Chapter 74, 56 verses
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. O thou enveloped in thy cloak,
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم يا أيها المدثر
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. O you (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) enveloped in garments!
Arise and warn!
قم فأنذر
Arise and warn!
Thy Lord magnify,
وربك فكبر
And magnify your Lord (Allah)!
Thy raiment purify,
وثيابك فطهر
And purify your garments!
Pollution shun!
والرجز فاهجر
And keep away from Ar-Rujz (the idols)!
And show not favour, seeking wordly gain!
ولا تمنن تستكثر
And give not a thing in order to have more (or consider not your deeds of obedience to Allah as a favour to Him).
For the sake of thy Lord, be patient!
ولربك فاصبر
And be patient for the sake of your Lord (i.e. perform your duty to Allah)!
For when the trumpet shall sound,
فإذا نقر في الناقور
Then, when the Trumpet is sounded (i.e. the second blowing of the horn).
Surely that day will be a day of anguish,
فذلك يومئذ يوم عسير
Truly, that Day will be a Hard Day -
Not of ease, for disbelievers.
على الكافرين غير يسير
Far from easy for the disbelievers.
Leave Me (to deal) with him whom I created lonely,
ذرني ومن خلقت وحيدا
Leave Me Alone (to deal) with whom I created lonely (without any wealth or children etc, i.e. Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah Al-Makhzumi)!
And then bestowed upon him ample means,
وجعلت له مالا ممدودا
And then granted him resources in abundance.
And sons abiding in his presence
وبنين شهودا
And children to be by his side.
And made (life) smooth for him.
ومهدت له تمهيدا
And made life smooth and comfortable for him.
Yet he desireth that I should give more.
ثم يطمع أن أزيد
After all that he desires that I should give more;
Nay! For lo! he hath been stubborn to Our revelations.
كلا ۖ إنه كان لآياتنا عنيدا
Nay! Verily, he has been opposing Our Ayat (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations).
On him I shall impose a fearful doom.
سأرهقه صعودا
I shall oblige him to (climb a slippery mountain in the Hell-fire called As-Sa'ud, or) face a severe torment!
For lo! he did consider; then he planned -
إنه فكر وقدر
Verily, he thought and plotted.
(Self - )destroyed is he, how he planned!
فقتل كيف قدر
So let him be cursed: how he plotted!
Again (self - )destroyed is he, how he planned! -
ثم قتل كيف قدر
And once more let him be cursed: how he plotted!
Then looked he,
ثم نظر
Then he thought.
Then frowned he and showed displeasure.
ثم عبس وبسر
Then he frowned and he looked in a bad tempered way;
Then turned he away in pride
ثم أدبر واستكبر
Then he turned back, and was proud.
And said: This is naught else than magic from of old;
فقال إن هذا إلا سحر يؤثر
Then he said: "This is nothing but magic from that of old,
This is naught else than speech of mortal man.
إن هذا إلا قول البشر
"This is nothing but the word of a human being!"
Him shall I fling unto the burning.
سأصليه سقر
I will cast him into Hell-fire.
- Ah, what will convey unto thee what that burning is! -
وما أدراك ما سقر
And what will make you know (exactly) what Hell-fire is?
It leaveth naught; it spareth naught
لا تبقي ولا تذر
It spares not (any sinner), nor does it leave (anything unburnt)!
It shrivelleth the man.
لواحة للبشر
Burning and blackening the skins!
Above it are nineteen.
عليها تسعة عشر
Over it are nineteen (angels as guardians and keepers of Hell).
We have appointed only angels to be wardens of the Fire, and their number have We made to be a stumbling - block for those who disbelieve; that those to whom the Scripture hath been given may have certainty, and that believers may increase in faith; and that those to whom the Scripture hath been given and believers may not doubt; and that those in whose hearts there is disease, and disbelievers, may say: What meaneth Allah by this similitude ? Thus Allah sendeth astray whom He will, and whom He will He guideth. None knoweth the hosts of thy Lord save Him. This is naught else than a Reminder unto mortals.
وما جعلنا أصحاب النار إلا ملائكة ۙ وما جعلنا عدتهم إلا فتنة للذين كفروا ليستيقن الذين أوتوا الكتاب ويزداد الذين آمنوا إيمانا ۙ ولا يرتاب الذين أوتوا الكتاب والمؤمنون ۙ وليقول الذين في قلوبهم مرض والكافرون ماذا أراد الله بهذا مثلا ۚ كذلك يضل الله من يشاء ويهدي من يشاء ۚ وما يعلم جنود ربك إلا هو ۚ وما هي إلا ذكرى للبشر
And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Fire. And We have fixed their number (19) only as a trial for the disbelievers, in order that the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) may arrive at a certainty [that this Qur'an is the truth as it agrees with their Books regarding the number (19) which is written in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] and that the believers may increase in Faith (as this Qur'an is the truth), and that no doubt may be left for the people of the Scripture and the believers, and that those in whose hearts is a disease (of hypocrisy) and the disbelievers may say: "What Allah intends by this (curious) example ?" Thus Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And none can know the hosts of your Lord but He. And this (Hell) is nothing else than a (warning) reminder to mankind.
Nay, by the Moon
كلا والقمر
Nay! And by the moon
And the night when it withdraweth
والليل إذ أدبر
And by the night when it withdraws.
And the dawn when it shineth forth,
والصبح إذا أسفر
And by the dawn when it brightens.
Lo! this is one of the greatest (portents)
إنها لإحدى الكبر
Verily, it (Hell, or their denial of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, or the Day of Resurrection) is but one of the greatest (signs).
As a warning unto men,
نذيرا للبشر
A warning to mankind -
Unto him of you who will advance or hang back.
لمن شاء منكم أن يتقدم أو يتأخر
To any of you that chooses to go forward (by working righteous deeds), or to remain behind (by committing sins).
Every soul is a pledge for its own deeds;
كل نفس بما كسبت رهينة
Every person is a pledge for what he has earned,
Save those who will stand on the right hand.
إلا أصحاب اليمين
Except those on the Right, (i.e. the pious true believers of Islamic Monotheism).
In gardens they will ask one another
في جنات يتساءلون
In Gardens (Paradise) they will ask one another,
Concerning the guilty:
عن المجرمين
About Al-Mujrimun (polytheists, criminals, disbelievers), (And they will say to them):
What hath brought you to this burning ?
ما سلككم في سقر
"What has caused you to enter Hell?"
They will answer: We were not of those who prayed
قالوا لم نك من المصلين
They will say: "We were not of those who used to offer the Salat (prayers),
Nor did we feed the wretched.
ولم نك نطعم المسكين
"Nor we used to feed Al-Miskin (the poor);
We used to wade (in vain dispute) with (all) waders,
وكنا نخوض مع الخائضين
"And we used to talk falsehood (all that which Allah hated) with vain talkers.
And we used to deny the Day of Judgment,
وكنا نكذب بيوم الدين
And we used to belie the Day of Recompense,
Till the Inevitable came unto us.
حتى أتانا اليقين
"Until there came to us (the death) that is certain."
The mediation of no mediators will avail them then.
فما تنفعهم شفاعة الشافعين
So no intercession of intercessors will be of any use to them.
Why now turn they away from the Admonishment,
فما لهم عن التذكرة معرضين
Then what is wrong with them (i.e. the polytheists, the disbelievers) that they turn away from (receiving) admonition?
As they were frightened asses
كأنهم حمر مستنفرة
As if they were (frightened) wild donkeys.
Fleeing from a lion ?
فرت من قسورة
Fleeing from a hunter, or a lion, or a beast of prey.
Nay, but everyone of them desireth that he should be given open pages (from Allah).
بل يريد كل امرئ منهم أن يؤتى صحفا منشرة
Nay, everyone of them desires that he should be given pages spread out (coming from Allah with a writing that Islam is the right religion, and Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم has come with the truth from Allah, the Lord of the heavens and earth).
Nay, verily. They fear not the Hereafter.
كلا ۖ بل لا يخافون الآخرة
Nay! But they fear not the Hereafter (from Allah's punishment).
Nay, verily. Lo! this is an Admonishment.
كلا إنه تذكرة
Nay, verily, this (Qur'an) is an admonition,
So whosoever will may heed.
فمن شاء ذكره
So whosoever will (let him read it), and receive admonition (from it)!
And they will not heed unless Allah willeth (it). He is the fount of fear. He is the fount of Mercy.
وما يذكرون إلا أن يشاء الله ۚ هو أهل التقوى وأهل المغفرة
And they will not receive admonition unless Allah wills; He (Allah) is the One, deserving that mankind should be afraid of, and should be dutiful to Him, and should not take any Ilah (god) along with Him, and He is the One Who forgives (sins).