َ إِنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَهُ بَعِيدًا ﴿۶﴾ وَنَرَاهُ قَرِيبًا ﴿۷﴾ يَوْمَ تَكُونُ السَّمَاءُ كَالْمُهْلِ ﴿۸﴾ وَتَكُونُ الْجِبَالُ كَالْعِهْنِ ﴿۹﴾ وَلَا يَسْأَلُ حَمِيمٌ حَمِيمًا ﴿۱۰﴾ يُبَصَّرُونَهُمْ يَوَدُّ الْمُجْرِمُ لَوْ يَفْتَدِي مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِئِذٍ بِبَنِيهِ ﴿۱۱﴾ وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَأَخِيهِ ﴿۱۲﴾ وَفَصِيلَتِهِ الَّتِي تُؤْوِيهِ ﴿۱۳﴾ وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ يُنْجِيهِ ﴿۱۴﴾

﴾6﴿ Inaahum yarawnahoo ba'eedaa
﴾7﴿ Wa naraahu qareebaa
﴾8﴿ Yawma takoonus samaaa'u kalmuhl
﴾9﴿ Wa takoonul jibaalu kal'ihn
﴾10﴿ Wa laa yas'alu hameemun hameemaa
﴾11﴿ Yubassaroonahum; ya waddul mujrimu law yaftadee min 'azaabi yawma'izim bibaneeh
﴾12﴿ Wa saahibatihee wa akheeh
﴾13﴿ Wa faseelathil latee tu'weeh
﴾14﴿ Wa man fil ardi jamee'an summa yunjeeh

﴾6﴿ Indeed, they see it as far off
﴾7﴿ But We see it as near
﴾8﴿ On the Day when the sky will become like molten copper
﴾9﴿ And the mountains will become like colored wool
﴾10﴿ And a friend cannot question another friend
﴾11﴿ They will be shown each other. The guilty one will wish to ransom himself from the punishment of that Day by his own sons
﴾12﴿ And his wife and his brother
﴾13﴿ And his family who sheltered him
﴾14﴿ And whoever is on the earth, all of them—so that it might save him

[6,7] (بَعِيدًا) – Refers to something considered far from reason—meaning they deny the Resurrection, viewing it as irrational or impossible.
(قَرِيبٌ) – Refers either to what is rationally acceptable or close in time, because anything that is destined to happen is, by nature, near.
[8,9,10] (السَّمَاءُ) – Refers to all the heavens.
(كَالْمُهْلِ) – Like boiling tar, melted copper, or the discharge from wounds such as blood and pus. Similar descriptions appear in Surah Al-Kahf (18:29) and Surah Ad-Dukhān (44:45).
(كَالْعِهْنِ) – Colored wool, containing many shades. The mountains also contain varied colors, and at that time of destruction, they will become like multi-colored wool.
(وَلَا يَسْأَلُ حَمِيمٌ حَمِيمًا) – Meaning: every person will be consumed with their own state, having no time or concern to ask about others. Even close friendships will be severed, as mentioned in Surah Az-Zukhruf (43:67), Surah Al-Mu’minūn (23:101), and Surah ‘Abasa (80:37).
[11] (يُبَصَّرُونَهُمْ) – Meaning: these close companions will see one another, yet will not be able to ask or care about each other.
(لَوْ يَفْتَدِي) – Refers to a person trying to ransom himself from punishment by offering something in exchange for salvation.
When someone is desperate for rescue, he begins by offering his sons, because they are the dearest and closest to him.
Thus, he continues to offer in order of most beloved and most valuable—from the closest and most honored to those further and less dear.
[12,13,14] By natural instinct, a person finds it shameful to offer his wife as ransom, but the severity of the Day of Judgment will be so overwhelming that he will even offer his wife as a ransom.
(وَأَخِيهِ) – A brother is typically a source of support in times of hardship, yet he too will be offered.
(وَفَصِيلَتِهِ) – Originally refers to a separated part of the body, and here it means one’s closest clan or, according to some, one’s mother.
(وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ) – This includes tribes, friends, and all people on earth—everyone he might offer to save himself.