The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
O thou wrapped up (in the mantle)! 1 Arise and warn! 2 Thy Lord magnify 3 and purify your robes, 4 and shun uncleanness, 5 And bestow not favour that thou mayest receive more. 6 and be patient unto thy Lord. 7 So when the Trumpet will be blown. 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 to Me the one, whom I have created all by Myself, 11 and whom I have granted abundant wealth 12 And sons present by his side. 13 and to whose life I gave so wide a scope: 14 After all that he desires that I should give more; 15 Nay, verily, it is against Our messages that he knowingly, stubbornly sets himself 16 [and so] I shall constrain him to endure a painful uphill climb! 17 Behold, [when Our messages are conveyed to one who is bent on denying the truth,] he reflects and meditates [as to how to disprove them] 18 May he be accursed, how he planned! 19 Again, death seize him, how he determined! 20 Then he looked around, 21 then he 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 naught else than magic from of old; 24 This is nothing but the word of mortal man!" 25 Anon shall I roast him into the Scorching Fire. 26 And what do you know what Hell is? 27 It leaveth naught; it spareth naught 28 Scorching 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