The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
O you enveloped in your cloak! 1 Arise and warn! 2 Proclaim the glory of your Lord; 3 and purify your clothing, 4 And all defilement shun! 5 do not bestow a favour in the expectation of receiving more in return; 6 and persevere for your Lord's sake. 7 And when the trumpet is blown, 8 that Day will be a hard and distressing Day. 9 for the unbelievers not easy. 10 Leave Me alone, (to deal) with the (creature) whom I created (bare and) alone!- 11 To whom I granted resources in abundance, 12 and children as [love's] witnesses, 13 I made things smooth and easy for him, 14 Yet he desires that I should give more. 15 Never. He is refractory of Our signs. 16 I shall force him to endure a painful uphill climb! 17 For he had thought and calculated. 18 And woe to him! How he plotted!- 19 May be then be accursed, how he plotted! 20 Then he looked around, 21 then he frowned, and scowled, 22 then turned back, and swelling-up with pride, 23 and said: 'This is no more than traced sorcery; 24 It is nothing but the word of a mortal' 25 [Hence,] I shall cause him to endure hell-fire [in the life to come]! 26 And what knoweth thou that which the Scorching Fire? 27 It leaves and spares no one and nothing. 28 and it burns the flesh. 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