therein for every kind of fruit, secure} (Ad-Dukhan: 55). Ibn Al-Anbari stated that in this case, the preposition بـ (with/for) is elliptically omitted, meaning: A Warner asked for an imminent punishment, and the بـ serves as emphasis, similar to {and shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree} (Maryam: 25). Al-Kashshaf’s author suggests that since sa'ala here means da'a (called/invoked), it is transitive, as if saying: A caller called for a punishment from Allah.
   • Second Interpretation: Al-Hasan and Qatadah said that when Allah sent Muhammad (PBUH) and warned the polytheists of punishment, some of them asked others: "Ask Muhammad about whom this punishment is intended and when it will occur." Allah informed him of this by saying: {سأل سائل بعذاب واقع} (A Warner asked for an imminent punishment). Ibn Al-Anbari explains that the meaning here is: (A Warner asked) about a punishment, where the بـ means about (عن), as in the poetry:

     If you ask me about women, indeed I am A physician skilled in the ailments of women. And as in the verse: {Then ask the knowledgeable, if you do not know} (Al-Furqan: 59). Al-Kashshaf’s author suggests that sa'ala in this sense implies concern or preoccupation, as if saying: A preoccupied person was concerned about an imminent punishment.

   • Third Interpretation: Some scholars said this "Warner" is the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), who hastened the punishment upon the disbelievers. Allah clarified that this punishment is indeed coming upon them and none can repel it. They cite the end of the verse, {فاصبر صبرا جميلا} (So be patient with beautiful patience) (Al-Ma'arij: 5), as evidence that the one commanded to be patient is this same asker.

2. Without a Hamza (سَال): This reading has two possibilities:
   • It is a phonetic reduction of the Hamza reading (سَأَلَ), where the Hamza is softened and transformed. Poetry is cited to support this.
   • It originates from the root meaning sayalan (flowing/streaming), supported by Ibn Abbas’s reading: سَال (flowed). The meaning is that a valley (wād) of punishment flowed down upon them. This is the view of Zayd ibn Thabit and Abdur-Rahman ibn Zayd, who said: "A valley from the valleys of Hell flowed with an imminent punishment."

Regarding {سائل} (Warner/Asker), they all agree that it must be read with a Hamza, whether derived from the Hamza root (سَأَلَ) or the non-Hamza root (as qā'il or khā'if), although the Hamza can be softened to an intermediate sound.

There are two perspectives here:

1. If we interpret {سأل} as the request by Al-Nadr (the first view), the meaning is that he requested a punishment that is certainly going to happen, whether he requested it or not. This punishment is destined for the disbelievers in the Hereafter and cannot be repelled. Furthermore, it afflicted Al-Nadr in this world when he was killed at Badr, which is what {ليس له دافع} (has no repeller) refers to.
2. If we interpret it as the second view (that they asked the Prophet PBUH about who this punishment would fall upon), then Allah answered that it is destined {للكافرين} (for the disbelievers).

The first view is considered the soundest.

There are two interpretations:

1. The implied structure is: an imminent punishment from Allah for the disbelievers.
2. The implied structure is: there is no repeller for it from Allah, meaning, there is no repeller from His side for the punishment originating from Him. If Divine Wisdom necessitates its occurrence, it is impossible for Allah not to enact it.

المعارج (Al-Ma'arij) is the plural of ma'raj, meaning an ascent or stairway, as in {and stairways upon which they ascend} (Az-Zukhruf: 33). The exegetes mention several views:

1. Ibn Abbas (via Al-Kalbi): {ذي المعارج} means Possessor of the Heavens, which are called Ma'arij because the angels ascend through them.
2. Qatadah: It means Possessor of Favors and Bounties, because His acts of grace and favor reach people in varying degrees or ranks.
3. A Third View: Al-Ma'arij are the degrees or ranks granted to His allies in Paradise.

My Fourth View: Just as the heavens differ in height, size, strength, and weakness, so too do the angelic spirits differ in power, weakness, perfection, deficiency, and the extent of their divine knowledge and strength in managing this cosmos. Perhaps the light of Allah's bestowal and the effect of His mercy reach this world only through the mediation of these spirits, either habitually or as a necessary means, as implied by {By those who distribute affairs} (Adh-Dhariyat: 4) and {By those who arrange affairs} (An-Nazi'at: 5). Therefore, {من الله ذي المعارج} refers to these varied spirits, which act as ascensions for the needs rising from this world toward them, and as descending stations for the effect of Mercy flowing from that realm down to us here.

Verse 7: { تعرج الملائكة والروح إليه فى يوم كان مقداره خمسين ألف سنة } (The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years.)

(The text ends here, transitioning to the next verse.)