يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ
O THOU [in thy solitude] enfolded! (1)
قُمْ فَأَنْذِرْ
Arise and warn! (2)
وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ
And thy Sustainer's greatness glorify! (3)
وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ
And thine inner self purify! (4)
وَالرُّجْزَ فَاهْجُرْ
And all defilement shun! (5)
وَلَا تَمْنُنْ تَسْتَكْثِرُ
And do not through giving seek thyself to gain, (6)
وَلِرَبِّكَ فَاصْبِرْ
but unto thy Sustainer turn in patience. (7)
فَإِذَا نُقِرَ فِي النَّاقُورِ
And [warn all men that] when the trumpet-call [of resurrection] is sounded, (8)
فَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَوْمٌ عَسِيرٌ
that very Day shall be a day of anguish, (9)
عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ غَيْرُ يَسِيرٍ
not of ease, for all who [now] deny the truth! (10)
ذَرْنِي وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا
LEAVE Me alone [to deal] with him whom I have created alone, (11)
وَجَعَلْتُ لَهُ مَالًا مَمْدُودًا
and to whom I have granted resources vast, (12)
وَبَنِينَ شُهُودًا
and children as [love's] witnesses, (13)
وَمَهَّدْتُ لَهُ تَمْهِيدًا
and to whose life I gave so wide a scope: (14)
ثُمَّ يَطْمَعُ أَنْ أَزِيدَ
and yet, he greedily desires that I give yet more! (15)
كَلَّا إِنَّهُ كَانَ لِآيَاتِنَا عَنِيدًا
Nay, verily, it is against Our messages that he knowingly, stubbornly sets himself (16)
سَأُرْهِقُهُ صَعُودًا
[and so] I shall constrain him to endure a painful uphill climb! (17)
إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ
Behold, [when Our messages are conveyed to one who is bent on denying the truth,] he reflects and meditates [as to how to disprove them] (18)
فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ
and thus he destroys himself, the way he meditates: (19)
ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ
yea, he destroys himself, the way he meditates! (20)
ثُمَّ نَظَرَ
and then he looks [around for new arguments], (21)
ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ
and then he frowns and glares, (22)
ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ
and in the end he turns his back [on Our message], and glories in his arrogance, (23)
فَقَالَ إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ
and says, "All this is mere spellbinding eloquence handed down [from olden times]! (24)
إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا قَوْلُ الْبَشَرِ
This is nothing but the word of mortal man!" (25)
سَأُصْلِيهِ سَقَرَ
[Hence,] I shall cause him to endure hell-fire [in the life to come]! (26)
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا سَقَرُ
And what could make thee conceive what hell-fire is? (27)
لَا تُبْقِي وَلَا تَذَرُ
It does not allow to live, and neither leaves [to die], (28)
لَوَّاحَةٌ لِلْبَشَرِ
making [all truth] visible to mortal man. (29)
عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ
Over it are nineteen [powers]. (30)
وَمَا جَعَلْنَا أَصْحَابَ النَّارِ إِلَّا مَلَائِكَةً وَمَا جَعَلْنَا عِدَّتَهُمْ إِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِيَسْتَيْقِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ وَيَزْدَادَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِيمَانًا وَلَا يَرْتَابَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَلِيَقُولَ الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ وَالْكَافِرُونَ مَاذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِهَٰذَا مَثَلًا كَذَٰلِكَ يُضِلُّ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَمَا هِيَ إِلَّا ذِكْرَىٰ لِلْبَشَرِ
For We have caused none but angelic powers to lord over the fire [of hell]; and We have not caused their number to be aught but a trial for those who are bent on denying the truth – to the end that they who have been granted revelation aforetime might be convinced [of the truth of this divine writ]; and that they who have attained to faith [in it] might grow yet more firm in their faith; and that [both] they who have been granted the earlier revelation and they who believe [in this one] might be freed of all doubt; and that they in whose hearts is disease and they who deny the truth outright might ask, "What does [your] God mean by this parable?" In this way God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray],and guides aright him that wills [to be guided]. And none can comprehend thy Sustainer's forces save Him alone: and all this is but a reminder to mortal man. (31)
- For We have caused none but angelic powers to lord over the fire [of hell];16 and We have not caused their number to be aught but a trial for those who are bent on denying the truth17 - to the end that they who have been granted revelation aforetime might be convinced [of the truth of this divine writ];18 and that they who have attained to faith [in it] might grow yet more firm in their faith; and that [both] they who have been granted the earlier revelation and they who believe [in this one] might be freed of all doubt; and that they in whose hearts is disease19 and the who deny the truth outright might ask, "What does [your] God mean by this parable?"20 In this way God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray], and guides aright him that wills [to be guided].21 And none can comprehend thy Sustainers forces save Him alone: and all this22 is but a reminder to mortal man.
- 16 Since it is by virtue of his powers of conscious perception and conceptual thinking that man can arrive at a discriminating cognition of good and evil and, thus, rise to great spiritual heights, these powers are described here as "angelic" (lit., "angels" - this being the earliest occurrence of the term malak in the history of Qur'anic revelation). On the other hand, since a neglect or a deliberately wrong use of these angelic powers is at the root of all sinning on the part of man and, therefore, of his suffering in the hereafter, they are spoken of as "the lords (ashab) of the fire [of hell]", which complements the expression "over it'" in the preceding verse.
- 17 This is apparently an allusion to the allegorical character of this passage, which "those who are bent on denying the truth" are unwilling to recognize as such and, hence, fail to grasp its real purport. By speculating on the reasons which allegedly induced Muhammad - whom they regard as the "author" of the Qur'an - to lay stress on one particular number, they tend to take the allegory in a literal sense, thus missing its point entirely.
- 18 Namely, by being enabled, through an understanding of the above allegory, to appreciate the rational approach of the Qur'an to all questions of faith. The reference to "those who have been granted revelation aforetime is the earliest statement outlining the principle of continuity in mankind's religious experience.
- 19 I.e., in this instance, the half-hearted ones who, despite their ability to discern between right and wrong, incline towards unbelief.
- 20 Cf. the identical phrase in 2:26, together with the corresponding note 18. My interpolation, in both these passages, of the word "your" between brackets is necessitated by the fact that it is the unbelievers who ask this question.
- 21 Or: "God lets go astray whomever He wills, and guides aright whomever He wills" (see surah 14, note 4). The stress on the allegorical nature of the above passage, spoken of as a "parable" (mathal), has here the same purpose as in 2:26 - namely, to prevent the followers of the Qur'an from attaching a literal meaning to its eschatological descriptions - a purpose that is unmistakably expressed in the concluding sentence of this passage: "All this is but a reminder to mortal man". (See also next note.)
- 22 Lit., "it" or "these" - depending on whether the personal pronoun hiya is taken to denote a singular - in which case it would refer to the feminine noun saqar, "hell-fire" (Tabari, Zamakhshari, Baghawi, Ibn Kathir) - or a plural, referring to what Razi pinpoints as "those [Qur'anic] verses dealing with these allegories (hadhihi 'l-mutashabihat)": hence my compromise rendering "all this".
- And We have set none5794 but angels as Guardians of the Fire; and We have fixed their number5795 only as a trial for Unbelievers,- in order that the People of the Book may arrive at certainty, and the Believers may increase in Faith,- and that no doubts may be left for the People of the Book and the Believers, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the Unbelievers may say, "What symbol doth Allah intend by this?"5796 Thus doth Allah leave to stray whom He pleaseth, and guide whom He pleaseth: and none can know the forces of thy Lord, except He.5797 And this is no other than a warning to mankind.
- 5794 Cf. 66:6, and n. 5540. There was a great volume of angelology in the religious literature of the People of the Book (i.e., the Jews and Christians) to whom (among others) an appeal is made in this verse. The Essenes, a Jewish brotherhood with highly spiritual ideas, to which perhaps the Prophet Jesus himself belonged, had an extensive literature of angelology. In the Midrash also, which was a Jewish school of exegesis and mystical interpretation, there was much said about angels. The Eastern Christian sects contemporary with the birth of Islam had borrowed and developed many of these ideas, and their mystics owed much to the Gnostics and the Persian apocalyptic systems. In the New Testament the relation of the angels with Fire is referred to more than once. In Rev. 9:11 we have "the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon". In Rev. 14:18 there is an "angel which had power over fire", and in Rev. 16:8 an angel has "power . . . given unto him to scorch men with fire". In the Old Testament (Daniel 7:9-10) me essence of all angels is fire: thousands of them issued as a fiery stream from before the Ancient of Days, whose "throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire".
- 5795 The mystic significance of numbers is a favourite theme with some writers, but I lay no stress on it. In Christian theology the number of the Beast, 666, in Rev. 13:18 has given rise to much controversy, and may refer only to the numerical value of the letters in the name of the Roman Emperor Nero. In our own literature I think that we ought to avoid too much insistence on speculative conjectures. (R).
- 5796 There are four classes of people mentioned here: (1) the Muslims will have their faith increased, because they believe that all revelation is from Allah Most Merciful, and all His forces will work in their favour; (2) the People of the Book, those who had received previous revelations of an analogous character, the Jews and Christians, had numerous sects disputing with each other on minute points of doctrine; but they will now, if they believe, find rest from controversies in a broad understanding of scripture; (3) those in whose hearts is a disease (see 2:8-10, notes 33-34), the insincere ones, the hypocrites, will only be mystified, because they believe nothing and have rejected the grace and mercy of Allah; (4) the Unbelievers have frankly done the same and must suffer similar consequences. (R).
- 5797 It is a necessary consequence of moral responsibility and freedom of choice in man, that he should be left free to stray if he chooses to do so, in spite of all the warning and the instruction he receives. Allah's channels of warning and instruction?His spiritual forces-are infinite, as are His powers. No man can know them. But this warning or reminder is addressed to all mankind.<br/>All things are referred to Allah. But we must not attribute evil to Him. In 4:79 we are expressly told that the good comes from Allah, and the evil from ourselves.
-
And We have set none but angels as Guardians of the Fire; and We have fixed their number only as a trial for Unbelievers,- in order that the People of the Book may arrive at certainty, and the Believers may increase in Faith,- and that no doubts may be left for the People of the Book and the Believers, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the Unbelievers may say, "What symbol doth Allah intend by this?" Thus doth Allah leave to stray whom He pleaseth, and guide whom He pleaseth: and none can know the forces of thy Lord, except He and this is no other than a warning to mankind.
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
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.
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
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.
— M. Habib Shakir -
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 i.e. their number (19) is written in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] and the believers may increase in Faith (as this Qur'an is the truth) and that no doubts 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.
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
And We have appointed none but the angels to be wardens of the Fire. And their number we have made only a trial for those who disbelieve, so that those who are vouchsafed the Book may be convinced, and that those who believe may increase in faith, and that those who are vouchsafed the Book and the believers may not doubt, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the infidels may say: what meaneth Allah by this description! In this wise Allah sendeth astray whomsoever He will, and guideth whomsoever He will. And none knoweth the hosts of thy Lord but He. And it is naught but an admonition Unto man.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
We have appointed none but angels to guard the Fire, and made their number only as a trial for the unbelievers, so that those to whom the Book was given are certain and those who believe increase in belief. And that those who were given the Book, and those who believe will not be in doubt. And that those in whose hearts there is a sickness, together with the unbelievers, may say: 'What did Allah intend by this as an example? ' As such, Allah leaves in error whom He will and He guides whomsoever He will. None knows the hosts of your Lord except He. This is no more than a Reminder to humans.
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
And We have appointed only angels to be the masters of the Fire, and We have appointed their number only to be as a trial for the unbelievers, and that those who were given the Book may become sure, and that the Believers may increase in belief, and that those who were given the Book and the Believers may not doubt, and that those in whose hearts is sickness and the unbelievers may say, `what does God desire by this similitude?' Thus God sends astray whom He will, and guides whom He will. And none knows the hosts of thy Lord but He. And it is not but a Reminder for the mortals.
— Ayub Khan -
And none but angels have we made wardens of the Fire. And We have not fixed their number except as a trial for those who disbelieve, so that those, who have been given the Book, may attain certainty and those who believe may increase in faith, and those, who have been given the Book as well as the believers, may not doubt, and that those in whose hearts is disease and the disbelievers may say, 'What does God mean by such an illustration?' Thus does God leave to go astray whom He pleases and guide whom He pleases. And none knows the host of thy Lord but He. And this is nothing but a reminder for man.
— Sher Ali -
For We have caused none but angelic powers to lord over the fire [of hell]; and We have not caused their number to be aught but a trial for those who are bent on denying the truth – to the end that they who have been granted revelation aforetime might be convinced [of the truth of this divine writ]; and that they who have attained to faith [in it] might grow yet more firm in their faith; and that [both] they who have been granted the earlier revelation and they who believe [in this one] might be freed of all doubt; and that they in whose hearts is disease and they who deny the truth outright might ask, "What does [your] God mean by this parable?"
In this way God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray],and guides aright him that wills [to be guided].
And none can comprehend thy Sustainer's forces save Him alone: and all this is but a reminder to mortal man.
— Muhammad Asad -
We have appointed only angels to be masters of the Fire, and their number We have appointed only as a trial for the unbelievers, that those who were given the Book may have certainty, and that those who believe may increase in belief, and that those who were given the Book and those who believe may not be in-doubt, and that those in whose hearts there is sickness, and the unbelievers, may say, What did God intend by this as a similitude? So God leads astray whomsoever He will, and He guides whomsoever He will; and none knows the hosts of thy Lord but He. And it is naught but a Reminder to mortals.
— Arthur Arberry -
We{{17}} have appointed none but angels as the keepers of the Fire,{{18}} and We have not made their number but as a trial for the unbelievers{{19}} so that those who have been endowed with the Book will be convinced{{20}} and the believers' faith will increase, {{21}} and neither those who have been endowed with the Book nor the believers will fall into any doubt. As for those in whose hearts there is a sickness{{22}} as well as the unbelievers, they will say: "What did Allah aim at by this strange parable?"{{23}} Thus does Allah let whomsoever He pleases to go astray, and directs whomsoever He pleases{{24}} to the Right Way. And none knows the hosts of your Lord but He.{{25}} (And Hell has only been mentioned here) that people may take heed.{{26}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi