The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
O thou enveloped in thy cloak, 1 stand up, deliver your warning, 2 And your Lord (Allah) magnify! 3 And your clothing purify 4 And pollution shun. 5 And show not favour, seeking wordly gain! 6 and persevere for your Lord's sake. 7 And when the trumpet is blown, 8 It will be a day of distress, 9 For the infidels, not easy. 10 Leave Me Alone (to deal) with whom I created Alone (without any means, i.e. Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah Al-Makhzumi)! 11 And give him vast riches, 12 and sons to be by his side, 13 and whom I have provided with every resource, 14 Yet he wants that I should give him more. 15 By no means! Verily he hath been unto Our signs a foe. 16 Anon I shall afflict him with a fearful woe. 17 Lo! He reflected, and determined -- 18 and woe to him; how he plotted! 19 yea, he destroys himself, the way he meditates! 20 Then he considered [again]; 21 Then frowned and grimaced. 22 Then he turned back and was haughty; 23 and says, "All this is mere spellbinding eloquence handed down [from olden times]! 24 this is nothing but the word of a mere mortal!” 25 I will cast him into hell. 26 And what do you know what Hell is? 27 It spares nothing; it leaves nothing intact; 28 Burning the skins! 29 Over it are nineteen [powers]. 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