70:1. A sceptic has asked to hasten an inevitable punishment

70:2. for the disbelievers, which none can avert,

70:3. from Allah, Lord of the routes of ascent,

70:4. by which the angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years.

70:5. So be patient [O Muhammad], and persevere in good grace.

70:6. Verily they regard it [the punishment] as something far-fetched,

70:7. but We know it to be close at hand.

Here Allah highlights the ignorance of the stubborn who sought to hasten the punishment of Allah by way of ridicule, stubbornness and trying to outwit Him.

﴾A sceptic has asked to hasten an inevitable punishment for the disbelievers﴿ which they deserve because of their disbelief and stubbornness

﴾which none can avert, from Allah﴿ that is, there is no one who can ward off this punishment - which some of the rebellious polytheists sought to hasten - before it descends, and no one can alleviate it after it has descended.

This refers to an-Nadr ibn al-Harith al-Qurashi - or one of the other polytheists - who called out:

﴾(...0 Allah, if this is indeed the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky or send us a painful punishment.﴿ (al-Anfal8:32)

The punishment will inevitably befall them from Allah; it will either be hastened for them in this world or be delayed until the hereafter.

If they knew Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and understood His immense might and power, and the perfect nature of His names and attributes, they would not seek to hasten the punishment; rather they would submit and show good manners. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of His greatness that which is contrary to their ill-mannered words, as He says:

﴾Lord of the routes of ascent, by which the angels and the Spirit ascend to Him﴿ that is, He is the Lord of highness, majesty and might, Who controls all of creation, to Whom ascend the angels in the manner that Allah has ordained for them, and to Him ascends ﴾the Spirit﴿, which here is a general term that includes all spirits or souls, both righteous and evildoers. This refers to the time of death.

As for the righteous, their souls ascend to Allah, and they are admitted from one heaven to another, until they reach the heaven above which is Allah (is), where they greet their Lord and attain the virtue of being near Him, rejoicing in closeness to Him, and Allah praises them, honours them and bestows kindness upon them.

As for the souls of the evildoers, they ascend, but when they reach the heaven and ask permission to enter, they are not given permission, and they are sent back to the earth.

Then Allah mentions the distance covered by the angels and the souls when they ascend to Him, and tells us that they ascend in a day, by whatever means Allah makes available to them and by whatever helpful attributes He has created in them of being subtle and light, able to travel quickly, even though that distance would take fifty thousand years to ascend by ordinary means, from the beginning of the ascent until reaching the limit that they are meant to reach, where those on high are.

This is the great dominion and vast universe, both upper and lower realms. It is all created and controlled by the Most High.

Allah is aware of their needs, both visible and hidden; He knows their dwelling places and their resting places, and by His kindness and grace He sends them provisions, encompassing them and subjecting them to His universal and shar‘i decrees, and His rulings of reward and punishment.

How wretched are those people who are ignorant of His greatness, who do not give Him due recognition, so they sought to hasten the punishment in an attempt to outwit and test Him.

Glory be to the Most Forbearing, Who gives them respite but does not forget. They offend Him but He is patient with them, and He pardons them and grants them provision.

This is one of the interpretations of this verse, according to which this ascent occurs in this world, because the context indicates that.

However it may be the case that this refers to the Day of Resurrection, and that on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will show His slaves something of His greatness, majesty and pride that will offer the greatest proof of His might, from what they will see ofthe ascent of the angels and souls, ascending and descending by the command of Allah, with decrees concerning His creation.

The length of that day will be as fifty thousand years because of its duration and hardship, but Allah will make it easy for the believer.

﴾So be patient [O Muhammad], and persevere in good grace﴿ that is, persevere in calling your people with good grace, and do not be impatient or get tired; rather persist as Allah has commanded you, call His slaves to affirm His oneness, and do not be deterred by what you see of them failing to submit and showing no interest, for there is much good in bearing that with patience.

﴾Verily they regard it [the punishment] as something far-fetched, but We know it to be close at hand﴿. This refers to the resurrection, which will bring punishment for the sceptics who sought to hasten the punishment. In other words, their attitude is that of one who denies it, one who is overtaken by his wretchedness and heedlessness to the point that he thinks that all that lies ahead of the resurrection is something remote and far-fetched.

But Allah sees it as being close at hand, because He is kind and forbearing, and does not hasten. He knows that it will inevitably come to pass, and everything that is coming is near at hand.

Then Allah mentions the horrors of that day and what will happen thereon:

70:8. [It will come] on a day when the sky will be like dregs of oil,

70:9. and the mountains will be like tufts of dyed wool,

70:10. and no relative [or friend] will ask about another,

70:11. even though they will be within sight of one another. The evildoer will wish that he could ransom himself from the punishment of that day, by offering his children,

70:12. and his wife and his brother,

70:13. and his kindred who stood by him,

70:14. and everyone on earth, in order to save himself.

70:15. By no means! It is a raging fire [that awaits him],

70:16. that will strip away the scalp.

70:17. It will call those who turned their backs and disobeyed,

70:18. and accumulated wealth and hoarded it.

﴾([It will come] on a day﴿ namely the Day of Resurrection, on which these momentous events will occur

﴾when the sky will be like dregs of oil﴿ - the word translated here as ﴾dregs of oil'p may also refer to molten lead. It is described thus because of its splitting asunder and because terror and dread will reach such a high level.

﴾and the mountains will be like tufts of dyed wool﴿ - the word translated here as ﴾tufts of dyed wool﴿ refers to all that has been pulled apart. Then after that, they will become scattered dust, then they will disappear.

If all these troubles will happen to these massive entities (the mountains), what do you think will happen to a weak human being, whose back is laden with sins and heavy burdens? Is it not to be expected that his heart will be tom from its place and he will be greatly disturbed, and will pay no attention to anyone else? Hence Allah says:

﴾and no relative [or friend] will ask about another, even though they will be within sight of one another﴿ that is. one relative or friendwill be able to see another, but there will be no room left in his heart to care or ask him how he is faring, or to express any concern for him, for he will only care about himself.

(﴾The evildoer﴿ who deserves punishment ﴾will wish that he could ransom himself from the punishment of that day, by offering his children, and his wife and his brother, and his kindred﴿ that is, his relatives ﴾who stood by him﴿ - this refers to what usually happens in this world, of relatives supporting one another and helping one another. But on the Day of Resurrection, no one will help anyone else, and no one will intercede for anyone except by Allah’s leave.

Rather, if the evildoer who deserves punishment could offer all that is on earth as a ransom so that he could be saved, that would not benefit him.

(﴾By no means!﴿ That is, there is no means of saving themselves and no escape for them. The punishment of Allah will become due on the evildoers because they did not believe, and no relatives or close friends will be able to offer any help.

(•jit is a raging fire [that awaits him], that will strip away the scalp)﴿ and will tear apart all parts of the body, both visible and hidden, because of the severity of the punishment.

﴾jlt will call﴿ to it (jthose who turned their backs and disobeyed, and accumulated wealth and hoarded it﴿ that is, they turned away from following the truth, for they had no interest in it, and they collected wealth, heaping it up and hiding it, so that they did not spend any of it. The fire will call them to itself, ready to engulf them in its flames.

pry (g)

0:19. Verily man was created fretful;

70:20. if misfortune befalls him, he panics,

70:21. but when good fortune comes his way, he becomes stingy

70:22. except those who pray;

70:23. who are steadfast in their prayers;

70:24. in whose wealth there is a specified share

70:25. for the beggar and the deprived;^{1The deprived is the needy person who refrains from asking others for help; people are therefore unaware of his need, and as a result he is deprived of charitable help.}

70:26. who believe in the Day of Judgement

70:27. and who are apprehensive about the punishment of their Lord

70:28. - for none is secure from the punishment of their Lord;

70:29. who restrain their carnal desires,

70:30. except with their wives or any slave women they may own, for then they are free of blame

70:31. - but whoever seeks anything beyond that, such are the transgressors;

70:32. those who are faithful to their trusts and pledges;

70:33. who are upright in their testimonies;

70:34. who are diligent in their prayers;

70:35. these will be honoured in the gardens of paradise.

This is a description of man as he is, for his basic nature is that he is fretful.

Fretfulness is explained as meaning that ﴾fif misfortune befalls him, he panics﴿ that is, he panics if poverty or sickness befalls him, or if he experiences loss of anything or anyone that he loves, such as property or family or a child, and in such situations he does not resort to patience and acceptance of what Allah has decreed.

﴾but when good fortune comes his way, he becomes stingy﴿, so he does not spend from what Allah has given him, and he does not give thanks to Allah for His blessings and kindness. So he panics when faced with hardship and is stingy at times of ease.

﴾except those who pray﴿, who are described in these terms. When good fortune comes their way, they give thanks to Allah and spend from what Allah has bestowed upon them. And if misfortune befalls them, they bear it with patience and seek reward with Allah.

﴾who are steadfast in their prayers﴿ that is, they persist in offering the prayers on time, fulfilling all the conditions thereof and doing the complementary parts of the prayer.

They are not like those who do not pray, or who pray only intermittently, or who do not pray properly.

?fin whose wealth there is a specified share﴿ of zakah and other kinds of charity ﴾for the beggar﴿ - this refers to the one who goes out and asks for help ﴾and the deprived﴿ - this refers to the one who is needy but he does not ask of people so that they can give to him, and no one notices his situation and therefore gives charity to him.

t-jwho believe in the Day of Judgement﴿ that is, they believe in what Allah has told us about it and what His Messengers have told us, of the resurrection and the requital, and they are certain of it, so they strive hard in preparing for the hereafter. Belief in the Day ofJudgement implies belief in the Messengers and in the Books they brought.

﴾fand who are apprehensive about the punishment of their Lord﴿ that is, they fear it, so they refrain from anything that may bring them close to the punishment of Allah.

﴾for none is secure from the punishment of their Lord﴿ that is, it is the punishment that is feared and dreaded.

﴾who restrain their carnal desires﴿ so they do not engage in any kind of prohibited intimacy, such as fornication or adultery, homosexuality, anal intercourse, intercourse at the time of menses, and so on.

They also refrain from looking at or touching anyone with whom such actions are not permissible, and they refrain from prohibited means that may lead to committing shameful deeds.

﴾except with their wives or any slave women they may own, for then they are free of blame﴿ if they engage in intimacy with them, in the manner that is prescribed and is permissible.

^but whoever seeks anything beyond that﴿ with anyone other than a wife or slave woman, c-fsuch are the transgressors﴿ that is, they have overstepped the bounds of what Allah has permitted, and have done that which Allah has forbidden.

These verses indicate that temporary marriage (mut'ah) is prohibited, because the woman in such cases is not a wife in the ordinary sense, nor is she a slave woman.

﴾those who are faithful to their trusts and pledges﴿ that is, they pay attention to them and strive diligently to comply with the terms and fulfil them.

This includes all kinds of trusts between a person and his Lord, such as hidden obligations that no one sees except Allah, and trustsbetween a person and other people having to do with wealth and secrets.

This also includes promises or pledges that a person gives to Allah and those that he gives to other people, for the individual will be asked about his promises and pledges: did he fulfil them and keep his word, or did he reject them and betray them, and fail to fulfil them?

﴾who are upright in their testimonies﴿ that is, they only give testimony concerning that which they know, without adding or subtracting or concealing anything, and without showing any bias towards relatives and friends and the like, seeking thereby the pleasure of Allah.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾...and give honest testimony for the sake of Allah... (at-Talaq 65:2) - and:

you who believe, be steadfast injustice and bear true witness for the sake of Allah, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your kinsfolk...﴿ (an-Nisa’4:135)

﴾who are diligent in their prayers﴿ and persist in offering them in the most perfect manner.

﴾these﴿ namely the people who are described in these terms ﴾will be honoured in the gardens of paradise﴿ that is, Allah will bestow upon them honour and everlasting bliss where they will have whatever they desire and whatever will delight their eyes, and they will abide therein forever.

To sum up: Allah describes the good and blessed in these perfect terms and as possessing these noble qualities, doing physical acts of worship such as prayer, in which they persist; and as have having in their hearts beliefs and attitudes such as fearing Allah, which motivates them to do all that is good; doing financial acts of worship; holding beneficial beliefs, possessing virtuous characteristics, and interacting with Allah and with His creation in the best manner, such asbeing fair-minded, complying with the terms of deals, keeping secrets and observing complete chastity, restraining their carnal desires and refraining from that which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) dislikes.

<rt

70:36. What is the matter with those who disbelieve, that they rush headlong towards you [O Muhammad]

70:37. from the right and from the left, in groups [to mock you]?

70:38. Does each man among them hope to enter a garden of bliss?^{1The polytheists used to gather around the Prophet (J|§) to listen to what he said and then reject it, deride it and mock his followers, and they used to say, “If these people [the Muslims] are going to enter paradise, we will enter it before them!” Hence Allah (3?) revealed these words. (al-Qurtubi; ash-Shawkani)}

70:39. By no means! Verily We created them from that which they know.^{2This is a reminder of humanity’s humble origin, so no one should be arrogant. (ash-Shawkani) It also offers proof of the resurrection, for the One Who created people from that humble origin is also able to recreate them in the hereafter. (Ibn ‘Ashoor; az-Zamakhshari)}

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, highlighting the arrogance of the disbelievers: ﴾What is the matter with those who disbelieve, that they rush headlong﴿ that is, hasten t-jtowards you [O Muhammad] from the right and from the left, in groups [to mock you]?﴿ That is, they come in scattered groups, each of them rejoicing in what he has.

﴾Does each man among them hope to enter a garden of bliss? For what reason are they raising their hopes, when they have not sent forth anything but disbelief and denial of the Lord of the worlds? Hence Allah says:

﴾By no means! p That is, it will not be as they wish, for they cannot get what they desire by means of their power.

﴾Verily We created them from that which they know﴿ that is, from an ejected liquid, that originates from between the backbone and the ribs. Therefore they are weak and have no power to benefit or harm themselves, or to cause death, give life or resurrect.

70:40. Verily I swear by the Lord of every point of sunrise and of sunset that We are surely able

70:41. to replace them with others better than them, and Our decree cannot be escaped.

70:42. So leave them to indulge in their falsehood and idle worldly pursuits until they encounter that day of theirs which they are promised;

70:43. on the day when they will come rushing forth from their graves as if they are racing towards a goal,

70:44. their eyes downcast, humiliation will overw helm them. That is the day which they were promised.

This is an oath, in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) swears by every point of sunrise and sunset, every point at which the sun, moon and stars rise and set, because of what there is in that of clear signs of the resurrection and that Allah is able to replace them with others like them, as He says elsewhere:

﴾For We replace you with others like you,^{1Although death is decreed for all, people do not all die at the same time; rather as some die, new ones take their place. (ar-Razi)} then [after death, on the Day of Resurrection] We will recreate you in a manner unknown to

﴾and Our decree cannot be escaped﴿ that is, no one can escape Us or outwit Us when We want to recreate him. Once the fact of the resurrection and the requital is established, if they persist in their denial and do not submit to the signs of Allah, then in that case: ﴾leave them to indulge in their falsehood and idle worldly pursuits﴿ that is, leave them to indulge in falsehoods and corrupt beliefs, toying with their religion, eating, drinking and enjoying themselves,

﴾until they encounter that day of theirs which they are promised﴿ for Allah has prepared for them on that day punishment and pain, which are the consequences of their indulging in falsehood and idle worldly pursuits.

Then Allah tells us how people will be when they encounter that day of theirs which they are promised:

﴾fon the day when they will come rushing forth from their graves'p, in response and submission to the call of the caller ﴾as if they are racing towards a goal﴿ that is, as if they are rushing towards a marker. They will not be able to resist the caller or turn away from his call; rather they will come humiliated and defeated, to stand before the Lord of the worlds.

﴾their eyes downcast﴿ because humiliation and distress will have overtaken them, so their eyes will be downcast, their movements will cease and their voices will fall silent.

This is how they will be and this is their fate. This is their day ﴾which they were promised﴿, and the promise of Allah will inevitably be fulfilled.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat al-Ma'arij.

All praise and thanks are lor Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.