Al-Muddaththir المدثر
The Cloaked One
Al-Muddaththir is traditionally held to be among the earliest revelations, addressing the Prophet ﷺ as "the cloaked one" after he returned from the cave at Hira shaken and wrapped himself in a garment, and commands him plainly: arise and warn, magnify your Lord, purify your garments, and avoid idolatry — an early charter for the mission ahead. The surah then turns to a specific opponent, widely identified as Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah, a wealthy Meccan who heard the Quran and, rather than accept it, calculated a dismissive label for it, calling it "nothing but magic, passed down." The surah condemns his calculation in detail and promises him the fire of Saqar, describing it in a repeated refrain — it lets nothing remain and nothing escapes — before closing with an account of nineteen angels guarding it, given, the surah says, so that the People of the Book would be certain and believers increased in faith, while the diseased-hearted and disbelievers would only be given a further reason to doubt.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمُدَّثِّرُ
You, wrapped in your cloak,
قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ
arise and give warning!
وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ
Proclaim the greatness of your Lord;
وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ
cleanse yourself;
وَٱلرُّجْزَ فَٱهْجُرْ
keep away from all filth;
وَلَا تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ
do not be overwhelmed and weaken;
وَلِرَبِّكَ فَٱصْبِرْ
be steadfast in your Lord’s cause.
فَإِذَا نُقِرَ فِى ٱلنَّاقُورِ
When the Trumpet sounds,
فَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَوْمٌ عَسِيرٌ
that will be a Day of anguish for the disbelievers.
عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ غَيْرُ يَسِيرٍ
They will have no ease.
ذَرْنِى وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا
[Prophet], leave Me to deal with the one I created helpless,
وَجَعَلْتُ لَهُۥ مَالًا مَّمْدُودًا
then gave vast wealth,
وَبَنِينَ شُهُودًا
and sons by his side,
وَمَهَّدتُّ لَهُۥ تَمْهِيدًا
making everything easy for him––
ثُمَّ يَطْمَعُ أَنْ أَزِيدَ
yet he still hopes I will give him more.
كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ لِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا عَنِيدًا
No! He has been stubbornly hostile to Our revelation:
سَأُرْهِقُهُۥ صَعُودًا
I will inflict a spiralling torment on him.
إِنَّهُۥ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ
He planned and plotted––
فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ
devilishly he plotted!
ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ
ferociously he plotted!––
ثُمَّ نَظَرَ
and looked
ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ
and frowned and scowled
ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ
and turned away and behaved arrogantly
فَقَالَ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ
and said, ‘This is just old sorcery,
إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا قَوْلُ ٱلْبَشَرِ
just the talk of a mortal!’
سَأُصْلِيهِ سَقَرَ
I will throw him into the scorching Fire.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا سَقَرُ
What will explain to you what the scorching Fire is?
لَا تُبْقِى وَلَا تَذَرُ
It spares nothing and leaves nothing;
لَوَّاحَةٌ لِّلْبَشَرِ
it scorches the flesh of humans;
عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ
there are nineteen in charge of it––
وَمَا جَعَلْنَآ أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلنَّارِ إِلَّا مَلَـٰٓئِكَةً ۙ وَمَا جَعَلْنَا عِدَّتَهُمْ إِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِيَسْتَيْقِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَيَزْدَادَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِيمَـٰنًا ۙ وَلَا يَرْتَابَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۙ وَلِيَقُولَ ٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ وَٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ مَاذَآ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ بِهَـٰذَا مَثَلًا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُضِلُّ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَشَآءُ وَيَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَمَا هِىَ إِلَّا ذِكْرَىٰ لِلْبَشَرِ
none other than angels appointed by Us to guard Hellfire- and We have made their number a test for the disbelievers. So those who have been given the Scripture will be certain and those who believe will have their faith increased: neither those who have been given the Scripture nor the believers will have any doubts, but the sick at heart and the disbelievers will say, ‘What could God mean by this description?’ God leaves whoever He will to stray and guides whoever He will- no one knows your Lord’s forces except Him- this [description] is a warning to mortals.
كَلَّا وَٱلْقَمَرِ
Yes––by the moon!
وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذْ أَدْبَرَ
By the departing night!
وَٱلصُّبْحِ إِذَآ أَسْفَرَ
By the shining dawn!
إِنَّهَا لَإِحْدَى ٱلْكُبَرِ
It is one of the mightiest things,
نَذِيرًا لِّلْبَشَرِ
a warning to all mortals,
لِمَن شَآءَ مِنكُمْ أَن يَتَقَدَّمَ أَوْ يَتَأَخَّرَ
to those of you who choose to go ahead and those who lag behind.
كُلُّ نَفْسٍۭ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ
Every soul is held in pledge for its deeds,
إِلَّآ أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْيَمِينِ
but the Companions of the Right will stay
فِى جَنَّـٰتٍ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ
in Gardens and ask
عَنِ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
about the guilty.
مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِى سَقَرَ
‘What drove you to the Scorching Fire?’ [they will ask]
قَالُوا۟ لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ
and they will answer, ‘We did not pray;
وَلَمْ نَكُ نُطْعِمُ ٱلْمِسْكِينَ
we did not feed the poor;
وَكُنَّا نَخُوضُ مَعَ ٱلْخَآئِضِينَ
we indulged with others [in mocking the believers];
وَكُنَّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ
we denied the Day of Judgement
حَتَّىٰٓ أَتَىٰنَا ٱلْيَقِينُ
until the Certain End came upon us.’
فَمَا تَنفَعُهُمْ شَفَـٰعَةُ ٱلشَّـٰفِعِينَ
No intercessor’s plea will benefit them now.
فَمَا لَهُمْ عَنِ ٱلتَّذْكِرَةِ مُعْرِضِينَ
What is the matter with them? Why do they turn away from the warning,
كَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌ مُّسْتَنفِرَةٌ
like frightened asses
فَرَّتْ مِن قَسْوَرَةٍۭ
fleeing from a lion?
بَلْ يُرِيدُ كُلُّ ٱمْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ أَن يُؤْتَىٰ صُحُفًا مُّنَشَّرَةً
Each one of them demands that a scripture be sent down to him and unrolled before his very eyes-
كَلَّا ۖ بَل لَّا يَخَافُونَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ
No! Truly they have no fear of the life to come-
كَلَّآ إِنَّهُۥ تَذْكِرَةٌ
but truly this is a reminder.
فَمَن شَآءَ ذَكَرَهُۥ
Let whoever wishes to take heed do so:
وَمَا يَذْكُرُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ هُوَ أَهْلُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ وَأَهْلُ ٱلْمَغْفِرَةِ
they will only take heed if God so wishes. He is the Lord who should be heeded, the Lord of forgiveness.
Arabic text and translation (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem) via the Quran.Foundation API.
Frequently asked
Fifty-six verses.
Meccan, revealed in Makkah — among the earliest revelations by most traditional accounts.
"The cloaked one" or "the one wrapped in a garment" — addressing the Prophet ﷺ shortly after he returned from the cave at Hira and wrapped himself in a cloak.
Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah, a wealthy Meccan described as calculating a dismissive label — "nothing but magic, passed down" — for the Quran after hearing it.