Surah Ma‘arij
Qur’anic Exegesis
INTRODUCTION
Surah Ma‘arijforms a pair with Surah Haqqah, the preceding surahwith regard to the subject discussed in them. The first surahcautions the Quraysh about the punishment of the Herein and the Hereafter and the second surahwarns such people from among the Quraysh of their fate as made fun of this very punishment and asked to hasten its arrival.
The surah is directed at the leadership of the Quraysh, and it is evident from its contents that, like the previous surahs of this group, it was revealed in Makkah in the phase of Inzarof the Prophet's misson (sws).
CENTRAL THEME
The central theme of Surah Ma‘arij is to warn those among the Quraysh of their fate who are making fun of the consequences of denying the Inzarof the Qur’an about the Day of Judgement and are asking to hasten their advent, and to urge the Prophet (sws) to persevere in the cause of truth and to tell the unbelievers that Paradise is the reward of all good deeds; a person whose evil deeds outnumber his good ones even if he is from the high ups of the society shall never enter this everlasting kingdom.
EXPLANATION
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیْمِِ
سَأَلَ سَاءِلٌ بِعَذَابٍ وَاقِعٍ (1) لِّلْکَافِریْنَ لَیْْسَ لَہُ دَافِعٌ (2) مِّنَ اللَّہِ ذِیْ الْمَعَارِجِ (3) تَعْرُجُ الْمَلَاءِکَۃُ وَالرُّوحُ إِلَیْْہِ فِیْ یَوْمٍ کَانَ مِقْدَارُہُ خَمْسِیْنَ أَلْفَ سَنَۃٍ (4) فَاصْبِرْ صَبْراً جَمِیْلاً (5) إِنَّہُمْ یَرَوْنَہُ بَعِیْداً (6) وَنَرَاہُ قَرِیْباً (7) یَوْمَ تَکُونُ السَّمَاء کَالْمُہْلِ (8) وَتَکُونُ الْجِبَالُ کَالْعِہْنِ (9) وَلَا یَسْأَلُ حَمِیْمٌ حَمِیْماً (10) یُبَصَّرُونَہُمْ یَوَدُّ الْمُجْرِمُ لَوْ یَفْتَدِیْ مِنْ عَذَابِ یَوْمِءِذٍ بِبَنِیْہِ (11) وَصَاحِبَتِہِ وَأَخِیْہِ (12) وَفَصِیْلَتِہِ الَّتِیْ تُؤْویْہِ (13) وَمَن فِیْ الْأَرْضِ جَمِیْعاً ثُمَّ یُنجِیْہِ (14) کَلَّا إِنَّہَا لَظَی (15) نَزَّاعَۃً لِّلشَّوَی (16) تَدْعُو مَنْ أَدْبَرَ وَتَوَلَّی (17) وَجَمَعَ فَأَوْعَی (18) إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ خُلِقَ ہَلُوعاً (19) إِذَا مَسَّہُ الشَّرُّ جَزُوعاً (20) وَإِذَا مَسَّہُ الْخَیْْرُ مَنُوعاً (21) إِلَّا الْمُصَلِّیْنَ (22) الَّذِیْنَ ہُمْ عَلَی صَلَاتِہِمْ دَاءِمُونَ (23) وَالَّذِیْنَ فِیْ أَمْوَالِہِمْ حَقٌّ مَّعْلُومٌ (24) لِّلسَّاءِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِ (25) وَالَّذِیْنَ یُصَدِّقُونَ بِیَوْمِ الدِّیْنِ (26) وَالَّذِیْنَ ہُم مِّنْ عَذَابِ رَبِّہِم مُّشْفِقُونَ (27) إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّہِمْ غَیْْرُ مَأْمُونٍ (28) وَالَّذِیْنَ ہُمْ لِفُرُوجِہِمْ حَافِظُونَ (29) إِلَّا عَلَی أَزْوَاجِہِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَکَتْ أَیْْمَانُہُمْ فَإِنَّہُمْ غَیْْرُ مَلُومِیْنَ (30) فَمَنِ ابْتَغَی وَرَاء ذَلِکَ فَأُوْلَءِکَ ہُمُ الْعَادُونَ (31) وَالَّذِیْنَ ہُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِہِمْ وَعَہْدِہِمْ رَاعُونَ (32) وَالَّذِیْنَ ہُم بِشَہَادَاتِہِمْ قَاءِمُونَ (33) وَالَّذِیْنَ ہُمْ عَلَی صَلَاتِہِمْ یُحَافِظُونَ (34) أُوْلَءِکَ فِیْ جَنَّاتٍ مُّکْرَمُونَ (35) فَمَالِ الَّذِیْنَ کَفَرُوا قِبَلَکَ مُہْطِعِیْنَ (36) عَنِ الْیَمِیْنِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ عِزِیْنَ (37) أَیَطْمَعُ کُلُّ امْرِءٍ مِّنْہُمْ أَن یُدْخَلَ جَنَّۃَ نَعِیْمٍ (38) کَلَّا إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاہُم مِّمَّا یَعْلَمُونَ (39) فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِرَبِّ الْمَشَارِقِ وَالْمَغَارِبِ إِنَّا لَقَادِرُونَ (40) عَلَی أَن نُّبَدِّلَ خَیْْراً مِّنْہُمْ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَسْبُوقِیْنَ (41) فَذَرْہُمْ یَخُوضُوا وَیَلْعَبُوا حَتَّی یُلَاقُوا یَوْمَہُمُ الَّذِیْ یُوعَدُونَ (42) یَوْمَ یَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ سِرَاعاً کَأَنَّہُمْ إِلَی نُصُبٍ یُوفِضُونَ (43) خَاشِعَۃً أَبْصَارُہُمْ تَرْہَقُہُمْ ذِلَّۃٌ ذَلِکَ الْیَوْمُ الَّذِیْ کَانُوا یُوعَدُونَ (44)
A person in haste asked to hasten the punishment which is bound to befall upon these unbelievers1. No one can avert it. It will be from the Lord [--Most High and Noble--] of the ascending stairways. [They measure everything from their own scales and then ask to hasten its arrival. Tell them that] the angels and the Spirit ascend towards Him in a Day the measure of which [according to your calculation] is fifty thousand years2. So [O Prophet!] with grace and dignity bear [their hastiness] with patience3. They hold it far off4 and We see it near at hand. (1-7)
[They will also see it].The Day when the sky become like sediment of oil and the mountains become like tufts of carded wool5, and no sincere friend [at that time] shall inquire after his friend [though] they shall be shown to one another. The sinner will long to redeem himself from the torment of that Day by offering his sons, his wife, his brother, his family who used to give him shelter and all the people of the earth as ransom and then save himself from it6. (8-14)
By no means! it7 is the flame of Fire which strips open the skin, and calls8 every person who turned his back and drew away and amassed riches and hoarded them. (15-19)
[These people shall continue with their hasty attitude. Just ignore them O Prophet!]. Verily, man has been created very impatient9. [If he does not discipline himself, then indeed] whenever some affliction befalls him he becomes depressed and when good fortune befalls him he becomes stingy. Not so those who pray, who are always steadfast in prayer; who set aside a fixed portion in their wealth for those who ask and for those who are ashamed to ask; who truly believe in the Day of Reckoning and dread the punishment of their Lord10 -- Verily the punishment of their Lord is not a thing to be careless of -- and those who preserve their chastity -- save with their wives and slave-girls11, for in their cases they are not blameworthy. But they who seek to go beyond this, then it is they who are transgressors -- and those who keep their trusts and promises [both with regard to Allah and with regard to their fellow human beings] and those who stand firm in their testimonies and those who keep guard over their prayers. It is they who will be in gardens of paradise, laden with honours. (19-35)
[There is no doubt that it is they who will be in the gardens of paradise]. Then what is the matter with these unbelievers that [after hearing this decision of Ours] they rush madly at you in multitudes from right and left? Does each man among them covet to enter the garden of bliss [just because he possesses a high status in this world]? By no means! [they should not show conceit on this status]. We have created them out of what they [very well] know. (36-39)
[Then do they reckon that We shall not be able to create them a second time]? Nay! I swear by the Lord who is the Master of all the vastness of the East and the West [that since We are the Master, then indeed] We can create them [a second time] in a better form and We shall not be powerless in this regard. So [if they do not understand this then] leave them to chat and play about until they encounter that day of theirs about which they are being threatened. The Day on which they will rush from their graves as if racing towards targets marked. Their eyes downcast. Disgrace covering them. This is the Day about which they had been warned. (40-44)