The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
O thou shrouded in thy mantle, 1 arise, and warn! 2 and magnify the glory of your Lord, 3 And keep your clothes clean. 4 shun uncleanness; 5 And do not confer favor to acquire more 6 And be patient for the sake of your Lord (i.e. perform your duty to Allah)! 7 When the Trumpet shall be sounded, 8 That will be- that Day - a Day of Distress,- 9 Dolorous for the unbelievers. 10 Leave him to Me whom I created alone, 11 And for whom I appointed wealth extended. 12 and sons ever present with him, 13 and to whose life I gave so wide a scope: 14 and yet, he greedily desires that I give him even more! 15 By no means; he is stubbornly opposed to Our Signs. 16 [and so] I shall constrain him to endure a painful uphill climb! 17 Behold, [when Our messages are conveyed to one who is bent on denying the truth,] he reflects and meditates [as to how to disprove them] 18 and thus he destroys himself, the way he meditates: 19 Again, death seize him, how he determined! 20 He looked (at others); 21 Then he frowned and scowled; 22 Then he turned away, and was haughty. 23 and says, "All this is mere spellbinding eloquence handed down [from olden times]! 24 This is nothing but the word of mortal man!" 25 Soon I will cast him into hell. 26 And what knoweth thou that which the Scorching Fire? 27 It does not allow anyone to live, and neither does it leave anyone to die; 28 Burning the skins! 29 Over it are nineteen (angels guarding). 30 We have appointed none but angels as the keepers of the Fire, and We have not made their number but as a trial for the unbelievers so that those who have been endowed with the Book will be convinced and the believers' faith will increase, and neither those who have been endowed with the Book nor the believers will fall into any doubt. As for those in whose hearts there is a sickness as well as the unbelievers, they will say: “What did Allah aim at by this strange parable?” Thus does Allah let whomsoever He pleases to go astray, and directs whomsoever He pleases to the Right Way. And none knows the hosts of your Lord but He. (And Hell has only been mentioned here) that people may take heed. 31