The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
O thou wrapped up (in the mantle)! 1 Arise and warn, 2 Glorify your Lord, 3 Thy raiment purify, 4 And uncleanliness avoid 5 do not bestow a favour in the expectation of receiving more in return; 6 be patient unto your Lord. 7 For when the trumpet shall sound, 8 That Day will be a difficult day 9 For the disbelievers - not easy. 10 Leave to Me the one, whom I have created all by Myself, 11 And give him vast riches, 12 and sons standing before him, 13 And made several preparations for him. 14 Then he desires that I should add more. 15 Never. He is refractory of Our signs. 16 I shall force him to endure a painful uphill climb! 17 For he thought and he plotted;- 18 death seized him, how was his determining! 19 May be then be accursed, how he plotted! 20 Then he thought; 21 Then he frowned and scowled; 22 and he turned his back and behaved arrogantly 23 and said: “This (Qur'an) is merely a sorcery of yore; 24 'this is nothing but mortal speech.' 25 I will cast him into Hell-fire 26 What do you think Hell-fire is? 27 It does not allow to live, and neither leaves [to die,] 28 Blackening the skins. 29 Over it are nineteen (angels guarding). 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