Al-Maʻārij (, “The Ascending Stairways”) is the seventieth chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an, with 44 verses (āyāt). The Surah takes its name from the word dhil Ma'arij in the third ayah. The word appears twice in the Quran. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, an Indian Islamic scholar, introduces the surah as “... another Islamic eschatology Surah closely connected in subject matter with the last one. Patience and the mystery of Time will show the ways that climb the Heaven. Sin and Goodness must each eventually come to its own.” Summary 1 A man demanded that the day of judgment might come at once 2-4 The day, whose space is fifty thousand years, will surely come 5-14 Muhammad to bear the insults of the infidels patiently, because judgment is near 12-18 Riches, children, and friends will not save the wicked from hell 19-24 The wicked are niggardly in health, but full of complaint when evil befalleth 25-35 The character of true believers described 36-41 Unbelievers need entertain no hope they shall escape destruction 42-45 Muhammad counselled to permit the unbelieving Makkans to sport themselves, because their damnation is nigh Probable date of revelation Regarding the period of revelation of this surah, first one notes that this surah is Meccan. This defines the period of revelation of this surah before 622 AD, the year of Hijra (Islam). In his translation of the Qur'an, one of the most widely known and used in the English-speaking world, Abdullah Yusuf Ali says “Chronologically it belongs to the late early middle Makkan period, possibly soon after Surah 69.” Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi in his Tafsir work Tafhim al-Qur'an writes: “The subject matter bears evidence that this Surah too was sent down in conditions closely resembling those under which Surah Al Haaqqah was sent down”. And records a tradition by Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal when Umar ibn Khattab told that he heard Muhammad reciting sura Al-Haaqqa Masjid al-Haram. Umar ibn Khattab accepted Islam in 616 AD so the surah Al-Ma'arij thus appears to reveal before 616 AD. Israr Ahmed, a Pakistani Islamic theologian, philosopher, and noted Islamic scholar, also holds the opinion that this surah was revealed in the 5th or 6th year of revelation and cites Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and Abdul-Qadir Gilani in reference. Theodor Nöldeke places this chapter immediately after chapters lvi. and liii., probably because of the allusion of the first verse of this chapter to