The surah that opens by addressing the enwrapped Prophet as the Shrouded Messenger. It takes its name from the word “wrapped in mantle” (muddaththir) in verse 1. The first verses of this surah (verse 1 .) were revealed after one of the Prophets first encounter with the Angel of Revelation in the Cave of Ḥirāʾ. The surah goes on, in a section from a later period, to remind the obstinate disbelievers of their fate on the Day of Judgement (verse 8 .) and a specific opponent of the Prophet is singled out (verse 11 .). The end of the surah (verse 39 .) exposes the foolishness of the disbelievers” attitude to the Revelation and the Day of Resurrection.The surah is also known as: The Cloaked One, The Enfolded, The Enfolded One, The Enveloped, The Man Wearing a Cloak, The Mantled Messenger, Wrapped in his Cloak.
1
يا أَيُّهَا المُدَّثِّرُ
yā-ʾayyuhā l-muddaththiru
O you wrapped up in your mantle!
2
قُم فَأَنذِر
qum fa-ʾandhir
Rise up and warn!
3
وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّر
wa-rabbaka fa-kabbir
Magnify your Lord,
4
وَثِيابَكَ فَطَهِّر
wa-thiyābaka fa-ṭahhir
and purify your cloak,
5
وَالرُّجزَ فَاهجُر
wa-r-rujza fa-hjur
and keep away from all impurity!
6
وَلا تَمنُن تَستَكثِرُ
wa-lā tamnun tastakthiru
Do not grant a favour seeking a greater gain,
7
وَلِرَبِّكَ فَاصبِر
wa-li-rabbika fa-ṣbir
and be patient for the sake of your Lord.
8
فَإِذا نُقِرَ فِي النّاقورِ
fa-ʾidhā nuqira fī n-nāqūri
When the Trumpet will be sounded,
9
فَذٰلِكَ يَومَئِذٍ يَومٌ عَسيرٌ
fa-dhālika yawmaʾidhin yawmun ʿasīrun
that day will be a day of hardship,
10
عَلَى الكافِرينَ غَيرُ يَسيرٍ
ʿalā l-kāfirīna ghayru yasīrin
not at all easy for the faithless.
11
ذَرني وَمَن خَلَقتُ وَحيدًا
dharnī wa-man khalaqtu waḥīdan
Leave Me [to deal] with him whom I created alone,
12
وَجَعَلتُ لَهُ مالًا مَمدودًا
wa-jaʿaltu lahū mālan mamdūdan
and then furnished him with extensive means,
13
وَبَنينَ شُهودًا
wa-banīna shuhūdan
and [gave him] sons to be at his side,
14
وَمَهَّدتُ لَهُ تَمهيدًا
wa-mahhadtu lahū tamhīdan
and facilitated [all matters] for him.
15
ثُمَّ يَطمَعُ أَن أَزيدَ
thumma yaṭmaʿu ʾan ʾazīda
Still he is eager that I should give him more.
16
كَلّا ۖ إِنَّهُ كانَ لِآياتِنا عَنيدًا
kallā ʾinnahū kāna li-ʾāyātinā ʿanīdan
No indeed! He is an obstinate opponent of Our signs.
17
سَأُرهِقُهُ صَعودًا
sa-ʾurhiquhū ṣaʿūdan
Soon I will overwhelm him with hardship.
18
إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ
ʾinnahū fakkara wa-qaddara
Indeed he reflected and decided.
19
فَقُتِلَ كَيفَ قَدَّرَ
fa-qutila kayfa qaddara
Perish he, how he decided!
20
ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيفَ قَدَّرَ
thumma qutila kayfa qaddara
Again, perish he, how he decided!
21
ثُمَّ نَظَرَ
thumma naẓara
Then he looked;
22
ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ
thumma ʿabasa wa-basara
then he frowned and scowled.
23
ثُمَّ أَدبَرَ وَاستَكبَرَ
thumma ʾadbara wa-stakbara
Then he went away disdainfully,
24
فَقالَ إِن هٰذا إِلّا سِحرٌ يُؤثَرُ
fa-qāla ʾin hādhā ʾillā siḥrun yuʾtharu
saying, ‘It1 is nothing but magic handed down.2That is, the Qurʾān.That is, from the magicians of old. Or ‘traditional magic.’
25
إِن هٰذا إِلّا قَولُ البَشَرِ
ʾin hādhā ʾillā qawlu l-bashari
It is nothing but the speech of a human being.’
26
سَأُصليهِ سَقَرَ
sa-ʾuṣlīhi saqara
Soon I shall cast him into Saqar.1Saqar is another name for hell or a part of it.
27
وَما أَدراكَ ما سَقَرُ
wa-mā ʾadrāka mā saqaru
And what will show you what is Saqar?
28
لا تُبقي وَلا تَذَرُ
lā tubqī wa-lā tadharu
It neither spares nor leaves [anything].
29
لَوّاحَةٌ لِلبَشَرِ
lawwāḥatun li-l-bashari
It burns the skin.
30
عَلَيها تِسعَةَ عَشَرَ
ʿalayhā tisʿata ʿashara
There are nineteen [keepers] over it.
31
وَما جَعَلنا أَصحابَ النّارِ إِلّا مَلائِكَةً ۙ وَما جَعَلنا عِدَّتَهُم إِلّا فِتنَةً لِلَّذينَ كَفَروا لِيَستَيقِنَ الَّذينَ أوتُوا الكِتابَ وَيَزدادَ الَّذينَ آمَنوا إيمانًا ۙ وَلا يَرتابَ الَّذينَ أوتُوا الكِتابَ وَالمُؤمِنونَ ۙ وَلِيَقولَ الَّذينَ في قُلوبِهِم مَرَضٌ وَالكافِرونَ ماذا أَرادَ اللَّهُ بِهٰذا مَثَلًا ۚ كَذٰلِكَ يُضِلُّ اللَّهُ مَن يَشاءُ وَيَهدي مَن يَشاءُ ۚ وَما يَعلَمُ جُنودَ رَبِّكَ إِلّا هُوَ ۚ وَما هِيَ إِلّا ذِكرىٰ لِلبَشَرِ
wa-mā jaʿalnā ʾaṣḥāba n-nāri ʾillā malāʾikatan wa-mā jaʿalnā ʿiddatahum ʾillā fitnatan li-lladhīna kafarū li-yastayqina lladhīna ʾūtū l-kitāba wa-yazdāda lladhīna ʾāmanū ʾīmānan wa-lā yartāba lladhīna ʾūtū l-kitāba wa-l-muʾminūna wa-li-yaqūla lladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun wa-l-kāfirūna mādhā ʾarāda llāhu bi-hādhā mathalan ka-dhālika yuḍillu llāhu man yashāʾu wa-yahdī man yashāʾu wa-mā yaʿlamu junūda rabbika ʾillā huwa wa-mā hiya ʾillā dhikrā li-l-bashari
We have assigned only angels as keepers of the Fire,and We have made their numbermerely a stumbling block for the faithless,and that those given the Book may be reassured,and the faithful may increase in [their] faith,and that those given the Book may not doubtand the faithful [as well],and that those in whose hearts is a sickness may say,and the faithless [along with them],‘What did Allah mean by this description?’Thus does Allah lead astray whomever He wishes,and guides whomever He wishes.No one knows the hosts of your Lord except Him,and it1 is just an admonition for all humans.That is, the statement that there are nineteen wardens in charge of hell.
32
كَلّا وَالقَمَرِ
kallā wa-l-qamari
No indeed!By the Moon!
33
وَاللَّيلِ إِذ أَدبَرَ
wa-l-layli ʾidh ʾadbara
By the night when it recedes!
34
وَالصُّبحِ إِذا أَسفَرَ
wa-ṣ-ṣubḥi ʾidhā ʾasfara
By the dawn when it brightens!
35
إِنَّها لَإِحدَى الكُبَرِ
ʾinnahā la-ʾiḥdā l-kubari
Indeed it is one of the greatest [signs]
36
نَذيرًا لِلبَشَرِ
nadhīran li-l-bashari
—a warner to all humans,
37
لِمَن شاءَ مِنكُم أَن يَتَقَدَّمَ أَو يَتَأَخَّرَ
li-man shāʾa minkum ʾan yataqaddama ʾaw yataʾakhkhara
[alike] for those of you who like to advance aheadand those who would linger behind.
38
كُلُّ نَفسٍ بِما كَسَبَت رَهينَةٌ
kullu nafsin bi-mā kasabat rahīnatun
Every soul is hostage to what it has earned,
39
إِلّا أَصحابَ اليَمينِ
ʾillā ʾaṣḥāba l-yamīni
except the People of the Right Hand.
40
في جَنّاتٍ يَتَساءَلونَ
fī jannātin yatasāʾalūna
[They will be] in gardens, questioning
41
عَنِ المُجرِمينَ
ʿani l-mujrimīna
concerning the guilty:
42
ما سَلَكَكُم في سَقَرَ
mā salakakum fī saqara
‘What drew you into Hell?’
43
قالوا لَم نَكُ مِنَ المُصَلّينَ
qālū lam naku mina l-muṣallīna
They will answer,‘We were not among those who prayed.1Or ‘We were not among followers of the leaders (or forerunners, mentioned in 56:10).’ (See Tafsīr al-Qummī, Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī, al-Kāfī, i, 484, ‘’Kitāb al-Ḥujjah,” bāb 108 (bāb fīhi nukat wa nutaf min al-tanzīl fī al-wilāyah), no. 38.
44
وَلَم نَكُ نُطعِمُ المِسكينَ
wa-lam naku nuṭʿimu l-miskīna
Nor did we feed the poor.
45
وَكُنّا نَخوضُ مَعَ الخائِضينَ
wa-kunnā nakhūḍu maʿa l-khāʾiḍīna
We used to gossip along with the gossipers,
46
وَكُنّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَومِ الدّينِ
wa-kunnā nukadhdhibu bi-yawmi d-dīni
and we used to deny the Day of Retribution,1Or ‘the Day of Judgement.’
47
حَتّىٰ أَتانَا اليَقينُ
ḥattā ʾatānā l-yaqīnu
until death came to us.’
48
فَما تَنفَعُهُم شَفاعَةُ الشّافِعينَ
fa-mā tanfaʿuhum shafāʿatu sh-shāfiʿīna
So the intercession of the intercessors will not avail them.
49
فَما لَهُم عَنِ التَّذكِرَةِ مُعرِضينَ
fa-mā lahum ʿani t-tadhkirati muʿriḍīna
What is the matter with themthat they evade the Reminder
50
كَأَنَّهُم حُمُرٌ مُستَنفِرَةٌ
ka-ʾannahum ḥumurun mustanfiratun
as if they were terrified asses
51
فَرَّت مِن قَسوَرَةٍ
farrat min qaswaratin
fleeing from a lion?
52
بَل يُريدُ كُلُّ امرِئٍ مِنهُم أَن يُؤتىٰ صُحُفًا مُنَشَّرَةً
bal yurīdu kullu mriʾin minhum ʾan yuʾtā ṣuḥufan munashsharatan
Rather everyone of them desiresto be given unrolled scriptures [from Allah].
53
كَلّا ۖ بَل لا يَخافونَ الآخِرَةَ
kallā bal lā yakhāfūna l-ʾākhirata
No indeed!Rather they do not fear the Hereafter.
54
كَلّا إِنَّهُ تَذكِرَةٌ
kallā ʾinnahū tadhkiratun
No indeed!It is indeed a reminder.
55
فَمَن شاءَ ذَكَرَهُ
fa-man shāʾa dhakarahū
So let anyone who wishes remember it.
56
وَما يَذكُرونَ إِلّا أَن يَشاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ هُوَ أَهلُ التَّقوىٰ وَأَهلُ المَغفِرَةِ
wa-mā yadhkurūna ʾillā ʾan yashāʾa llāhu huwa ʾahlu t-taqwā wa-ʾahlu l-maghfirati
And they will not remember unless Allah wishes.He is worthy of [your] being wary [of Him]and He is worthy to forgive.