THE WORD OF GOD
From The Scriptures
The Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between CE 610 and 632. It is a book that brings glad tidings to humankind, along with divine admonition, and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and intellectual level.
Translated from Arabic and commentary by
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
THE ASCENDING STAIRWAYS
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
A doubter once demanded that punishment be immediately meted out, to those who deny the truth. No power can hinder God from punishing them. He is the Lord of the Ascending Stairways, by which the angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him in one Day which will last for fifty thousand years. Therefore, [O believers] behave with seemly patience. They see it [the Day of Judgement] to be far off, but We see it near at hand. On that Day the heavens shall become like molten brass, and the mountains will become like tufts of wool, and no friend will ask about his friend, though they shall be within sight of each other. The guilty one will gladly ransom himself from the torment of that Day by sacrificing his own children, his wife, his brother, and his kinsfolk who gave him shelter, and all the people of the earth, if that could deliver him. (70: 1-14)
The scenes of Doomsday cannot either be revealed in reality or truly described in the present world. However, in the Quran, these have been allegorically conveyed by allusions and examples, so that man should have a brief idea of their significance. When Doomsday arrives, it will be so terrible that man will forget his relations and the interests to which he gives the utmost importance today and for which he ignores the Truth.
But no! There is a raging blaze stripping away his skin, and it will claim all those who turned their backs [on the true faith] and turned away [from the truth], and amassed wealth and hoarded it. Indeed, man is born impatient: when misfortune touches him he starts lamenting, and whenever good fortune comes to him, he grows niggardly. But not so the worshippers who are steadfast in prayer; those who give a due share of their wealth to those who ask [for help] and to the destitute; and those who believe in the Day of Judgement and are fearful of the punishment of their Lord; for none may ever feel secure from the punishment of their Lord; those who preserve their chastity except from their spouses and those whom they rightfully possess [through wedlock], for which they incur no blame but those who go beyond that limit are transgressors; and those who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges; and those who stand by their testimony and are steadfast in their prayers. They will be honoured in the Gardens of Bliss. (70: 15-35)
These verses give a brief description of the qualities of two types of human beings: those who will be treated as entitled to enter Paradise and those whose deeds will cause them to be thrown into Hell on Doomsday.