Surah Al-Ma'arij
المعارج
Full text, transliteration, translation and color-coded tajweed
- 44 verses
- Meccan
- Juz 29
- Pages 568 to 570
- 5 min 42 s to listen
- 169 tajweed rules
More facts
- 217 words
- Order of revelation: 79
Al-Ma'arij (المعارج) is surah 70 of the Quran: Meccan, 44 verses, in juz 29, pages 568 to 570 of the Madani Mushaf. Listening takes 5 min 42 s with al-Husary's teaching recitation. Here is the full text of Al-Ma'arij with color-coded tajweed, transliteration, translation of the meaning and an explanation of each verse.
The full text of Al-Ma'arij
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
-
سَأَلَ سَآئِلٌۢ بِعَذَابٍ وَاقِعٍ ﴿١﴾
sa'ala sā'ilum biʿadhābiw wāqiʿ
A supplicant asked for a punishment bound to happen
In the Hereafter. Disbelievers had challenged the Prophet (ﷺ) by invoking Allāh to bring on His punishment. See 8:32.
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لِّلْكَـٰفِرِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ دَافِعٌ ﴿٢﴾
lil-kāfirīna laysa lahū dāfiʿ
To the disbelievers; of it there is no preventer.
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مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ذِى ٱلْمَعَارِجِ ﴿٣﴾
mina llāhi dhi l-maʿārij
[It is] from Allāh, owner of the ways of ascent.
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تَعْرُجُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ فِى يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُۥ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ ﴿٤﴾
taʿruju l-malā'ikatu war-rūḥu 'ilayhi fī yawmin kāna miqdāruhū khamsīna 'alfa sanah
The angels and the Spirit [i.e., Gabriel] will ascend to Him during a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years.
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فَٱصْبِرْ صَبْرًا جَمِيلًا ﴿٥﴾
faṣbir ṣabran jamīlā
So be patient with gracious patience.
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إِنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَهُۥ بَعِيدًا ﴿٦﴾
innahum yarawnahū baʿīdā
Indeed, they see it [as] distant,
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وَنَرَىٰهُ قَرِيبًا ﴿٧﴾
wanarāhu qarībā
But We see it [as] near.
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يَوْمَ تَكُونُ ٱلسَّمَآءُ كَٱلْمُهْلِ ﴿٨﴾
yawma takūnu s-samā'u kal-muhl
On the Day the sky will be like murky oil,
Or "molten metal."
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وَتَكُونُ ٱلْجِبَالُ كَٱلْعِهْنِ ﴿٩﴾
watakūnu l-jibālu kal-ʿihn
And the mountains will be like wool,
i.e., in the process of disintegration.
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وَلَا يَسْـَٔلُ حَمِيمٌ حَمِيمًا ﴿١٠﴾
walā yas'alu ḥamīmun ḥamīmā
And no friend will ask [anything of] a friend,
-
يُبَصَّرُونَهُمْ ۚ يَوَدُّ ٱلْمُجْرِمُ لَوْ يَفْتَدِى مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِئِذٍۭ بِبَنِيهِ ﴿١١﴾
yubaṣṣarūnahum | yawaddu l-mujrimu law yaftadī min ʿadhābi yawmi'idhim bibanīh
They will be shown each other. The criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children
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وَصَـٰحِبَتِهِۦ وَأَخِيهِ ﴿١٢﴾
waṣāḥibatihī wa'akhīh
And his wife and his brother
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وَفَصِيلَتِهِ ٱلَّتِى تُـْٔوِيهِ ﴿١٣﴾
wafaṣīlatihi llatī tu'wīh
And his nearest kindred who shelter him
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وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ يُنجِيهِ ﴿١٤﴾
waman fi l-arḍi jamīʿan thumma yunjīh
And whoever is on earth entirely [so] then it could save him.
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كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّهَا لَظَىٰ ﴿١٥﴾
kallā | innahā laẓā
No! Indeed, it is the Flame [of Hell],
An emphatic refusal meaning "It is not to be."
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نَزَّاعَةً لِّلشَّوَىٰ ﴿١٦﴾
nazzāʿatal lish-shawā
A remover of exteriors.
This refers to the skin of the head or of the body or to the body extremities - which will be burned away.
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تَدْعُوا۟ مَنْ أَدْبَرَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ ﴿١٧﴾
tadʿū man 'adbara watawallā
It invites he who turned his back [on truth] and went away [from obedience]
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وَجَمَعَ فَأَوْعَىٰٓ ﴿١٨﴾
wajamaʿa fa'awʿā
And collected [wealth] and hoarded.
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۞ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ خُلِقَ هَلُوعًا ﴿١٩﴾
inna l-insāna khuliqa halūʿā
Indeed, mankind was created anxious:
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إِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلشَّرُّ جَزُوعًا ﴿٢٠﴾
idhā massahu sh-sharru jazūʿā
When evil touches him, impatient,
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وَإِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلْخَيْرُ مَنُوعًا ﴿٢١﴾
wa'idhā massahu l-khayru manūʿā
And when good touches him, withholding [of it],
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إِلَّا ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ ﴿٢٢﴾
illa l-muṣallīn
Except the observers of prayer -
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ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ دَآئِمُونَ ﴿٢٣﴾
alladhīna hum ʿalā ṣalātihim dā'imūn
Those who are constant in their prayer
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وَٱلَّذِينَ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ حَقٌّ مَّعْلُومٌ ﴿٢٤﴾
walladhīna fī 'amwālihim ḥaqqum maʿlūm
And those within whose wealth is a known right
i.e., a specified share, meaning the obligatory zakāh.
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لِّلسَّآئِلِ وَٱلْمَحْرُومِ ﴿٢٥﴾
lis-sā'ili wal-maḥrūm
For the petitioner and the deprived -
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وَٱلَّذِينَ يُصَدِّقُونَ بِيَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ ﴿٢٦﴾
walladhīna yuṣaddiqūna biyawmi d-dīn
And those who believe in the Day of Recompense
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وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم مِّنْ عَذَابِ رَبِّهِم مُّشْفِقُونَ ﴿٢٧﴾
walladhīna hum min ʿadhābi rabbihim mushfiqūn
And those who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord -
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إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّهِمْ غَيْرُ مَأْمُونٍ ﴿٢٨﴾
inna ʿadhāba rabbihim ghayru ma'mūn
Indeed, the punishment of their Lord is not that from which one is safe -
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وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَـٰفِظُونَ ﴿٢٩﴾
walladhīna hum lifurūjihim ḥāfiẓūn
And those who guard their private parts
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إِلَّا عَلَىٰٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـٰنُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ ﴿٣٠﴾
illā ʿalā 'azwājihim 'aw mā malakat 'aymānuhum fa'innahum ghayru malūmīn
Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they are not to be blamed -
i.e., female slaves.
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فَمَنِ ٱبْتَغَىٰ وَرَآءَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْعَادُونَ ﴿٣١﴾
famani btaghā warā'a dhālika fa'ulā'ika humu l-ʿādūn
But whoever seeks beyond that, then they are the transgressors -
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وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَـٰنَـٰتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَٰعُونَ ﴿٣٢﴾
walladhīna hum li'amānātihim waʿahdihim rāʿūn
And those who are to their trusts and promises attentive
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وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم بِشَهَـٰدَٰتِهِمْ قَآئِمُونَ ﴿٣٣﴾
walladhīna hum bishahādātihim qā'imūn
And those who are in their testimonies upright
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وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ ﴿٣٤﴾
walladhīna hum ʿalā ṣalātihim yuḥāfiẓūn
And those who [carefully] maintain their prayer:
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أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ فِى جَنَّـٰتٍ مُّكْرَمُونَ ﴿٣٥﴾
ulā'ika fī jannātim mukramūn
They will be in gardens, honored.
In Paradise.
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فَمَالِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ قِبَلَكَ مُهْطِعِينَ ﴿٣٦﴾
famāli lladhīna kafarū qibalaka muhṭiʿīn
So what is [the matter] with those who disbelieve, hastening [from] before you, [O Muḥammad],
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عَنِ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ ٱلشِّمَالِ عِزِينَ ﴿٣٧﴾
ʿani l-yamīni waʿani sh-shimāli ʿizīn
[To sit] on [your] right and [your] left in separate groups?
They sat at a distance in order to oppose and mock the Prophet (ﷺ), claiming that they would enter Paradise before the believers.
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أَيَطْمَعُ كُلُّ ٱمْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ أَن يُدْخَلَ جَنَّةَ نَعِيمٍ ﴿٣٨﴾
ayaṭmaʿu kullu mri'im minhum 'ay yudkhala jannata naʿīm
Does every person among them aspire to enter a garden of pleasure?
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كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰهُم مِّمَّا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٣٩﴾
kallā | innā khalaqnāhum mimmā yaʿlamūn
No! Indeed, We have created them from that which they know.
i.e., a liquid disdained. So how can they expect to enter Paradise except by the will of their Creator?
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فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْمَشَـٰرِقِ وَٱلْمَغَـٰرِبِ إِنَّا لَقَـٰدِرُونَ ﴿٤٠﴾
falā 'uqsimu birabbi l-mashāriqi wal-maghāribi 'innā laqādirūn
So I swear by the Lord of [all] risings and settings that indeed We are able
i.e., Allāh (subḥānahu wa taʿālā), who determines the point at which the sun, moon and stars rise and set according to season and every position of observation.
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عَلَىٰٓ أَن نُّبَدِّلَ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَسْبُوقِينَ ﴿٤١﴾
ʿalā 'an nubaddila khayram minhum wamā naḥnu bimasbūqīn
To replace them with better than them; and We are not to be outdone.
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فَذَرْهُمْ يَخُوضُوا۟ وَيَلْعَبُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يُلَـٰقُوا۟ يَوْمَهُمُ ٱلَّذِى يُوعَدُونَ ﴿٤٢﴾
fadharhum yakhūḍū wayalʿabū ḥattā yulāqū yawmahumu lladhī yūʿadūn
So leave them to converse vainly and amuse themselves until they meet their Day which they are promised -
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يَوْمَ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ ٱلْأَجْدَاثِ سِرَاعًا كَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ نُصُبٍ يُوفِضُونَ ﴿٤٣﴾
yawma yakhrujūna mina l-ajdāthi sirāʿan ka'annahum 'ilā nuṣubiy yūfiḍūn
The Day they will emerge from the graves rapidly as if they were, toward an erected idol, hastening.
i.e., just as they used to race, whenever an idol was newly appointed, to be the first of its worshippers.
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خَـٰشِعَةً أَبْصَـٰرُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْيَوْمُ ٱلَّذِى كَانُوا۟ يُوعَدُونَ ﴿٤٤﴾
khāshiʿatan 'abṣāruhum tarhaquhum dhillah | dhālika l-yawmu lladhī kānū yūʿadūn
Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. That is the Day which they had been promised.
In the transliteration, “|”: the reciter stops; “·”: sakt, a brief cut without taking a breath.
Listened to Al-Ma'arij? Now recite it.
Tajweed in Al-Ma'arij, by the numbers
| Rule | Count | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Hamzat al-Wasl | 37 | |
| Madd Tabee'ee | 27 | |
| Madd at a stop | 27 | |
| Qalqalah | 13 | |
| Ghunnah | 12 | |
| Madd Muttasil | 9 | |
| Idgham with Ghunnah | 8 | |
| Ikhfa | 8 | |
| Unpronounced letter | 8 | |
| Lam Shamsiyyah | 7 | |
| Madd Munfasil | 6 | |
| Idgham Shafawi | 3 | |
| Iqlab | 2 | |
| Idgham without Ghunnah | 1 | |
| Ikhfa Shafawi | 1 |
The meaning of Al-Ma'arij, verse by verse
Show the meaning of the 44 verses
- 70:1
A caller from the idolaters called for the punishment upon himself and his people if this punishment was to actually come. It was a mockery on his part, but it will happen on the Day of Judgement.
- 70:2
It will fall upon the disbelievers in Allah. There will be no one to avert this punishment.
- 70:3
From Allah the possessor of highness, ranks, virtues and favours.
- 70:4
The angels and Gabriel will ascend in them ranks on the Day of Judgement: it is a day of which the duration is fifty thousand years.
- 70:5
O Messenger! So be patient; a patience free of worry and complaint.
- 70:6
Indeed, they think of this punishment to be farfetched and impossible.
- 70:7
But I see it as being near and inevitably occurring.
- 70:8
On the day when the sky will be like molten copper, gold and other metals.
- 70:9
And the mountains will be light, like cotton.
- 70:10
No relative will ask another regarding his state, because each person will be preoccupied with his own self.
- 70:11
Each human will see their relatives clearly, yet despite that no one will ask another due to the horror of the scenario. The one deserving of the hellfire will wish to present his children to the punishment instead of himself.
- 70:12
Or give his wife and brother in ransom.
- 70:13
Or his closest relatives who would stand with him in the face of difficulties.
- 70:14
And he will wish to give every human and Jinn on earth in ransom, wishing that it would save him from the punishment of the hellfire.
- 70:15
It will not be as this criminal will wish for. Indeed, it is the fire of the afterlife which blazes and flares up.
- 70:16
Due to its extreme heat and flares, the skin of the head will come clean apart.
- 70:17
It will call out to whoever turned away from the truth, distanced himself from it, did not bring faith in it nor acted upon it.
- 70:18
And whoever amassed wealth, withholding from spending it in the path of Allah.
- 70:19
Indeed, man has been created extremely greedy.
- 70:20
When a difficulty i.e. illness or poverty befalls him, he shows little patience.
- 70:21
And when something that makes him happy comes to him, i.e. fertility and wealth, he is very resistant in spending it in the path of Allah.
- 70:22
Except for those who perform prayer; they are safe from these blameworthy traits.
- 70:23
Those who are punctual with their prayers; they are not distracted from them and they perform them at their fixed times.
- 70:24
And those who have a set, determined amount of their wealth.
- 70:25
Which they give to whoever asks them or doesn’t, but are deprived of sustenance for whatever reason.
- 70:26
And those who believe in the Day of Judgement: the day Allah will requite everyone with whatever they deserve.
- 70:27
And those who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord, despite having sent forth good deeds.
- 70:28
Indeed, no intelligent person feels safe from the punishment of his Lord.
- 70:29
And those who safeguard their private parts by concealing them and keeping them away from shameful acts.
- 70:30
Except from their wives or the servant girls they possess, because they are not blameworthy in enjoying them through sexual intercourse or anything less.
- 70:31
Whoever seeks pleasure in other than whatever has been mentioned i.e. wives and servant girls, they are the ones who have transgressed the limits of Allah.
- 70:32
And those who, when entrusted with wealth, secrets etc., or with agreements they enter into, they uphold them: neither betraying their trusts nor breaking their agreements.
- 70:33
And those who give their testimonies in the manner sought from them, without being affected by relationships or enmity.
- 70:34
And those who are punctual in their prayers by performing them at their appropriate times, with due purity and composure, whilst not being distracted from them by anything.
- 70:35
Those possessing the aforementioned qualities will be honoured in gardens, attaining everlasting favours and being able to see the blessed Face of Allah.
- 70:36
O Messenger! What is it that has led these idolaters around you to reject you so quickly?
- 70:37
Surrounding you from your right and left, in groups upon groups.
- 70:38
Do each of them hope that Allah will enter them into the garden of favours, wherein they shall live in luxury among the everlasting bounties, while they remain on their disbelief?
- 70:39
It is not as they imagine. Indeed, I created them from what they know: I created them from a contemptible fluid, and they are weak: they are incapable of bringing benefit or harm for themselves, so how could they be arrogant?
- 70:40
Allah takes an oath on the Lord of the rising places of the sun and the moon. Indeed, Allah is the Capable.
- 70:41
He is capable of destroying them and replacing them with others who obey Him; He is not incapable of doing so. Nor can He be overpowered when He intends to destroy them and replace them.
- 70:42
O Messenger! So leave them to dive into the falsehood and deviance they are already in, and to amuse themselves in their worldly lives, until they encounter the Day of Judgement that they have been promised in the Qur’ān.
- 70:43
On the day when they shall leave their graves in a hurry, as if they are racing towards a banner.
- 70:44
Their eyes will be humiliated, and humiliation will envelop them. That is the day they were promised in the world, but they did not care about it.
Frequently asked questions
How many verses are in Surah Al-Ma'arij?
44 verses and 217 words. It starts in juz 29 and covers pages 568 to 570 of the Madani Mushaf.
Is Al-Ma'arij Meccan or Medinan?
Meccan, according to the classification of the Madani Mushaf. In the order of revelation, it comes 79th.
How long does it take to listen to Al-Ma'arij?
5 min 42 s with al-Husary's teaching recitation (al-Mushaf al-Mu'allim), which is slower than a usual recitation.
Which tajweed rules are in Al-Ma'arij?
169 rules are color-coded on this page. The most frequent in Al-Ma'arij: Hamzat al-Wasl (37), Madd Tabee'ee (27) and Madd at a stop (27).
How can I practice reciting Surah Al-Ma'arij and get corrected?
Recite Surah Al-Ma'arij out loud in the Tilawa app, on iPhone or Android: it follows every word of Al-Ma'arij, then shows you the words and tajweed rules to work on, with the correct recitation to replay.
Keep reading
In juz 29
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