Sūrat al-Maʿārij

Meccan. Its verses are 44 (revealed after al-Ḥāqqa).

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

{A questioner asked about a punishment bound to happen} A petitioner requested the occurrence of the punishment.

{To the disbelievers; there is no preventer of it} It is for the disbelievers, and no one can repel it.

{From God, Lord of the Ways of Ascent} It is from God, the Possessor of the heavens, which are the places of ascent for the angels.

{The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years} They ascend to Him in a day whose duration—for the disbelievers—is fifty thousand years.

{So be patient with a beautiful patience} Endure their harm with a patience that has no complaint in it.

{Indeed, they see it as distant} They view the punishment as impossible or far off.

{And We see it as near} We see it as inevitable and imminent.

{The day the sky will be like molten copper} Like the dregs of oil or molten metal.

{And the mountains will be like wool} Like carded, colored wool.

{And no friend will ask about a friend} No close relative will inquire about another.

{They will be shown to each other. The criminal would wish to ransom himself from the punishment of that day by his sons, and his wife, and his brother, and his kin who sheltered him, and whoever is on earth entirely, then save him} They will see one another, but will not speak. The criminal will wish to offer his own children, his spouse, his brother, his tribe that protected him, and everyone on earth as a ransom to save himself.

{No! Indeed, it is the Flame} It is not as he wishes; it is the blazing Fire.

{Stripping away the skin} It peels the skin from the flesh.

{It invites him who turned his back and went away, and collected [wealth] and hoarded} It calls out to those who turned away from the truth, gathered wealth, and locked it away.

{سأل سائل بعذاب واقع} The word sa’ala (asked) implies da‘a (called/prayed for), and is constructed accordingly. It is as if it were said: "A caller called for a punishment that is waqi‘ (imminent/falling)," similar to the phrase "he called for such-and-such" when one requests or demands it. An example is the Quranic verse: “They will call therein for every fruit.”

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said: This refers to al-Nadr ibn al-Harith, who said: "If this is the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky or bring us a painful punishment." Others say it refers to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), who hastened the punishment for the disbelievers.

It is also recited as sala sa’il (a flow/stream). This can be interpreted in two ways:

1. From su’al (asking), which is the dialect of Quraysh.
2. From sayalan (flowing). This is supported by Ibn Abbas’s recitation sala sayl (a torrent flowed). Sayl is a verbal noun meaning "the flowing one," like ghawr meaning "the sinking one." The meaning is: "A torrent of punishment rushed upon them and swept them away."

Qatada said: A questioner asked about the punishment of Allah—upon whom does it descend and whom does it strike? Then this was revealed. In this sense, sa’ala implies concern and interest.

If you ask: To what does the phrase {للكافرين} (for the disbelievers) connect? I say: According to the first view, it connects to ‘adhab (punishment) as an adjective, meaning: "a punishment that is imminent and destined for the disbelievers." Or it connects to the verb, meaning: "He called for a punishment for the disbelievers." Or it connects to waqi‘, meaning: "a punishment descending for their sake." According to the second view, it is an independent sentence answering the questioner: "It is for the disbelievers."

If you ask: To what does {من الله} (from Allah) connect? I say: It connects to waqi‘, meaning: "imminent from Him," or to dafi‘ (repeller), meaning: "There is no repeller of it from His side when its time comes and wisdom dictates its occurrence."

{ذي المعارج} Possessor of the ascents (ma‘arij), the plural of mi‘raj. He then describes these ascents and their extent in height and elevation, saying: {تعرج الملئكة والروح إليه}—to His Throne and the place from which His commands descend. {في يوم كان مقداره خمسين ألف سنة}—the duration of which is fifty thousand years by human reckoning.

Al-Ruh (the Spirit) is Gabriel (peace be upon him); he is singled out due to his excellence. Others say the Spirit is a creation that guards the angels, just as angels guard humans.

If you ask: To what does {فاصبر} (so be patient) relate? I say: It relates to sa’ala sa’il. Because the hastening of victory through punishment was done in mockery of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and in denial of the revelation, and this was something that distressed the Messenger, he was commanded to be patient. Likewise, whoever asked about whom the punishment was for, asked out of stubbornness; they were among the disbelievers of Mecca.

For those who read sala sa’il or sayl, the meaning is: "The punishment has come because its occurrence is near, so be patient, for you have neared the time of retribution."

{في يوم} is connected to waqi‘, meaning: "It will occur on a long day, the measure of which is fifty thousand years of your years." This is the Day of Resurrection. It is either described as long due to its severity upon the disbelievers, or it is truly that long. It is said there are fifty stations, each a thousand years long, though for the believer, it will be as brief as the time between the noon and afternoon prayers.

The pronoun in {يرونه} (they see it) refers to the waqi‘ (imminent punishment) or the Day of Resurrection. {ونراه قريبا}—We see it as easy for Our power, not far or impossible for Us. "Far" refers to possibility, and "near" refers to its proximity.

{كالمهل} Like the dregs of oil. Ibn Mas‘ud said: Like molten silver. When the mountains are crushed and scattered in the air, they resemble dyed wool that the wind has scattered.

{ولا يسئل حميم حميما} No close friend will ask a close friend about his condition, nor will he speak to him, because everyone will be preoccupied. {يبصرونهم}—they will see one another, so they are not hidden from each other. What prevents them from asking is not a lack of sight, but preoccupation.

{وفصيلته التي تؤويه} His clan that shelters him—those he turns to for protection in times of calamity. {ينجيه}—this is linked to yaftadi (he would ransom himself), meaning: he wishes he could ransom himself, and then that this ransom would save him. But alas, it will not save him.

{كلا} A rejection of the criminal’s desire, alerting him that no ransom will benefit him. Then He said: {إنها لظى}—the pronoun refers to the Fire, though it was not explicitly mentioned, the mention of "punishment" points to it. Laza is a proper name for the Fire, derived from laza (flame).

{نزاعة للشوى} Al-shawa refers to the extremities or the scalp, which the Fire peels away, then it is restored.

{تدعوا من أدبر وتولى} A metaphor for summoning them; it calls them and they appear. {وجمع فأوعى}—he gathered wealth, placed it in a container, hoarded it, did not pay the zakat or mandatory rights, and became preoccupied with it, becoming arrogant and proud.