سَأَلَ سَآئِلٌۢ بِعَذَابٍۢ وَاقِعٍۢ
A supplicant asked for a punishment bound to happen
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44 ayahs. Madinah Mushaf (KFGQPC) and Sahih International translation.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
سَأَلَ سَآئِلٌۢ بِعَذَابٍۢ وَاقِعٍۢ
A supplicant asked for a punishment bound to happen
لِّلْكَٰفِرِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ دَافِعٌۭ
To the disbelievers; of it there is no preventer.
مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ذِى ٱلْمَعَارِجِ
[It is] from Allah, owner of the ways of ascent.
تَعْرُجُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ فِى يَوْمٍۢ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُۥ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍۢ
The angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him during a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years.
فَٱصْبِرْ صَبْرًۭا جَمِيلًا
So be patient with gracious patience.
إِنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَهُۥ بَعِيدًۭا
Indeed, they see it [as] distant,
وَنَرَىٰهُ قَرِيبًۭا
But We see it [as] near.
يَوْمَ تَكُونُ ٱلسَّمَآءُ كَٱلْمُهْلِ
On the Day the sky will be like murky oil,
وَتَكُونُ ٱلْجِبَالُ كَٱلْعِهْنِ
And the mountains will be like wool,
وَلَا يَسْـَٔلُ حَمِيمٌ حَمِيمًۭا
And no friend will ask [anything of] a friend,
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
وَصَٰحِبَتِهِۦ وَأَخِيهِ
And his wife and his brother
وَفَصِيلَتِهِ ٱلَّتِى تُـْٔوِيهِ
And his nearest kindred who shelter him
وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًۭا ثُمَّ يُنجِيهِ
And whoever is on earth entirely [so] then it could save him.
كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّهَا لَظَىٰ
No! Indeed, it is the Flame [of Hell],
نَزَّاعَةًۭ لِّلشَّوَىٰ
A remover of exteriors.
تَدْعُوا۟ مَنْ أَدْبَرَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ
It invites he who turned his back [on truth] and went away [from obedience]
وَجَمَعَ فَأَوْعَىٰٓ
And collected [wealth] and hoarded.
۞ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ خُلِقَ هَلُوعًا
Indeed, mankind was created anxious:
إِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلشَّرُّ جَزُوعًۭا
When evil touches him, impatient,
وَإِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلْخَيْرُ مَنُوعًا
And when good touches him, withholding [of it],
إِلَّا ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ
Except the observers of prayer -
ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ دَآئِمُونَ
Those who are constant in their prayer
وَٱلَّذِينَ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ حَقٌّۭ مَّعْلُومٌۭ
And those within whose wealth is a known right
لِّلسَّآئِلِ وَٱلْمَحْرُومِ
For the petitioner and the deprived -
وَٱلَّذِينَ يُصَدِّقُونَ بِيَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ
And those who believe in the Day of Recompense
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم مِّنْ عَذَابِ رَبِّهِم مُّشْفِقُونَ
And those who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord -
إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّهِمْ غَيْرُ مَأْمُونٍۢ
Indeed, the punishment of their Lord is not that from which one is safe -
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَٰفِظُونَ
And those who guard their private parts
إِلَّا عَلَىٰٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ
Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they are not to be blamed -
فَمَنِ ٱبْتَغَىٰ وَرَآءَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْعَادُونَ
But whoever seeks beyond that, then they are the transgressors -
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَٰنَٰتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَٰعُونَ
And those who are to their trusts and promises attentive
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم بِشَهَٰدَٰتِهِمْ قَآئِمُونَ
And those who are in their testimonies upright
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ
And those who [carefully] maintain their prayer:
أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ فِى جَنَّٰتٍۢ مُّكْرَمُونَ
They will be in gardens, honored.
فَمَالِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ قِبَلَكَ مُهْطِعِينَ
So what is [the matter] with those who disbelieve, hastening [from] before you, [O Muhammad],
عَنِ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ ٱلشِّمَالِ عِزِينَ
[To sit] on [your] right and [your] left in separate groups?
أَيَطْمَعُ كُلُّ ٱمْرِئٍۢ مِّنْهُمْ أَن يُدْخَلَ جَنَّةَ نَعِيمٍۢ
Does every person among them aspire to enter a garden of pleasure?
كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَٰهُم مِّمَّا يَعْلَمُونَ
No! Indeed, We have created them from that which they know.
فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْمَشَٰرِقِ وَٱلْمَغَٰرِبِ إِنَّا لَقَٰدِرُونَ
So I swear by the Lord of [all] risings and settings that indeed We are able
عَلَىٰٓ أَن نُّبَدِّلَ خَيْرًۭا مِّنْهُمْ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَسْبُوقِينَ
To replace them with better than them; and We are not to be outdone.
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 -
يَوْمَ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ ٱلْأَجْدَاثِ سِرَاعًۭا كَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ نُصُبٍۢ يُوفِضُونَ
The Day they will emerge from the graves rapidly as if they were, toward an erected idol, hastening.
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.
Surah Al-Ma'arij is a Meccan chapter of 44 ayahs. The angels and the Spirit ascend to Allah in a day whose measure is fifty thousand years, it says. Humanity is anxious by nature except those at prayer, honest with trusts, and standing by testimony, awaiting the Day.
Recordings of Surah Al-Ma'arij on JUZZ run from about 3.2 minutes with Saood Ash-Shuraym to about 13.7 minutes with Mustafa Ismail, based on 46 timed recordings in the catalogue. With 44 ayahs, murattal styles sit at the shorter end and mujawwad or teaching recitations run slower; the player speed setting changes the time too.
Surah Al-Ma'arij has 44 ayahs.
Surah Al-Ma'arij is a Meccan surah.
Surah Al-Ma'arij lies entirely within Juz 29.
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Arabic text: KFGQPC QCF V2 via Quran.com and Uthmani script via AlQuran.Cloud. Translation: Sahih International. Audio: MP3Quran full-surah recordings and EveryAyah. Timing: MP3Quran's official timing API, with Tarteel Whisper for the rest. Hadith references above cite their collection and grading. See Sources & accuracy.
Last updated: 1 September 2026