The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Cloaked one, 1 Arise, and warn. 2 Thy Lord magnify, 3 And thine inner self purify! 4 Pollution shun! 5 and do not think that by doing such deeds, you have done a great favor to God. 6 And persevere in the way of your Lord. 7 And when the trumpet is blown, 8 Surely that day will be a day of anguish, 9 and it will not be easy for the unbelievers. 10 Leave to Me the one, whom I have created all by Myself, 11 And gave him abundant wealth 12 and sons to be by his side, 13 And I adjusted affairs for him adjustably; 14 Yet he desires that I should give more. 15 By no means! Verily he hath been unto Our signs a foe. 16 I will constrain him to a hard ascent. 17 Verily, he thought and plotted; 18 Perish he! How maliciously he devised! 19 Again, may he be cursed how he plotted; 20 Then he considered [again]; 21 and then he frowns and glares, 22 Then he turned back and was big with pride, 23 and says, "All this is mere spellbinding eloquence handed down [from olden times]! 24 "This is nothing but the word of a human being!" 25 I will cast him into Hell-fire 26 And what will explain to thee what Hell-Fire is? 27 It does not allow anyone to live, and neither does it leave anyone to die; 28 making [all truth] visible to mortal man. 29 Over it are nineteen (guards). 30 We have made only angels as the keepers of the fire (for they are the strongest in carrying out Our commands). Our informing (people) of the numbers of these angels is a trial for the disbelievers. It gives more certainty to the people of the Book and strengthens the faith of the believers. The people of the Book and the believers have no doubt about it. We have fixed the number to make the disbelievers and those whose hearts are sick say, "What does God mean by such a parable?" Thus, God guides and causes to go astray whomever He wants. No one knows about the army of your Lord except He Himself. This parable is a reminder for mankind. 31