يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمُدَّثِّرُ 1
O you who covers himself [with a garment],
Al-Muddaththir
The Cloaked One
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Surah Al-Muddaththir, meaning "The Cloaked One" or "The One Enveloped," is the 74th chapter of the Quran and consists of 56 verses revealed in Mecca. It is widely regarded as one of the earliest surahs revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and its opening verses are considered by many scholars to be among the first divine commands he received after the initial encounter with revelation in the Cave of Hira. The surah begins with a direct and urgent address to the Prophet, who had wrapped himself in his cloak, commanding him to arise and warn humanity, to glorify his Lord, to purify himself, and to shun all forms of spiritual impurity. These opening imperatives effectively mark the formal beginning of the Prophet's public mission, transitioning him from a private recipient of divine communication to an active messenger charged with calling people to monotheism and moral accountability. The surah also instructs him to be patient for the sake of his Lord and not to give in expectation of receiving more in return, establishing a foundational ethic of sincerity and selflessness in the prophetic mission. A central narrative within the surah revolves around a specific individual, widely identified by classical commentators as al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah, a prominent Qurayshi leader who initially acknowledged the extraordinary beauty and power of the Quran but then deliberately chose to reject it under social and political pressure. The surah vividly describes how this man pondered and calculated his response, ultimately dismissing the Quran as nothing more than human sorcery or magic passed down from earlier times. God condemns this willful denial in striking and severe language, declaring that He will cast this person into Saqar, one of the names for Hellfire. The passage serves as a powerful illustration of how pride, social standing, and worldly attachments can lead a person to suppress their own recognition of truth. It stands as a warning not only to the elites of Quraysh but to all who encounter divine guidance and choose arrogance over submission. The surah then transitions into a profound discussion of the reality of the Hereafter and the nature of divine justice. It describes the keepers of Hellfire, specifying their number as nineteen angels, and explains that this detail serves as a test for disbelievers and a source of certainty for believers. The Quran addresses the mockery of the disbelievers who questioned this number, making clear that God's wisdom in such matters is beyond human comprehension and that only He knows the full extent of His forces. The surah includes a solemn dialogue between the inhabitants of Paradise and those of Hellfire, in which the condemned are asked what
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمُدَّثِّرُ 1
O you who covers himself [with a garment],
قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ 2
Arise and warn.
وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ 3
And your Lord glorify.
وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ 4
And your clothing purify.
وَٱلرُّجْزَ فَٱهْجُرْ 5
And uncleanliness avoid.
وَلَا تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ 6
And do not confer favor to acquire more.
وَلِرَبِّكَ فَٱصْبِرْ 7
But for your Lord be patient.
فَإِذَا نُقِرَ فِى ٱلنَّاقُورِ 8
And when the trumpet is blown,
فَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَوْمٌ عَسِيرٌ 9
That Day will be a difficult day
عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ غَيْرُ يَسِيرٍ 10
For the disbelievers - not easy.
ذَرْنِى وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا 11
Leave Me with the one I created alone
وَجَعَلْتُ لَهُۥ مَالًا مَّمْدُودًا 12
And to whom I granted extensive wealth
وَبَنِينَ شُهُودًا 13
And children present [with him]
وَمَهَّدتُّ لَهُۥ تَمْهِيدًا 14
And spread [everything] before him, easing [his life].
ثُمَّ يَطْمَعُ أَنْ أَزِيدَ 15
Then he desires that I should add more.
كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ لِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا عَنِيدًا 16
No! Indeed, he has been toward Our verses obstinate.
سَأُرْهِقُهُۥ صَعُودًا 17
I will cover him with arduous torment.
إِنَّهُۥ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ 18
Indeed, he thought and deliberated.
فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ 19
So may he be destroyed [for] how he deliberated.
ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ 20
Then may he be destroyed [for] how he deliberated.
ثُمَّ نَظَرَ 21
Then he considered [again];
ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ 22
Then he frowned and scowled;
ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ 23
Then he turned back and was arrogant
فَقَالَ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ 24
And said, "This is not but magic imitated [from others].
إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا قَوْلُ ٱلْبَشَرِ 25
This is not but the word of a human being."
سَأُصْلِيهِ سَقَرَ 26
I will drive him into Saqar.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا سَقَرُ 27
And what can make you know what is Saqar?
لَا تُبْقِى وَلَا تَذَرُ 28
It lets nothing remain and leaves nothing [unburned],
لَوَّاحَةٌ لِّلْبَشَرِ 29
Altering [i.e., blackening] the skins.
عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ 30
Over it are nineteen [angels].
وَمَا جَعَلْنَآ أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلنَّارِ إِلَّا مَلَـٰٓئِكَةً ۙ وَمَا جَعَلْنَا عِدَّتَهُمْ إِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِيَسْتَيْقِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَيَزْدَادَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِيمَـٰنًا ۙ وَلَا يَرْتَابَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۙ وَلِيَقُولَ ٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ وَٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ مَاذَآ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ بِهَـٰذَا مَثَلًا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُضِلُّ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَشَآءُ وَيَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَمَا هِىَ إِلَّا ذِكْرَىٰ لِلْبَشَرِ 31
And We have not made the keepers of the Fire except angels. And We have not made their number except as a trial for those who disbelieve - that those who were given the Scripture will be convinced and those who have believed will increase in faith and those who were given the Scripture and the believers will not doubt and that those in whose hearts is disease [i.e., hypocrisy] and the disbelievers will say, "What does Allāh intend by this as an example?" Thus does Allāh send astray whom He wills and guide whom He wills. And none knows the soldiers of your Lord except Him. And it [i.e., mention of the Fire] is not but a reminder to humanity.
كَلَّا وَٱلْقَمَرِ 32
No! By the moon.
وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذْ أَدْبَرَ 33
And [by] the night when it departs.
وَٱلصُّبْحِ إِذَآ أَسْفَرَ 34
And [by] the morning when it brightens,
إِنَّهَا لَإِحْدَى ٱلْكُبَرِ 35
Indeed, it [i.e., the Fire] is of the greatest [afflictions].
نَذِيرًا لِّلْبَشَرِ 36
As a warning to humanity -
لِمَن شَآءَ مِنكُمْ أَن يَتَقَدَّمَ أَوْ يَتَأَخَّرَ 37
To whoever wills among you to proceed or stay behind.
كُلُّ نَفْسٍۭ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ 38
Every soul, for what it has earned, will be retained.
إِلَّآ أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْيَمِينِ 39
Except the companions of the right,.
فِى جَنَّـٰتٍ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ 40
[Who will be] in gardens, questioning each other
عَنِ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ 41
About the criminals,
مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِى سَقَرَ 42
[And asking them], "What put you into Saqar?"
قَالُوا۟ لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ 43
They will say, "We were not of those who prayed,
وَلَمْ نَكُ نُطْعِمُ ٱلْمِسْكِينَ 44
Nor did we used to feed the poor.
وَكُنَّا نَخُوضُ مَعَ ٱلْخَآئِضِينَ 45
And we used to enter into vain discourse with those who engaged [in it],
وَكُنَّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ 46
And we used to deny the Day of Recompense
حَتَّىٰٓ أَتَىٰنَا ٱلْيَقِينُ 47
Until there came to us the certainty [i.e., death]."
فَمَا تَنفَعُهُمْ شَفَـٰعَةُ ٱلشَّـٰفِعِينَ 48
So there will not benefit them the intercession of [any] intercessors.
فَمَا لَهُمْ عَنِ ٱلتَّذْكِرَةِ مُعْرِضِينَ 49
Then what is [the matter] with them that they are, from the reminder, turning away.
كَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌ مُّسْتَنفِرَةٌ 50
As if they were alarmed donkeys.
فَرَّتْ مِن قَسْوَرَةٍۭ 51
Fleeing from a lion?
بَلْ يُرِيدُ كُلُّ ٱمْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ أَن يُؤْتَىٰ صُحُفًا مُّنَشَّرَةً 52
Rather, every person among them desires that he would be given scriptures spread about.
كَلَّا ۖ بَل لَّا يَخَافُونَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ 53
No! But they do not fear the Hereafter.
كَلَّآ إِنَّهُۥ تَذْكِرَةٌ 54
No! Indeed, it [i.e., the Qur’ān] is a reminder.
فَمَن شَآءَ ذَكَرَهُۥ 55
Then whoever wills will remember it.
وَمَا يَذْكُرُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ هُوَ أَهْلُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ وَأَهْلُ ٱلْمَغْفِرَةِ 56
And they will not remember except that Allāh wills. He is worthy of fear and adequate for [granting] forgiveness.
Practice memorizing Surah Al-Muddaththir. Choose how much of the Arabic text to hide, then tap each ayah to reveal it.