The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
O thou shrouded in thy mantle, 1 Arise and warn! 2 And thy Lord do thou magnify! 3 thy robes purify 4 And banish all trepidation. 5 And do not confer favor to acquire more 6 and for the sake of your Lord, be patient. 7 For when the trumpet shall sound, 8 It will be a day of distress, 9 It will not be easy for those who deny the truth. 10 Leave Me with him whom I created alone, 11 And to whom I granted extensive wealth 12 and children as [love's] witnesses, 13 and whom I have provided with every resource, 14 And yet he desires that I should add more! 15 Never will he receive more. He has been hostile to Our revelations. 16 On him I shall impose a fearful doom. 17 For lo! he did consider; then he planned - 18 and thus he destroys himself, the way he meditates: 19 Let him be destroyed. How he calculated! 20 Then he looked, 21 Then he frowned and he scowled; 22 Then he turned back and was big with pride, 23 And said: "This is nothing but the magic of old, 24 These are only words from a mere mortal". 25 [Hence,] I shall cause him to endure hell-fire [in the life to come]! 26 And what will make you realize what hell is? 27 It does not allow to live, and neither leaves [to die,] 28 It glows and burns the skin. 29 Over it are appointed 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