The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
O thou shrouded in thy mantle, 1 Arise and warn, 2 And your Lord (Allah) magnify! 3 And thine raiment purify. 4 And uncleanness do shun, 5 Do not bestow favours in expectation of return, 6 For the sake of thy Lord, be patient! 7 And when the trumpet is blown, 8 That, at that time, shall be a difficult day, 9 not of ease, for all who [now] deny the truth! 10 Leave Me alone with he whom I created 11 To whom I granted resources in abundance, 12 and sons to be by his side, 13 And for whom I smoothed everything. 14 Yet is he greedy-that I should add (yet more);- 15 No! Indeed, he has been toward Our verses obstinate. 16 On him I shall impose a fearful doom. 17 For he thought and he plotted;- 18 May he be condemned! 19 And again perish he! How maliciously he devised! 20 He then dared to lift his gaze. 21 And frowned and puckered his brow, 22 Then he turned back and was proud; 23 said, "This (the Quran) is nothing but magic, inherited from ancient magicians. 24 This is naught else than speech of mortal man. 25 I will cast him into hell. 26 What do you think Hell-fire is? 27 It neither leaves, nor spares. 28 Blackening the skins. 29 Over it are nineteen (angels as guardians and keepers of Hell). 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