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 proclaim the greatness of your Lord, 3 thy robes purify 4 And banish all trepidation. 5 and bestow not favour in order to seek from others a greater return, 6 and persevere for your Lord's sake. 7 For when the trumpet blows 8 That, at that time, shall be a difficult day, 9 and for the disbelievers, in particular, it will not be at all easy. 10 Leave Me with him whom I created alone, 11 and designated for him ample wealth, 12 And gave him sons present before him. 13 whose life I have made run smoothly 14 then he is eager that I should do more. 15 By no means! For to Our Signs he has been refractory! 16 I shall inflict on him hardship, 17 For he had thought and calculated. 18 and thus he destroys himself, the way he meditates: 19 And again perish he! How maliciously he devised! 20 and then he looks [around for new arguments,] 21 then frowned and scowled; 22 and in the end he turns his back [on Our message,] and glories in his arrogance, 23 and said, "This is nothing but sorcery from the ancients. 24 It is nothing but the word of a mortal' 25 I will cast him into Hell-fire 26 What could make you conceive what hell-fire is? 27 Naught doth it permit to endure, and naught doth it leave alone!- 28 and it burns the flesh. 29 there are nineteen [angels] in charge of it -- 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