A Meccan sura that condemns the greedy backbiter and gives a description of Hell.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1 Woe to every fault-finding backbiter [a] 2 who amasses riches, counting them over, 3 thinking they will make him live for ever. 4 No indeed! He will be thrust into the Crusher! 5 What will explain to you what the Crusher is? 6 It is God’s Fire, made to blaze, 7 which rises over people’s hearts. 8 It closes in on them 9 in towering columns. [b]
Footnotes
a. Said to refer either to al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq or to al-Walid ibn al-Mughira (cf. note to 74: 11).
b. Cf. 77: 30–3.
The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)
The Qur'an / a new translation by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, copyright © 2004 Oxford World's Classics (Oxford University Press). Used by permission. All rights reserved.