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Surah 70 · Makkah · 44 āyāt

Phase 04 · Ṭāʾif, al-Isrāʾ and the final Makkan years(c. 5–1 BH) — view in timeline

Al-MaʿārijThe Ascending Stairways

المعارج

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.

Why it was revealed

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.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī on 70:19–23; al-Ṭabarī on 70:1; Ibn Kathīr on 70:1; Ibn Kathīr on 70:3–4; Ibn Kathīr, introduction to Sūrat al-Maʿārij, citing Ibn ʿAbbās

Ibn ʿAbbās said that this was revealed concerning al-Nadr ibn al-Ḥārith, who said: 'O Allah, if this is the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky or bring us a painful punishment' — the same demand recorded in Sūrat al-Anfāl. Al-Ḥasan and others said it was revealed about a man who asked, out of mockery, for the punishment of the questioner mentioned in the opening āyah to be hastened upon the disbelievers.

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

In the Prophet's ﷺ life

LossMiddle Makkan period · Age About 47–49 · Makkah

A mocker demands the punishment be hastened

A disbeliever asked for the promised punishment of the Day to be sent immediately as a taunt, rather than fearing it as a warning.

Recalled in āyah 1, 2

سَأَلَ سَآئِلُۢ بِعَذَابٍ وَاقِعٍ

A supplicant asked for a punishment bound to happen

لِّلْكَـٰفِرِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ دَافِعٌ

For the disbelievers, which none can avert,

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 70:1

  • Madd — 2 vowels
  • Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
  • Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
  • Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
  • Ghunnah — 2 vowels
  • Qalqalah
  • Ikhfāʾ
  • Ikhfāʾ shafawī
  • Idghām shafawī
  • Idghām with ghunnah
  • Idghām without ghunnah
  • Idghām mutajānisayn
  • Idghām mutaqāribayn
  • Iqlāb
  • Hamzat al-waṣl
  • Lām shamsiyyah
  • Silent letter

Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).

THEME 01Āyāt 1–18

A Day of fifty thousand years

A questioner asked about a punishment about to occur, for the disbelievers, which none can avert — from Allah, Lord of the ascending stairways, to Whom the angels and the Spirit ascend in a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years. So be patient with gracious patience; indeed they see it as far off, but We see it as near. On that Day the sky will be like molten copper and the mountains like wool, and no close friend will ask about another though he can see him — the criminal wishing to ransom himself with his children, spouse, brother, kinsmen and all mankind, if that would save him. But no — it is the Flame, calling out for the one who turned away and hoarded.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 70:11–14; Al-Ṭabarī on 70:4; Ibn Kathīr on 70:1–3

1

سَأَلَ سَآئِلُۢ بِعَذَابٍ وَاقِعٍ

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A supplicant asked for a punishment bound to happen

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2

لِّلْكَـٰفِرِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ دَافِعٌ

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For the disbelievers, which none can avert,

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4

تَعْرُجُ ٱلْمَلَـٰئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ فِى يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُۥ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ

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The angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him during a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years.

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5

فَٱصْبِرْ صَبْرًا جَمِيلًا

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So be patient with gracious patience.

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8

يَوْمَ تَكُونُ ٱلسَّمَآءُ كَٱلْمُهْلِ

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On the Day the sky will be like murky oil,

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9

وَتَكُونُ ٱلْجِبَالُ كَٱلْعِهْنِ

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And the mountains will be like wool,

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10

وَلَا يَسْـَٔلُ حَمِيمٌ حَمِيمًا

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And no friend will ask about a friend,

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11

يُبَصَّرُونَهُمْ يَوَدُّ ٱلْمُجْرِمُ لَوْ يَفْتَدِى مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِئِذِۭ بِبَنِيهِ

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Seeing one another, the criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children

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15

كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّهَا لَظَىٰ

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No! Indeed, it is the Flame [of Hellfire]

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16

نَزَّاعَةً لِّلشَّوَىٰ

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A remover of the skin of the head,

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From the tafsīr

The 'questioner' who demanded the punishment be hastened is answered not with immediate destruction but with a description of the Day itself, which Allah names as certain and inescapable, from Him who owns 'the ascending stairways' — a name for Allah's exalted attributes and dominion, and also understood as the stairways by which the angels ascend.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 70:1–3

The 'Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years' is explained in reports as the length of the Day of Judgement for the disbelievers specifically, made unbearably long as part of their punishment, while for the believer it is lightened to the ease of an obligatory prayer.

Cited toAl-Ṭabarī on 70:4

That the criminal would ransom himself with his own children shows the total collapse of worldly loyalties on that Day; nothing that mattered in this life — family, wealth, status — retains any value once the reality of the punishment is seen.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 70:11–14

Key takeaways

Reflect

If today were compressed into an obligatory prayer's worth of ease, what would you need to change to deserve that ease on the real Day?

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Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

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Question 1 of 3

What does the criminal's offer to ransom himself with his children and kin show?

Question 2 of 3

What do reports say about the 'Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years'?

Question 3 of 3

Who was the 'questioner' in 70:1 according to Ibn ʿAbbās?

THEME 02Āyāt 19–35

Man's nature, and its exceptions

Indeed man was created anxious: when harm touches him, distressed, and when good touches him, withholding — except those who pray, maintaining their prayer constantly, and in whose wealth there is a known right for the beggar and the deprived, and who believe in the Day of Judgement and fear their Lord's punishment, guard their private parts, keep their trusts and covenants, are upright in their testimony, and are attentive to their prayer. Those will be in Gardens, honoured.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 70:24–25; Al-Saʿdī on 70:19–21; Ibn Kathīr on 70:23

19

إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ خُلِقَ هَلُوعًا

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Indeed, man was created anxious:

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20

إِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلشَّرُّ جَزُوعًا

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When evil touches him, distressed,

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21

وَإِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلْخَيْرُ مَنُوعًا

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And when good touches him, withholding [of it],

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22

إِلَّا ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ

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Except those who pray -

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23

ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ دَآئِمُونَ

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Those who are constant in their prayer

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24

وَٱلَّذِينَ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ حَقٌّ مَّعْلُومٌ

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And those within whose wealth is a known right

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25

لِّلسَّآئِلِ وَٱلْمَحْرُومِ

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For the petitioner and the deprived -

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27

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم مِّنْ عَذَابِ رَبِّهِم مُّشْفِقُونَ

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And those who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord,

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29

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَـٰفِظُونَ

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And those who guard their private parts

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32

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَـٰنَـٰتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَٰعُونَ

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And those who are to their trusts and their promises attentive

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33

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم بِشَهَـٰدَٰتِهِمْ قَآئِمُونَ

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And those who are in their testimonies upright

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34

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ

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And those who are to their prayer attentive

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35

أُولَـٰئِكَ فِى جَنَّـٰتٍ مُّكْرَمُونَ

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They will be in the Gardens, honored.

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From the tafsīr

'Anxious' (halūʿ) is explained as combining two opposite failings: despair and complaint when harmed, and stinginess and withholding when given ease — the default of the untrained soul, corrected only by the qualities listed afterward.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 70:19–21

'Constant in their prayer' (dāʾimūn) is explained by some early scholars as maintaining the prayer's proper times and conditions without interruption, not merely praying occasionally.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 70:23

The 'known right' in wealth for the beggar and the deprived is distinguished from zakāh by some scholars as a further voluntary due, showing that the believer's generosity is not exhausted by the minimum obligation.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 70:24–25

Key takeaways

Reflect

Which of the two failings — complaint in hardship or withholding in ease — do you recognise more in yourself, and which listed quality would treat it?

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0 / 2 correct

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Question 1 of 2

What is emphasised about the prayer of the rescued believers in 70:23?

Question 2 of 2

How does al-Saʿdī explain 'anxious' (halūʿ) in 70:19?

THEME 03Āyāt 36–44

Patience with the deniers, and the coming replacement

What is with those who disbelieve, hastening to stare at you from right and left in scattered groups? Does every one of them hope to enter a garden of pleasure? No — indeed We have created them from what they know. So swear by the Lord of the sunrises and sunsets, We are able to replace them with better than them, and We are not to be outrun. So leave them to converse vainly and play until they meet their Day which they are promised — the Day they will emerge from the graves swiftly as if racing to a goal, eyes humbled, overcome by humiliation; that is the Day they were promised.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 70:40–41; Al-Saʿdī on 70:42; Ibn Kathīr on 70:39

39

كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰهُم مِّمَّا يَعْلَمُونَ

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No! Indeed, We have created them from that which they know.

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40

فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْمَشَـٰرِقِ وَٱلْمَغَـٰرِبِ إِنَّا لَقَـٰدِرُونَ

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But no, I swear by the Lord of the sunrises and sunsets that We are able

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42

فَذَرْهُمْ يَخُوضُوا وَيَلْعَبُوا حَتَّىٰ يُلَـٰقُوا يَوْمَهُمُ ٱلَّذِى يُوعَدُونَ

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So leave them to converse vainly and amuse themselves until they meet their Day which they are promised -

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44

خَـٰشِعَةً أَبْصَـٰرُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْيَوْمُ ٱلَّذِى كَانُوا يُوعَدُونَ

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Their eyes humbly downcast, humiliation covering them. That is the Day which they had been promised.

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From the tafsīr

'We have created them from what they know' recalls their own origin from a weak fluid, rebuking their arrogance in expecting Paradise without belief or deeds, since they know full well the humble matter from which they were made.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 70:39

The oath by 'the Lord of the sunrises and sunsets' — the many points across the year at which the sun rises and sets — is placed immediately before the promise that Allah can replace the deniers with better than them, tying His power over creation's vast, precise order to His power to do as He wills with His creatures.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 70:40–41

'Leave them to converse vainly and play' is not permission to abandon calling them, but a command of composure — not to be shaken by their mockery while awaiting the Day that will settle the matter decisively.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 70:42

Key takeaways

Reflect

Where has mockery from others tempted you toward anxiety rather than the composure this passage commands?

Saved on this device · included in your printable study sheet

Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

What does 'We have created them from what they know' remind the deniers of?

Question 2 of 2

Why is the oath by 'the Lord of the sunrises and sunsets' placed before the promise to replace the deniers?

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VOCABULARY

Roots from this surah

Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.

س أ ل

āyāt 1

to ask, question

  • سَآئِلُۢquestioner
  • لِّلسَّآئِلِfor the petitioner
  • يَسْـَٔلُhe asks

ع ر ج

āyāt 4

to ascend, climb

  • تَعْرُجُascends
  • ٱلْمَعَارِجُthe ascending stairways
  • مَعْرَجa place of ascent

ص ب ر

āyāt 5

to be patient

  • فَٱصْبِرْso be patient
  • صَبْرًاpatience
  • صَابِرone who is patient

ه ل ع

āyāt 19

to be anxious, impatient

  • هَلُوعًاanxious
  • هَلَعanxiety

م ن ع

āyāt 21

to withhold, prevent

  • مَنُوعًاwithholding
  • يَمْنَعُhe withholds
  • مَنْعprevention

ص ل و

āyāt 22, 23, 34

to pray

  • ٱلْمُصَلِّينَthose who pray
  • صَلَاتِهِمْtheir prayer
  • صَلَّىٰhe prayed

ح ف ظ

āyāt 29, 34

to guard, preserve

  • حَـٰفِظُونَguardians
  • يُحَافِظُونَthey are attentive to/preserve
  • حِفْظpreservation

ع ه د

āyāt 32

covenant, promise, trust

  • عَهْدِهِمْtheir promise
  • عَهِدَhe made a covenant
  • مِيثَاقsolemn pledge (related concept)

ق و م

āyāt 33

to stand, be upright

  • قَآئِمُونَupright
  • أَقَامَhe established
  • قَوْمa people

خ ل ق

āyāt 39

to create

  • خَلَقْنَـٰهُمWe created them
  • خَالِقCreator
  • خَلْقcreation

Carry this with you

  • 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.

Where this surah connects

Cross-surah threads

Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.

The four trials3 movementsPatience while the answer is delayed3 movementsThe Hour and the accounting2 movementsProvision, wealth and the tongue that forgets1 movementRefuge, protection and the unseen harm1 movementThe signs you already walk on1 movement
All threads →

Sources behind Sūrah Al-Maʿārij

Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.

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Al-Maʿārij — full exam

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Al-Maʿārij · Man's nature, and its exceptions

How does al-Saʿdī explain 'anxious' (halūʿ) in 70:19?

Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol