Chapter 74, 56 verses
O you who are clothed!
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!
And your Lord do magnify,
وربك فكبر
And magnify your Lord (Allah)!
And your garments do purify,
وثيابك فطهر
And purify your garments!
And uncleanness do shun,
والرجز فاهجر
And keep away from Ar-Rujz (the idols)!
And bestow not favors that you may receive again with increase,
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).
And for the sake of your 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 is sounded,
فإذا نقر في الناقور
Then, when the Trumpet is sounded (i.e. the second blowing of the horn).
That, at that time, shall be a difficult day,
فذلك يومئذ يوم عسير
Truly, that Day will be a Hard Day -
For the unbelievers, anything but easy.
على الكافرين غير يسير
Far from easy for the disbelievers.
Leave Me and him whom I created alone,
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 give him vast riches,
وجعلت له مالا ممدودا
And then granted him resources in abundance.
And sons dwelling in his presence,
وبنين شهودا
And children to be by his side.
And I adjusted affairs for him adjustably;
ومهدت له تمهيدا
And made life smooth and comfortable for him.
And yet he desires that I should add more!
ثم يطمع أن أزيد
After all that he desires that I should give more;
By no means! surely he offers opposition to Our communications.
كلا ۖ إنه كان لآياتنا عنيدا
Nay! Verily, he has been opposing Our Ayat (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations).
I will make a distressing punishment overtake him.
سأرهقه صعودا
I shall oblige him to (climb a slippery mountain in the Hell-fire called As-Sa'ud, or) face a severe torment!
Surely he reflected and guessed,
إنه فكر وقدر
Verily, he thought and plotted.
But may he be cursed how he plotted;
فقتل كيف قدر
So let him be cursed: how he plotted!
Again, may he be cursed how he plotted;
ثم قتل كيف قدر
And once more let him be cursed: how he plotted!
Then he looked,
ثم نظر
Then he thought.
Then he frowned and scowled,
ثم عبس وبسر
Then he frowned and he looked in a bad tempered way;
Then he turned back and was big with pride,
ثم أدبر واستكبر
Then he turned back, and was proud.
~Then he said: This is naught but enchantment, narrated (from others);
فقال إن هذا إلا سحر يؤثر
Then he said: "This is nothing but magic from that of old,
This is naught but the word of a mortal.
إن هذا إلا قول البشر
"This is nothing but the word of a human being!"
I will cast him into hell.
سأصليه سقر
I will cast him into Hell-fire.
And what will make you realize what hell is?
وما أدراك ما سقر
And what will make you know (exactly) what Hell-fire is?
It leaves naught nor does it spare aught.
لا تبقي ولا تذر
It spares not (any sinner), nor does it leave (anything unburnt)!
It scorches the mortal.
لواحة للبشر
Burning and blackening the skins!
Over it are nineteen.
عليها تسعة عشر
Over it are nineteen (angels as guardians and keepers of Hell).
And We have not made the wardens of the fire others than angels, and We have not made their number but as a trial for those who disbelieve, that those who have been given the book may be certain and those who believe may increase in faith, and those who have been given the book and the believers may not doubt, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the unbelievers may say: What does Allah mean by this parable? Thus does Allah make err whom He pleases, and He guides whom He pleases, and none knows the hosts of your Lord but He Himself; and this is naught but a reminder to the 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; I swear by the moon,
كلا والقمر
Nay! And by the moon
And the night when it departs,
والليل إذ أدبر
And by the night when it withdraws.
And the daybreak when it shines;
والصبح إذا أسفر
And by the dawn when it brightens.
Surely it (hell) is one of the gravest (misfortunes),
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).
A warning to mortals,
نذيرا للبشر
A warning to mankind -
To him among you who wishes to go forward or remain behind.
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 held in pledge for what it earns,
كل نفس بما كسبت رهينة
Every person is a pledge for what he has earned,
Except the people of the right hand,
إلا أصحاب اليمين
Except those on the Right, (i.e. the pious true believers of Islamic Monotheism).
In gardens, they shall ask each other
في جنات يتساءلون
In Gardens (Paradise) they will ask one another,
About the guilty:
عن المجرمين
About Al-Mujrimun (polytheists, criminals, disbelievers), (And they will say to them):
What has brought you into hell?
ما سلككم في سقر
"What has caused you to enter Hell?"
They shall say: 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),
And we used not to feed the poor;
ولم نك نطعم المسكين
"Nor we used to feed Al-Miskin (the poor);
And we used to enter into vain discourse with those who entered into vain discourses.
وكنا نخوض مع الخائضين
"And we used to talk falsehood (all that which Allah hated) with vain talkers.
And we used to call the day of judgment a lie;
وكنا نكذب بيوم الدين
And we used to belie the Day of Recompense,
Till death overtook us.
حتى أتانا اليقين
"Until there came to us (the death) that is certain."
So the intercession of intercessors shall not avail them.
فما تنفعهم شفاعة الشافعين
So no intercession of intercessors will be of any use to them.
What is then the matter with them, that they turn away from the admonition
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 if they were asses taking fright
كأنهم حمر مستنفرة
As if they were (frightened) wild donkeys.
That had fled from a lion?
فرت من قسورة
Fleeing from a hunter, or a lion, or a beast of prey.
Nay; every one of them desires that he may be given pages spread out;
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! but they do not fear the hereafter.
كلا ۖ بل لا يخافون الآخرة
Nay! But they fear not the Hereafter (from Allah's punishment).
Nay! it is surely an admonition.
كلا إنه تذكرة
Nay, verily, this (Qur'an) is an admonition,
So whoever pleases may mind it.
فمن شاء ذكره
So whosoever will (let him read it), and receive admonition (from it)!
And they will not mind unless Allah please. He is worthy to be feared and worthy to forgive.
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).