Surah 74 · Meccan · 56 Verses
المدثر
SURAH AL-MUDDATHTHIR
The Cloaked One
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ
Arise and warn
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وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ
And your Lord glorify
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وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ
And your clothing purify
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وَلِرَبِّكَ فَٱصْبِرْ
But for your Lord be patient.
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فَإِذَا نُقِرَ فِى ٱلنَّاقُورِ
And when the trumpet is blown,
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فَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ يَوْمٌ عَسِيرٌ
That Day will be a difficult day
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عَلَى ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ غَيْرُ يَسِيرٍۢ
For the disbelievers - not easy.
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ذَرْنِى وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًۭا
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وَجَعَلْتُ لَهُۥ مَالًۭا مَّمْدُودًۭا
And to whom I granted extensive wealth
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وَبَنِينَ شُهُودًۭا
And children present [with him]
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وَمَهَّدتُّ لَهُۥ تَمْهِيدًۭا
And spread [everything] before him, easing [his life].
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ثُمَّ يَطْمَعُ أَنْ أَزِيدَ
Then he desires that I should add more.
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كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ لِءَايَٰتِنَا عَنِيدًۭا
No! Indeed, he has been toward Our verses obstinate.
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سَأُرْهِقُهُۥ صَعُودًا
I will cover him with arduous torment.
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فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ
So may he be destroyed [for] how he deliberated.
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ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ
Then may he be destroyed [for] how he deliberated.
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ثُمَّ نَظَرَ
Then he considered [again];
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ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ
Then he frowned and scowled;
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ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ
Then he turned back and was arrogant
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فَقَالَ إِنْ هَٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌۭ يُؤْثَرُ
And said, "This is not but magic imitated [from others].
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إِنْ هَٰذَآ إِلَّا قَوْلُ ٱلْبَشَرِ
This is not but the word of a human being."
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وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا سَقَرُ
And what can make you know what is Saqar?
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لَا تُبْقِى وَلَا تَذَرُ
It lets nothing remain and leaves nothing [unburned],
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لَوَّاحَةٌۭ لِّلْبَشَرِ
Altering [i.e., blackening] the skins.
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عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ
Over it are nineteen [angels].
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وَمَا جَعَلْنَآ أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلنَّارِ إِلَّا مَلَٰٓئِكَةًۭ ۙ وَمَا جَعَلْنَا عِدَّتَهُمْ إِلَّا فِتْنَةًۭ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِيَسْتَيْقِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَيَزْدَادَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِيمَٰنًۭا ۙ وَلَا يَرْتَابَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۙ وَلِيَقُولَ ٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌۭ وَٱلْكَٰفِرُونَ مَاذَآ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ بِهَٰذَا مَثَلًۭا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُضِلُّ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَشَآءُ وَيَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَمَا هِىَ إِلَّا ذِكْرَىٰ لِلْبَشَرِ
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.
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كَلَّا وَٱلْقَمَرِ
No! By the moon
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وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذْ أَدْبَرَ
And [by] the night when it departs
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وَٱلصُّبْحِ إِذَآ أَسْفَرَ
And [by] the morning when it brightens,
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إِنَّهَا لَإِحْدَى ٱلْكُبَرِ
Indeed, it [i.e., the Fire] is of the greatest [afflictions]
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نَذِيرًۭا لِّلْبَشَرِ
As a warning to humanity -
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لِمَن شَآءَ مِنكُمْ أَن يَتَقَدَّمَ أَوْ يَتَأَخَّرَ
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فِى جَنَّٰتٍۢ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ
[Who will be] in gardens, questioning each other
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عَنِ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
About the criminals,
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مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِى سَقَرَ
[And asking them], "What put you into Saqar?"
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قَالُوا۟ لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ
They will say, "We were not of those who prayed,
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وَلَمْ نَكُ نُطْعِمُ ٱلْمِسْكِينَ
Nor did we used to feed the poor.
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وَكُنَّا نَخُوضُ مَعَ ٱلْخَآئِضِينَ
And we used to enter into vain discourse with those who engaged [in it],
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وَكُنَّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ
And we used to deny the Day of Recompense
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حَتَّىٰٓ أَتَىٰنَا ٱلْيَقِينُ
Until there came to us the certainty [i.e., death]."
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فَمَا تَنفَعُهُمْ شَفَٰعَةُ ٱلشَّٰفِعِينَ
So there will not benefit them the intercession of [any] intercessors.
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فَمَا لَهُمْ عَنِ ٱلتَّذْكِرَةِ مُعْرِضِينَ
Then what is [the matter] with them that they are, from the reminder, turning away
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كَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌۭ مُّسْتَنفِرَةٌۭ
As if they were alarmed donkeys
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About This Surah
Surah Al-Muddaththir calls the Messenger to rise and warn, magnify God, maintain purity, avoid giving for greater return, and remain patient. It exposes an opponent who calculates how to dismiss revelation, describes the Fire and its nineteen keepers, and lists neglect of prayer, feeding the poor, and reckless discourse. The number nineteen must not become occult numerology or a private code system.
Al-Muddaththir begins with a direct commission: rise, warn, magnify the Lord, maintain purity, leave defilement, do not give in pursuit of greater return, and be patient. Public mission is joined to inner discipline and freedom from transactional manipulation.
The trumpet introduces a difficult day. A prosperous opponent is described as receiving extensive gifts, then calculating how to characterize revelation. His conclusion that it is magic and human speech is condemned because it follows deliberate resistance rather than honest inquiry.
The Fire is described with nineteen over it. The chapter explains that the number functions as a test, strengthening some while exposing diseased or rejecting responses. This explicit purpose does not authorize “code 19” systems, occult calculations, predictions, or claims that every textual feature can be solved numerically.
People in the Garden ask those in the Fire what led them there. The answers include neglect of prayer, failure to feed the poor, joining reckless discourse, and denying judgment. Worship, social responsibility, speech, and accountability remain inseparable.
The closing compares people fleeing the reminder to startled donkeys fleeing a lion and rejects demands for individualized scrolls. The Quran is reminder, while forgiveness and God-consciousness remain under divine authority. No fixed recitation outcome is asserted.
Core Themes
- Commission to warn with disciplined character
- Purity without transactional piety
- Calculated rejection of revelation
- Nineteen as a stated test, not numerology
- Prayer joined to feeding the poor
- Reminder, accountability, and forgiveness
Structure
Verses 1-10: Commission, purity, patience, and the trumpet — 1-10
This section develops commission, purity, patience, and the trumpet across verses 1-10. Read it as part of Surah Al-Muddaththir’s complete sequence; it does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, or guaranteed outcome.
Verses 11-30: The calculating opponent and the Fire — 11-30
This section develops the calculating opponent and the fire across verses 11-30. Read it as part of Surah Al-Muddaththir’s complete sequence; it does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, or guaranteed outcome.
Verses 31-37: The nineteen as a test and warning — 31-37
This section develops the nineteen as a test and warning across verses 31-37. Read it as part of Surah Al-Muddaththir’s complete sequence; it does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, or guaranteed outcome.
Verses 38-56: Human responsibility, neglected duties, and reminder — 38-56
This section develops human responsibility, neglected duties, and reminder across verses 38-56. Read it as part of Surah Al-Muddaththir’s complete sequence; it does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, or guaranteed outcome.
Reading Guide
Safety-focused reading step 1
Keep this boundary visible: The number nineteen must not become occult numerology, prediction, or a private Quran-code system. Compare the relevant passage with the complete surah before drawing any contemporary conclusion.
Safety-focused reading step 2
Keep this boundary visible: Purity language must not be expanded into unsupported obsessive or discriminatory rules. Compare the relevant passage with the complete surah before drawing any contemporary conclusion.
Safety-focused reading step 3
Keep this boundary visible: Warning does not authorize harassment, coercion, or declaring named people condemned. Compare the relevant passage with the complete surah before drawing any contemporary conclusion.
Safety-focused reading step 4
Keep this boundary visible: No fixed count or guaranteed result is attached to reciting the surah. Compare the relevant passage with the complete surah before drawing any contemporary conclusion.
Key Passages
Commission, purity, patience, and the trumpet — 1-10
Verses 1-10 address commission, purity, patience, and the trumpet. Their placement in Surah Al-Muddaththir supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, or guaranteed worldly result.
The calculating opponent and the Fire — 11-30
Verses 11-30 address the calculating opponent and the fire. Their placement in Surah Al-Muddaththir supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, or guaranteed worldly result.
The nineteen as a test and warning — 31-37
Verses 31-37 address the nineteen as a test and warning. Their placement in Surah Al-Muddaththir supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, or guaranteed worldly result.
Human responsibility, neglected duties, and reminder — 38-56
Verses 38-56 address human responsibility, neglected duties, and reminder. Their placement in Surah Al-Muddaththir supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, or guaranteed worldly result.
Recitation Note
No exclusive time, fixed repetition count, or guaranteed worldly outcome is asserted here for reciting Surah Al-Muddaththir. Reading it is worship and study; any claim about protection, healing, provision, family outcomes, or a prescribed number requires separate exact evidence and narrow wording.
Interpretation Limits
- The number nineteen must not become occult numerology, prediction, or a private Quran-code system.
- Purity language must not be expanded into unsupported obsessive or discriminatory rules.
- Warning does not authorize harassment, coercion, or declaring named people condemned.
- No fixed count or guaranteed result is attached to reciting the surah.