IZQ

070

The
Stairways

By the Name

God

the Fount-of-All-Mercy
the Ever-Merciful

a questioner asked about
a punishment that will fall

on those who are
ungrateful

which no-one
can turn aside

from God
the Liege of the Stairways

to Hu

the Angels
and the Spirit
climb up in a day

the length of which
is fifty thousand years

so be patient
with a sweet patience

they see it as a long way off

but We see it as close

on the day when heaven
will be like molten brass

and the mountains
will be like tufts of wool

no good friend
will ask about their friend

even though
they can see each other

those who do evil
will wish that they
could ransom themselves
from the punishment
of that day

even by means of
their children

their partners
or their siblings

or their family
who sheltered them

or whoever is in the earth
all together

if it meant they could
save themselves

no

it is a furnace

that strips away the skin

calling those who drew back
and turned away

who gathered up wealth
and saved it for themselves

surely humans
were created full of worry

when bad things
happen to them

they are desperate

when good things
happen to them

they keep it to themselves

except those
who make Sala

those who are constant
in their Sala

those who know
that from their wealth
they owe a share

to the beggar
and the outcast

who recognise the coming
of that day

and fear the punishment
of their Liege

and from the punishment
of their Liege
no-one can feel safe

and they guard
their private parts

except from their partners
and those they own

as that carries no blame

but for those who look for
more than that

they have gone
beyond the limits

and those who keep
their trusts and their promises

and stand by their witnessing

and who keep safe their Sala

those shall be in gardens
highly honoured

what is wrong with
those who are ungrateful

running about before you
with outstretched necks
and staring eyes

on the right
and on the left
in crowds

are all of them eager
to be allowed into
a Garden of Delight?

certainly not

We have created them
from what they know

no

I swear by the Liege
of the easts and the wests

surely We have the power

to replace them
with better than them

nothing can stop Us

so leave them alone
to gossip and play

until they meet
that day of theirs
which they are promised

the day when
they will come rushing out
from their graves

as if they are hurrying
to get somewhere

their eyes cast down

covered in shame

that is the day
they are promised

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