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Sūrah Al-MaʿārijThe Ascending Stairways · Makkah · 44 āyāt · 3 movements

Revealed after a disbeliever mockingly asked for a punishment to fall upon him if the Prophet's ﷺ message were true. The surah answers with a description of the Day of Judgement — a day of fifty thousand years in the reckoning of the wrongdoers, ascended to by the angels and the Spirit, when the guilty will wish to ransom themselves with their children, spouse, brother, clan and all mankind. It then turns to describe the two opposite characters produced by trial: the impatient, stingy man of nature, and the believer who prays consistently, gives to the needy, guards his trust, and fears his Lord's punishment even while doing good.

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At a glance

Āyāt	Movement	In one line
1–18	A Day of fifty thousand years	Demanding proof through mockery invites a description of the very reality being mocked.
19–35	Man's nature, and its exceptions	Left untrained, the human soul swings between despair in hardship and stinginess in ease.
36–44	Patience with the deniers, and the coming replacement	Ridicule and staring from opponents does not change the reality they will meet.

Occasion & setting

Al-Nadr ibn al-Ḥārith (or, in another account, an unnamed mocker) demanded that if the Qur'an were truly from Allah, a punishment should be sent down upon him then and there, rather than accept the warning of the Day of Judgement in good faith. The surah opens by naming this demand and then unfolds the reality he refused to fear.

— Ibn Kathīr, introduction to Sūrat al-Maʿārij, citing Ibn ʿAbbās; cf. al-Ṭabarī on 70:1

Key messages

· Demanding punishment out of mockery is met not with instant destruction but with a full unveiling of the Day being mocked.
· The Day of Judgement's length is not fixed for all — ease or hardship on it mirrors one's state before Allah.
· Man's raw nature swings between despair in hardship and stinginess in ease unless corrected by prayer, charity, chastity and trustworthiness.
· Nothing — not children, spouse, or kin — can be traded to escape the punishment once it is seen.
· Ridicule from disbelievers does not delay or diminish the reality awaiting them; composure, not anxiety, is the believer's response.
· Regular, disciplined prayer stands first among the qualities that rescue a person from man's default failings.

Root vocabulary

س أ ل

to ask, question

سَآئِلُۢ (questioner) · لِّلسَّآئِلِ (for the petitioner) · يَسْـَٔلُ (he asks)

ع ر ج

to ascend, climb

تَعْرُجُ (ascends) · ٱلْمَعَارِجُ (the ascending stairways) · مَعْرَج (a place of ascent)

ص ب ر

to be patient

فَٱصْبِرْ (so be patient) · صَبْرًا (patience) · صَابِر (one who is patient)

ه ل ع

to be anxious, impatient

هَلُوعًا (anxious) · هَلَع (anxiety)

م ن ع

to withhold, prevent

مَنُوعًا (withholding) · يَمْنَعُ (he withholds) · مَنْع (prevention)

ص ل و

to pray

22, 23, 34

ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ (those who pray) · صَلَاتِهِمْ (their prayer) · صَلَّىٰ (he prayed)

ح ف ظ

to guard, preserve

29, 34

حَـٰفِظُونَ (guardians) · يُحَافِظُونَ (they are attentive to/preserve) · حِفْظ (preservation)

ع ه د

covenant, promise, trust

عَهْدِهِمْ (their promise) · عَهِدَ (he made a covenant) · مِيثَاق (solemn pledge (related concept))

ق و م

to stand, be upright

قَآئِمُونَ (upright) · أَقَامَ (he established) · قَوْم (a people)

خ ل ق

to create

خَلَقْنَـٰهُم (We created them) · خَالِق (Creator) · خَلْق (creation)

Flip cards

19 cards over the roots, movements, takeaways and seerah events of this surah. Anything you mark “still learning” comes back before the deck ends.

Sūrah Al-Maʿārij deck

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Concept map

The surah at the centre, its movements in sequence around it, and the roots, seerah moments and messages that hang off each one. Tap a node to focus its connections — the same way a linked notebook shows you what a single idea touches.

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