The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Cloaked one, 1 Arise and deliver thy warning! 2 Proclaim the glory of your Lord; 3 And keep your clothes clean. 4 shun uncleanness; 5 And give not a thing in order to have more (or consider not your deeds of Allah's obedience as a favour to Allah). 6 And persevere in the way of your Lord. 7 For when the trumpet blows 8 that very Day shall be a day of anguish, 9 Far from easy for those without Faith. 10 Leave Me (to deal) with him whom I created lonely, 11 and whom I have granted abundant wealth 12 And sons dwelling in his presence, 13 and for whom I have smoothed the way (to power and riches), 14 And yet he desires that I should add more! 15 Never. He is refractory of Our signs. 16 Anon I shall afflict him with a fearful woe. 17 He reflected, and then determined 18 May he be condemned! 19 Let him be destroyed. How he calculated! 20 Then he looked, 21 Then he frowned and he looked in a bad tempered way; 22 Then turned he back, and grew stiff-necked. 23 Then he said: naught is this but magic from of old; 24 “This is nothing but the speech of a man.” 25 Soon I will cast him into hell. 26 And what do you know what Hell is? 27 It does not allow anyone to live, and neither does it leave anyone to die; 28 scorching the flesh; 29 Above it are nineteen guards. 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