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[1] ONE who is minded to ask might ask about the suffering which [in the hereafter] is bound to befall
[2] those who deny the truth. [Know, then, that] nothing can ward it off,
[3] [since it will come] from God, unto whom there are many ways of ascent:
[4] all the angels and all the inspiration [ever granted to man] ascend unto Him [daily,] in a day the length whereof is [like] fifty thousand years…
[5] Therefore, [O believer,] endure all adversity with goodly patience:
[6] behold, men look upon that [reckoning] as something far away –
[7] but, We see it as near!
[8] [It will take place] on a Day when the sky will be like molten lead,
[9] and the mountains will be like tufts of wool,
[10] and [when] no friend will ask about his friend,
[11] though they may be in one another's sight: [for,] everyone who was lost in sin will on that Day but desire to ransom himself from suffering at the price of his own children,
[12] and of his spouse, and of his brother,
[13] and of all the kinsfolk who ever sheltered him,
[14] and of whoever [else] lives on earth, all of them - so that he could but save himself.
[15] But nay! Verily, all [that awaits him] is a raging flame,
[16] tearing away his skin!
[17] It will claim all such as turn their backs [on what is right], and turn away [from the truth],
[18] and amass [wealth] and thereupon withhold [it from their fellow-men].
[19] VERILY, man is born with a restless disposition.
[20] [As a rule,] whenever misfortune touches him, he is filled with self-pity;
[21] and whenever good fortune comes to him, he selfishly withholds it [from others].
[22] Not so, however, those who consciously turn towards God in prayer.
[23] [and] who incessantly persevere in their prayer
[24] and in whose possessions there is a due share, acknowledged [by them],
[25] for such as ask [for help] and such as are deprived [of what is good in life];
[26] and who accept as true the [coming of the] Day of Judgment;
[27] and who stand in dread of their Sustainer's chastisement –
[28] for, behold, of their Sustainer's chastisement none may ever feel [wholly] secure;
[29] and who are mindful of their chastity,
[30] [not giving way to their desires] with any but their spouses - that is, those whom they rightfully possess [through wedlock] -: for then, behold, they are free of all blame,
[31] whereas such as seek to go beyond that [limit] are truly transgressors;
[32] and who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges:
[33] and who stand firm whenever they bear witness;
[34] and who guard their prayers [from all worldly intent].
[35] These it is who in the gardens [of paradise] shall be honoured!
[36] WHAT, THEN, is amiss with such as are bent on denying the truth, that they run about confusedly to and fro before thee,
[37] [coming upon thee] from the right and from the left, in crowds?
[38] Does every one of them hope to enter [by this means] a garden of bliss?
[39] Never! For, behold, We have created them out of something that they know [only too well]!
[40] But nay! I call to witness [Our being] the Sustainer of all the points of sunrise and sunset: verily, well able are We
[41] to replace them with [people] better than they are; for there is nothing to prevent Us [from doing what We will].
[42] Hence, leave them to indulge in idle talk and play [with words] until they face that [Judgment] Day of theirs which they have been promised –
[43] the Day when they shall come forth in haste from their graves, as if racing towards a goal-post,
[44] with downcast eyes, with ignominy overwhelming them: that Day which they were promised again and…