The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
O thou enveloped in thy cloak, 1 arise and warn, 2 Thy Lord magnify 3 And thine raiment purify. 4 And pollution shun. 5 And give not a thing in order to have more (or consider not your deeds of Allah's obedience as a favour to Allah). 6 and for the sake of your Lord, be patient. 7 And [warn all men that] when the trumpet-call [of resurrection] is sounded, 8 That, at that time, shall be a difficult day, 9 For the disbelievers - not easy. 10 Leave Me alone, (to deal) with the (creature) whom I created (bare and) alone!- 11 And give him vast riches, 12 And children to be by his side! 13 and to whose life I gave so wide a scope: 14 Yet he desireth that I should give more. 15 Not at all! Surely, he has been disobedient to Our verses. 16 Soon will I visit him with a mount of calamities! 17 For he thought and he plotted -- 18 So may he be destroyed [for] how he deliberated. 19 And again perish he! How maliciously he devised! 20 Then he looked round; 21 and then he frowns and glares, 22 then turned back, and swelling-up with pride, 23 Then said he: "This is nothing but magic, derived from of old; 24 "This is nothing but the word of a mortal!" 25 I will cast him into the fire of Hell. 26 And what knoweth thou that which the Scorching Fire? 27 It lets nothing remain and leaves nothing [unburned], 28 Blackening the skins. 29 Over it are nineteen [angels]. 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