1. As to the opening words of the Surah, sa'ala sa'il, some commentators of the Qur'an take these in the sense of asking a question. For them, the thrust of the verse is that someone asked the question about the promised divine punishment, as to who it will befall. To this, God replies that His chastisement will befall the disbelievers. However, most of the commentators construe the question in the sense of the disbelievers' throwing a challenge about divine punishment. Nasa'i and other ḥadīth scholars have cited the following report narrated by 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbās. Ḥākim bears out the authenticity of this report. Naḍr ibn Harith Kaladah had demanded: "O God! If this indeed be the Truth from You, then rain down stones upon us from heavens, or bring upon us a painful chastisement." (Surah al-Anfäl 8: 32) [Tafsir of al-Tabarï, 11, 144-145 and Tafsir of Ibn Kathir, 4, 48] At several other places, the Qur'an has recounted this challenge thrown by the Makkan disbelievers, that they asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to bring upon them the chastisement which he used to warn them of (For further details see Surah Yūnus 10: 46-48; Surah al-Anbiya' 21: 36-41; Surah al-Naml 27: 67-72; Surah Saba' 34: 26-30; Surah Ya Sin 36: 45-52 and Surah al-Mulk 67: 24-27).

2. Ma'arij is the plural of mi'raj which means the ascending steps or a staircase. That Allah is the Lord of the ascending steps underscores His exalted glory, for even the angels have to ascend considerably to gain access to Him, a point elaborated in verse 4 of this Surah.

3. The word ruḥ (the spirit) denetes here Gabriel who is mentioned independently from the angels on account of his high position. Other Qur'anic descriptions of Gabriel are as follows: "Indeed this is a revelation from the Lord of the universe which the truthful spirit has carried down to your heart." (Surah al-Shu'ara' 26: 192-194), and "Say: 'Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel (should know that) he revealed this (Qur'an) to your heart by Allah's leave."" (Surah al-Baqarah 2: 97). On studying the above, it is clear that the spirit here stands for the archangel Gabriel.

4. By the nature of things, any statement about ascension to God belongs to the category of ambiguous Qur'ānic statements (mutashābihāt) whose meaning cannot be determined precisely. To take this particular case, it is evident that we do not fully know the reality of the angels, nor their nature of ascent to God. Nor can our minds comprehend what "the ascending steps" are like. Similarly, we cannot even imagine that God lives (literally) in a particular place, for the Supreme Being transcends all limitations of time and space.

5. Verse 47 of Surah al-Hajj proclaims: "They ask you to hasten the punishment. Allah shall most certainly not fail His promise; but a day with your Lord is as a thousand years of your reckoning." Likewise, it is stated in verse 5 of Sürah al-Sajdah: "God governs from the Heaven to the earth and then the record (of this governance) goes up to Him in a day whose measure is a thousand years in your reckoning." But in the verse under study, in response to a disbeliever's challenging demand that God's chastisement visit them, one day of God's reckoning is stated to measure fifty thousand years. In order to grasp the two statements, it is necessary that we relinquish our own restricted scales of measurement when we speak of time with reference to God. When we speak of a hundred or even fifty years with reference to human beings, that is a fairly long time span. But when we speak of time durations with reference to God, each chunk of time consists of a thousand or fifty thousand years; and even these figures are for purposes of illustration only. Divine plans span over thousands of years. Some of the plans related to this universe and galaxies may extend over millions or billions of years. One of the important divine plans is the creation of the human species on the earth with a particular time duration for their existence in the world. It is not in man's knowledge when this plan commenced, how much of its duration has already been covered, and when this will come to an end, which will mark the Resurrection. Likewise, man has no clue about the date when the grand assembly will be held in which all human beings born from the beginning until the Last Day will be gathered. They will stand before God and will be called to render their account. We are aware of only that part of this divine scheme of things which are passing before our eyes or that for which we have some historical record of in the past. It is simply beyond man's sense of understanding to grasp this divine scheme of things. Nor can we fathom the numerous considerations behind this divine plan. So, those who demand that this long term plan be abruptly abandoned and its last stage be hastened, they betray their own foolishness. More absurd is their stance, that if their demand is not met, it proves the falsity of any divine plan. (For further details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. VI Surah al-Hajj 22: nn. 92-93, pp. 48-49 and vol. VIII, Surah al-Sajdah 32: n. 9, p. 162.)

6. That is, he should exercise the kind of perseverance that befits a dignified and gracious person.

7. It is open to two meanings: (i) While the disbelievers regard the Resurrection as improbable, in God's scheme it is near at hand. (ii) Whereas people take it as a far-off distant happening, for God it is close at hand and can occur at any moment.

8. Some of the commentators of the Qur'an take this day to be the one mentioned in verse 4, of which the duration is fifty thousand years. In other words, the reference is to the Day of Resurrection. However, the Musnad of Imam Ahmad (3, 175) and Tafsir of Ibn Jarir (23, 253-254) contain the following report narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: "As this verse was discussed with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and amazement was expressed that it would be an exceptionally long day. Upon this the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'By Him Who has my life in His hand, for the believers it will be quite light. It will take them only as much time as is required for offering obligatory prayer."" Had this report been supported by an authentic chain, it would have served as the best elucidation of the verse under discussion. However, its two narrators - Darrāj and his teacher, Abu al-Haytham, are reckoned weak in the chain.

9. That is, the sky will constantly change its colour.

10. As mountains are of various hues and colours, when these will be uprooted on the Day of Resurrection, they will look like dyed tufts of wool, flying in the air.

11. Although these culprits shall be within the sight of each other and witness one another's plight in the grand assembly, each one of them will be so overwhelmed with his own misery that he will not care even about his bosom friend.

12. As in verses 33-34 of Surah al-Haqqah, this verse too identifies the following two factors for his terrible loss in the Hereafter: (i) his rejection of truth and his refusal to accept faith, and (ii) his worldliness and miserliness which prompted him to amass and hoard wealth, and also dissuaded him from spending his wealth on any good cause.

13. Although the verse affirms that man is impatient by nature, the Qur'an elsewhere exempts the believers and those who follow the straight way from such misconduct. This point is elaborated further in the proceeding verse. In other words, these innate human weaknesses are alterable. If one abides by divine guidance and mends his ways, he can overcome these natural predispositions. Conversely, if he lets his base- self act in an unbridled way, he is liable to entangle with more sinful acts. (For further details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. V, Sürah al-Anbiya' 21: n. 41, p. 267; Surah al-Zumar 39: nn. 23 and 28 and Sūrah al-Shūrā 42: n. 75.)

14. One's offering prayer underscores his conviction in God, His Messenger, His Book, and his striving to act in accordance with his faith.

15. No laziness, laxity, preoccupation, or interest stops them from offering prayer punctually. When it is time for prayer, they abandon their preoccupations and promptly stand before God to worship Him. That "they are constant in prayer" is interpreted by 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir in the sense that they offer prayers with full poise and total devotion. While performing prayers, they are not after fulfilling their obligation half-heartedly or in a hurry. Nor are they distracted by irrelevant things. Their condition during prayer is akin to the Arabic idiom of "still waters".

16. Verse 19 of Surah al-Dhariyāt affirms: "In their wealth there is a rightful share for him who would ask and for the destitute." The present verses declare: "In their wealth there is a known right for those who ask and those who are dispossessed." Some construe "the known right" (haqqun ma'lum) as obligatory Zakah whose niṣāb and rate have been fixed.

However, this view is unacceptable, because Surah al-Ma'arij was revealed, according to the consensus view, in Makkah, whereas Zakah as a religious duty, with its fixed quantum and rate, was promulgated in Madinah. "The known right" therefore stands for a specific share they have fixed for the poor out of their wealth, and pay it as a right which they owe to the poor. This is the stance of 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, Mujahid, Sha'bī and Ibrāhīm al-Nakha'i.

'As to "those who ask" (sa'il), the reference is not to the professional beg- gars. Rather, it denotes a genuinely needy person who asks for help. As to "those who are dispossessed" (maḥrum), the reference is to the unemployed, or those who struggle to earn a living but cannot meet their ends, or those who are physically disabled because of a mishap or calamity and so are unable to earn anything. Once a God-conscious person learns about their condition, he does not wait for them to approach him for help. Rather, he helps them of his own volition. (For detail see Surah al-Dhariyāt 51: n. 17.)

17. They do not regard themselves totally independent and unaccountable for all that they do in this life. On the contrary, they are always conscious of their answerability to God on the Day of Judgement.

18. They are not like the disbelievers who indulge in all sorts of sins, crimes, and wrongdoing without any fear of God. Rather, despite conforming to the code in morality and deed, they always fear God, apprehending that their shortcomings may exceed their good deeds in God's court, incurring divine punishment on them. (For details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. VI, Surah al-Mu'minun 23, n. 54, pp. 108-109; Surah al-Dhāriyāt 51: n. 19.)

19. That "they guard their private parts" signifies their shunning sex outside of marriage, indecency, and nudity. (For details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. VI, Sūrah al-Mu'minūn 23: n. 6, p. 81; Surah al-Nur 24: nn. 30 and 32, pp. 226 and 228-229 and vol. IX, Surah al-Ahzab 33: n. 62, p. 59.)

20. For details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. VI, Sürah al-Mu'minun 23: n. 7, pp. 81-85.

21. "Trust" includes both kinds of trusts which God and fellow human beings repose in somebody. Likewise, "covenants" embrace both the types of pledges which one makes to God and to fellow human beings. Fulfilling these trusts and covenants is an essential trait of a believer. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) relates in a ḥadīth that "whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) addressed us, he used to remind us: 'Beware! One who does not keep his trust has no faith and one who does not fulfil his pledges has no religion."" (Bayhaqi Fi Shu'ab al-Ïmān)

22. They do not conceal or tamper with testimony.

23. This highlights the importance of prayer. The account of a believer with excellent conduct, who is declared worthy of Paradise, begins and ends with their outstanding trait of offering prayers. Their first and foremost characteristic is their devotion to prayer. Their regularity in offering prayer and their keenness on performing it at its appointed time are their other striking features. As to "their taking due care of their prayer", it includes the following: performing it at its prescribed time, ensuring the cleanliness of the body and clothes before commencing the prayer, performing wuḍū' (ablution) and washing the body parts thoroughly during ablution, paying due attention to all the components, both obligatory and desirable, observing all the norms related to prayer, and not bringing their prayers to a nought by disobeying God.

24. This refers to those disbelievers who, whenever they heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) reciting the Qur'an or saw him inviting people to embrace his teachings, rushed towards him, subjecting him to ridicule and banter.

25. God's Paradise is exclusively for such servants of God whose traits are described in the above Qur'anic passage. Those who are not even willing to listen to the call to truth and who exert themselves in stifling this call cannot enter Paradise. God has not made Paradise for such people. For a better understanding of these verses, they should be studied together with verses 34-41 of Surah al-Qalam, which contain a rejoinder to the Makkan disbelievers. The absurd notion of theirs is refuted, that even if there is any Life after Death, they will enjoy it in the Hereafter, and that those who believe in the Prophet (peace be upon him) will have a miserable life, similar to what they had been experiencing in Makkah.

26. This verse is open to two meanings. On studying it, in conjunction with the preceding verses, it may mean that it is true that all men are alike in that all of them have been created from the same substance. Were this to be taken as the criterion for admission to Paradise, everyone, be they pious or evil, just or unjust, criminals or innocent, should enter Paradise. However, common sense tells us that one's good conduct alone, and nothing else, will decide whether he is eligible or not eligible for entering Paradise. On reading this verse, together with the subsequent verses, it may be taken as a warning to the disbelievers who regard themselves immune from the divine punishment and who laugh at the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he warns them about God's chastisement. Indeed, God is capable of punishing the disbelievers whenever He wills. He may resurrect them at His will at any time. They recognise that God has created them out of a small drop of sperm and allowed them to mature into adulthood with the power of moving around. Had they reflected on how they have been created, they would not have suffered from the delusion that they can ever escape God's grip or that He has no power to create them again.

27. i.e., what the disbelievers think is not the truth.

28. God has taken an oath here with reference to His own being. The words "easts" and "wests" are used in the plural with good reason. Each day of the year, the angle of the rising and setting of the sun varies. Furthermore, the angles at which it rises and sets in different parts of the earth also vary. In this sense, there is not one but many easts; there is not one but many wests. It is worth noting that in verse 28 of Surah al-Shua'ara' and verse 19 of Surah al-Muzzammil, God is spoken of as the Lord of the east and the west. For, like north and south, there are two opposing directions of east and west. In another sense, however, there are two easts and two wests. For as the sun sets in one hemisphere of the Earth, it rises in the other. Accordingly, in verse 17 of Surah al-Raḥmān, God is designated as the Lord of the two easts and two wests. (For further details see Surah al-Raḥmän 55: n. 17.)

29. This is the truth affirmed with reference to the oath invoking God as the Lord of the easts and the wests, He therefore exercises His absolute control over the earth. It is not possible at all for man to flee from His grip. He may destroy man at His will and may replace mankind with other beings who would be better than they are.

30. The commentators of the Qur'an have given various explanations for the Qur'ānic expression nuşub. Some take it to mean deities in the sense that the disbelievers will rush to the designated place on the Day of Judgement, the way they rush today to the altars of their deities. Others however, take it as a mark signifying the end point of a race. All those racing try their best to reach that mark first.