The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
O THOU [in thy solitude] enfolded! 1 Arise and deliver thy warning! 2 Proclaim the glory of your Lord; 3 And thy garments keep free from stain! 4 And all abomination shun! 5 Do not give, thinking to gain greater 6 And for the sake of your Lord, be patient. 7 And when the trumpet is blown, 8 that day will be a harsh day, 9 Far from easy for those without Faith. 10 Leave Me alone with he whom I created 11 And give him vast riches, 12 And sons dwelling in his presence, 13 And made things easy for them. 14 and who still greedily desires that I should bestow upon him more. 15 No! Indeed, he has been toward Our verses obstinate. 16 I shall oblige him to (climb a slippery mountain in the Hell-fire called As-Sa'ud, or to) face a severe torment! 17 He planned and plotted. 18 and thus he destroys himself, the way he meditates: 19 Yea, Woe to him; How he plotted!- 20 and then he looks [around for new arguments,] 21 Then he frowned and scowled, 22 Then he turned back and was big with pride, 23 Then said he: "This is nothing but magic, derived from of old; 24 It is nothing but the word of a mortal' 25 I will cast him into Hell-fire 26 What could make you conceive what hell-fire is? 27 Naught doth it permit to endure, and naught doth it leave alone!- 28 Blackening the skins. 29 and it has nineteen angelic keepers. 30 We have not appointed the guards of hell, except angels; and did not keep this number except to test the disbelievers – in order that the People given the Book(s) may be convinced, and to increase the faith of the believers – and so that the People given the Book(s) and the Muslims may not have any doubt – and so that those in whose hearts is a disease and the disbelievers, may say, “What does Allah mean by this amazing example?” This is how Allah sends astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills; and no one knows the armies of Allah except Him; and this is not but an advice to man. 31