The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
O YOU ENFOLDED in your mantle (of reform), 1 Arise, and warn, 2 And thy Lord do thou magnify! 3 And thy garments keep free from stain! 4 shun uncleanness; 5 Give not, thinking to gain greater 6 And be patient for the sake of your Lord (i.e. perform your duty to Allah)! 7 And [warn all men that] when the trumpet-call [of resurrection] is sounded, 8 that Day will be a hard and distressing Day. 9 not of ease, for all who [now] deny the truth! 10 Leave Me alone with he whom I created 11 And gave him abundant wealth 12 and sons to be by his side, 13 and whom I have provided with every resource, 14 and who still desires more. 15 Nay, verily, it is against Our messages that he knowingly, stubbornly sets himself 16 I will make a distressing punishment overtake him. 17 He planned and plotted. 18 (Self-)destroyed is he, how he planned! 19 And again perish he! How maliciously he devised! 20 Then he looked round; 21 and then he frowns and glares, 22 Then he turned back and was proud; 23 And said, “This is nothing but magic learnt from earlier men.” 24 'this is nothing but mortal speech.' 25 Soon I will cast him into hell. 26 And what will make you realize what hell is? 27 It does not allow to live, and neither leaves [to die,] 28 It strips away the hide of man. 29 Over it are Nineteen. 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