The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Cloaked one, 1 Arise and warn! 2 And thy Lord do thou magnify! 3 thy robes purify 4 And banish all trepidation. 5 And do not confer favor to acquire more 6 And persevere in the way of your Lord. 7 When the Horn is blown, 8 That will be- that Day - a Day of Distress,- 9 Far from easy for those without Faith. 10 Let Me alone with him whom I created lonely. 11 and designated for him ample wealth, 12 And sons dwelling in his presence, 13 And made several preparations for him. 14 yet he is eager that I increase him. 15 By no means! For to Our Signs he has been refractory! 16 I shall inflict on him hardship, 17 Verily, he thought and plotted; 18 and woe to him; how he plotted! 19 And again perish he! How maliciously he devised! 20 and then he looks [around for new arguments,] 21 And frowned and puckered his brow, 22 Then he turned back and was arrogant 23 and said: “This (Qur'an) is merely a sorcery of yore; 24 It is nothing but the word of a mortal' 25 I will cast him into hell. 26 What could make you conceive what hell-fire is? 27 It spares not, neither leaves alone 28 it scorches (even) the skin. 29 and it has nineteen angelic keepers. 30 We have appointed only angels to be wardens of the Fire. We have specified their number only as a trial for those who are bent on denying the truth, so that those who were given the Book might gain in certainty, and those who believe might increase in faith -- and so that neither those who have been given the Scripture nor the believers might have any doubts, and that those sick at heart and those who deny the truth might ask, "What does God mean by this parable?" In this way, God lets go astray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. And none knows the forces of your Lord but He. This is but a Reminder for man. 31