Surah Al-Muddaththir

Ta'awwudh · Seeking Refuge

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytani ar-rajim. I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.

The Name · Bismillah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismillahi ar-Rahmani ar-Rahim. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

✦

The Surah · Al-Muddaththir

﴾١﴿ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمُدَّثِّرُ

Ya ayyuha al-muddaththir

O you who are cloaked.

﴾٢﴿ قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ

Qum fa-andhir

Arise and warn.

﴾٣﴿ وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ

Wa Rabbaka fakabbir

And your Lord, magnify.

﴾٤﴿ وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ

Wa thiyabaka fatahhir

And your garments, purify.

﴾٥﴿ وَٱلرُّجْزَ فَٱهْجُرْ

War-rujza fahjur

And the filth, abandon.

﴾٦﴿ وَلَا تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ

Wa la tamnun tastakthir

And do not give expecting more in return.

﴾٧﴿ وَلِرَبِّكَ فَٱصْبِرْ

Wa li-Rabbika fasbir

And for your Lord, be patient.

﴾٨﴿ فَإِذَا نُقِرَ فِى ٱلنَّاقُورِ

Fa-idha nuqira fi an-naqur

When the horn is blown,

﴾٩﴿ فَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ يَوْمٌ عَسِيرٌ

Fadhalika yawma'idhin yawmun 'asir

that Day will be a difficult day,

﴾١٠﴿ عَلَى ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ غَيْرُ يَسِيرٍۢ

'Ala al-kafirina ghayru yasir

for the deniers, not easy.

﴾١١﴿ ذَرْنِى وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًۭا

Dharni wa man khalaqtu wahida

Leave Me with the one I created alone,

﴾١٢﴿ وَجَعَلْتُ لَهُۥ مَالًۭا مَّمْدُودًۭا

Wa ja'altu lahu malan mamduda

and gave extended wealth,

﴾١٣﴿ وَبَنِينَ شُهُودًۭا

Wa banina shuhuda

and sons present with him,

﴾١٤﴿ وَمَهَّدتُّ لَهُۥ تَمْهِيدًۭا

Wa mahhadtu lahu tamhida

and for whom I smoothed the way flat.

﴾١٥﴿ ثُمَّ يَطْمَعُ أَنْ أَزِيدَ

Thumma yatma'u an azid

Then he wants Me to add more.

﴾١٦﴿ كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ لِءَايَٰتِنَا عَنِيدًۭا

Kalla innahu kana li-ayatina 'anida

No. He has been stubborn toward Our signs.

﴾١٧﴿ سَأُرْهِقُهُۥ صَعُودًا

Sa-urhiquhu sa'uda

I will burden him with a steep ascent.

﴾١٨﴿ إِنَّهُۥ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ

Innahu fakkara wa qaddar

He thought and he measured.

﴾١٩﴿ فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ

Faqutila kayfa qaddar

So he was cursed, how he measured.

﴾٢٠﴿ ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ

Thumma qutila kayfa qaddar

Then he was cursed again, how he measured.

﴾٢١﴿ ثُمَّ نَظَرَ

Thumma nazar

Then he looked.

﴾٢٢﴿ ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ

Thumma 'abasa wa basar

Then he frowned and scowled.

﴾٢٣﴿ ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ

Thumma adbara wastakbar

Then he turned his back and was arrogant.

﴾٢٤﴿ فَقَالَ إِنْ هَٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌۭ يُؤْثَرُ

Faqala in hadha illa sihrun yu'thar

And he said, this is nothing but magic passed down,

﴾٢٥﴿ إِنْ هَٰذَآ إِلَّا قَوْلُ ٱلْبَشَرِ

In hadha illa qawlu al-bashar

this is nothing but the speech of a human being.

﴾٢٦﴿ سَأُصْلِيهِ سَقَرَ

Sa-uslihi saqar

I will drive him into Saqar.

﴾٢٧﴿ وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا سَقَرُ

Wa ma adraka ma saqar

And what will make you know what Saqar is?

﴾٢٨﴿ لَا تُبْقِى وَلَا تَذَرُ

La tubqi wa la tadhar

It leaves nothing and it spares nothing.

﴾٢٩﴿ لَوَّاحَةٌۭ لِّلْبَشَرِ

Lawwahatun lil-bashar

Scorching the skin.

﴾٣٠﴿ عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ

'Alayha tis'ata 'ashar

Over it are nineteen.

﴾٣١﴿ 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

Wa ma ja'alna as-haba an-nari illa mala'ikah, wa ma ja'alna 'iddatahum illa fitnatan lilladhina kafaru, liyastayqina alladhina utu al-kitaba wa yazdada alladhina amanu imana, wa la yartaba alladhina utu al-kitaba wal-mu'minun, wa liyaqula alladhina fi qulubihim maradun wal-kafiruna madha arada Allahu bihadha mathala, kadhalika yudillu Allahu man yasha'u wa yahdi man yasha', wa ma ya'lamu junuda Rabbika illa hu, wa ma hiya illa dhikra lil-bashar

We have made none but angels the keepers of the Fire, and We made their number only as a trial for those who disbelieved, so that those given the Scripture would be certain, and those who believe would increase in faith, and so that those given the Scripture and the believers would not doubt, and so that those with disease in their hearts and the deniers would say, what did Allah intend by this example? So Allah lets go astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. None knows the forces of your Lord except Him. And it is nothing but a reminder to human beings.

﴾٣٢﴿ كَلَّا وَٱلْقَمَرِ

Kalla wal-qamar

No. By the moon,

﴾٣٣﴿ وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذْ أَدْبَرَ

Wal-layli idh adbar

and the night as it retreats,

﴾٣٤﴿ وَٱلصُّبْحِ إِذَآ أَسْفَرَ

Was-subhi idha asfar

and the morning as it brightens,

﴾٣٥﴿ إِنَّهَا لَإِحْدَى ٱلْكُبَرِ

Innaha la-ihda al-kubar

it is one of the great ones,

﴾٣٦﴿ نَذِيرًۭا لِّلْبَشَرِ

Nadhiran lil-bashar

a warning to human beings,

﴾٣٧﴿ لِمَن شَآءَ مِنكُمْ أَن يَتَقَدَّمَ أَوْ يَتَأَخَّرَ

Liman sha'a minkum an yataqaddama aw yata'akhkhar

to whoever among you wills to go forward or to hold back.

﴾٣٨﴿ كُلُّ نَفْسٍۭ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ

Kullu nafsin bima kasabat rahinah

Every soul is held in pledge for what it earned,

﴾٣٩﴿ إِلَّآ أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلْيَمِينِ

Illa as-haba al-yamin

except the companions of the right.

﴾٤٠﴿ فِى جَنَّٰتٍۢ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ

Fi jannatin yatasa'alun

In gardens, they ask one another

﴾٤١﴿ عَنِ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ

'Ani al-mujrimin

about the criminals.

﴾٤٢﴿ مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِى سَقَرَ

Ma salakakum fi saqar

What put you into Saqar?

﴾٤٣﴿ قَالُوا۟ لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ

Qalu lam naku mina al-musallin

They say, we were not of those who prayed,

﴾٤٤﴿ وَلَمْ نَكُ نُطْعِمُ ٱلْمِسْكِينَ

Wa lam naku nut'imu al-miskin

and we did not feed the poor,

﴾٤٥﴿ وَكُنَّا نَخُوضُ مَعَ ٱلْخَآئِضِينَ

Wa kunna nakhudu ma'a al-kha'idin

and we used to engage in vain talk with those who engage,

﴾٤٦﴿ وَكُنَّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ

Wa kunna nukadhdhibu bi-yawmi ad-din

and we used to deny the Day of Recompense,

﴾٤٧﴿ حَتَّىٰٓ أَتَىٰنَا ٱلْيَقِينُ

Hatta atana al-yaqin

until certainty came to us.

﴾٤٨﴿ فَمَا تَنفَعُهُمْ شَفَٰعَةُ ٱلشَّٰفِعِينَ

Fama tanfa'uhum shafa'atu ash-shafi'in

So the intercession of intercessors will not benefit them.

﴾٤٩﴿ فَمَا لَهُمْ عَنِ ٱلتَّذْكِرَةِ مُعْرِضِينَ

Fama lahum 'ani at-tadhkirati mu'ridin

What is wrong with them, turning away from the reminder,

﴾٥٠﴿ كَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌۭ مُّسْتَنفِرَةٌۭ

Ka-annahum humurun mustanfirah

as if they were startled donkeys

﴾٥١﴿ فَرَّتْ مِن قَسْوَرَةٍۭ

Farrat min qaswarah

fleeing from a lion?

﴾٥٢﴿ بَلْ يُرِيدُ كُلُّ ٱمْرِئٍۢ مِّنْهُمْ أَن يُؤْتَىٰ صُحُفًۭا مُّنَشَّرَةًۭ

Bal yuridu kullu imri'in minhum an yu'ta suhufan munashsharah

Rather, every one of them wants to be handed unrolled scrolls.

﴾٥٣﴿ كَلَّا ۖ بَل لَّا يَخَافُونَ ٱلْءَاخِرَةَ

Kalla bal la yakhafuna al-akhirah

No. They simply do not fear the Hereafter.

﴾٥٤﴿ كَلَّآ إِنَّهُۥ تَذْكِرَةٌۭ

Kalla innahu tadhkirah

No. It is a reminder.

﴾٥٥﴿ فَمَن شَآءَ ذَكَرَهُۥ

Faman sha'a dhakarah

So whoever wills may remember it.

﴾٥٦﴿ وَمَا يَذْكُرُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ هُوَ أَهْلُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ وَأَهْلُ ٱلْمَغْفِرَةِ

Wa ma yadhkuruna illa an yasha'a Allah, huwa ahlu at-taqwa wa ahlu al-maghfirah

And they will not remember unless Allah wills. He is worthy of being feared and worthy of granting forgiveness.

The Tafsir · The Breakdown

What The Surah Means

Overview

Surah Al-Muddaththir is fifty-six verses, chapter 74, Makki. Its opening verses came after the first revelation at Hira, when the Prophet ﷺ had returned home shaken and wrapped himself up. Al-Bukhari records the account from Jabir ibn Abdullah of the pause in revelation and then this surah arriving.

The first seven verses are the job description of a public man, issued in the imperative and in a specific order. The middle of the surah is the most detailed portrait in the Quran of one specific opponent thinking his way to the wrong conclusion. The end contains the four sentence answer given by the people of the Fire when they are asked what put them there, and one of the four is about feeding.

He wrapped himself up after the first revelation. The reply was seven commands and a warning that his critics were already calculating.

Verses 1–7 · Seven Commands

O you who are cloaked, arise and warn. And your Lord, magnify. And your garments, purify.

Qum fa-andhir: arise and warn. The first word is a posture. Standing up precedes speaking, and both precede any of the interior work that follows.

Wa Rabbaka fakabbir: and your Lord, magnify. The object is placed first in the Arabic for emphasis, which puts the correction of proportion before everything else on the list.

Wa thiyabaka fatahhir: and your garments, purify. Al-Qurtubi records both readings, the literal cleanliness of clothing and the purification of the character the clothing stands for, and treats them as compatible rather than competing.

War-rujza fahjur: and abandon the filth. Then the sixth command, and this is the one to sit with.

Wa la tamnun tastakthir: do not give expecting more in return. The Arabic covers both giving in order to receive more and giving while counting it as a favor over the recipient. Both are named as disqualifying the gift.

Wa li-Rabbika fasbir: and for your Lord, be patient. The list closes where it started, with the object placed first. Patience is not for the outcome. It is for Him.

Stand, warn, magnify, purify, abandon, give without a return, and be patient for Him. That is the whole job.

Verses 11–25 · The Man Who Calculated

Leave Me with the one I created alone, and gave extended wealth, and sons present with him.

Dharni wa man khalaqtu wahida: leave Me with the one I created alone. He arrived with nothing and by himself, which is the first fact placed on the record.

Wa ja'altu lahu malan mamduda, wa banina shuhuda, wa mahhadtu lahu tamhida: extended wealth, sons present with him, and a path smoothed out flat. Three gifts, described in the language of a road being paved.

Thumma yatma'u an azid: then he wants Me to add more. The greed is not for what he lacks. It is for more on top of a life that has already been smoothed.

Innahu fakkara wa qaddar: he thought and he measured. He did not react. He ran the numbers on the revelation like a man pricing a deal, and the surah curses the calculation twice, faqutila kayfa qaddar.

Thumma nazar, thumma 'abasa wa basar, thumma adbara wastakbar: then he looked, then he frowned and scowled, then he turned his back and was arrogant. The Quran films his face in sequence.

Faqala in hadha illa sihrun yu'thar, in hadha illa qawlu al-bashar: he said this is nothing but magic passed down, this is nothing but the speech of a human being. After all that thinking, the verdict he produces is the one that protects his position.

He thought, he measured, he frowned, he turned. The conclusion was decided before the calculation started.

Verses 26–31 · Saqar and the Nineteen

I will drive him into Saqar. And what will make you know what Saqar is?

La tubqi wa la tadhar: it leaves nothing and spares nothing. Two verbs that between them close every exit.

Lawwahatun lil-bashar: scorching the skin. 'Alayha tis'ata 'ashar: over it are nineteen.

The number was seized on immediately as an argument, and the surah answers that in the next verse. The keepers were made angels, their number was made a trial for the deniers, so that the People of the Book would be certain and the believers would increase in faith, and so that those with disease in their hearts and the deniers would ask what was intended by this example.

Wa ma ya'lamu junuda Rabbika illa hu: none knows the forces of your Lord except Him. The verse states plainly that the number is not the subject and that the arithmetic was never available to them.

A number was given, and the surah says out loud that the number was given as a test of who you already are.

Verses 38–48 · The Four Answers

Every soul is held in pledge for what it earned, except the companions of the right.

Kullu nafsin bima kasabat rahinah: every soul is held as collateral against what it earned. The image is of something pledged and not yet redeemed.

In gardens, they ask one another, and they ask the criminals directly: ma salakakum fi saqar. What put you into Saqar. The answer is given by the criminals themselves, in four parts, and it is one of the most quoted passages in the Quran for a reason.

Lam naku mina al-musallin: we were not of those who prayed. Wa lam naku nut'imu al-miskin: and we did not feed the poor. Prayer and feeding, in that order, exactly as Al-Haqqah pairs them and exactly as Al-Ma'un pairs them.

Wa kunna nakhudu ma'a al-kha'idin: and we used to engage in vain talk with those who engage. Not that they led it. That they joined it. Being carried along by the conversation is filed as a cause of the Fire.

Wa kunna nukadhdhibu bi-yawmi ad-din, hatta atana al-yaqin: and we denied the Day of Recompense until certainty came to us. Then: fama tanfa'uhum shafa'atu ash-shafi'in. The intercession of intercessors will not benefit them.

No prayer, no feeding, joining the talk, and denying the Day. Four lines, spoken by the men who are in it.

Verses 49–56 · The Fleeing Donkeys

What is wrong with them, turning away from the reminder, as if they were frightened donkeys fleeing from a lion?

Ka-annahum humurun mustanfirah, farrat min qaswarah: startled donkeys in flight from a lion. The Quran chooses the least dignified animal available and puts it beside the most feared predator, and the mismatch is the insult.

Bal yuridu kullu imri'in minhum an yu'ta suhufan munashsharah: rather, every one of them wants to be handed his own unrolled scrolls. The demand is for a personal, private revelation addressed to him, which is the permanent last stand of a man who does not want to submit to a public one.

Kalla bal la yakhafuna al-akhirah: no. They simply do not fear the Hereafter. The surah strips the objection down to its actual cause, and it is not evidential.

Kalla innahu tadhkirah, faman sha'a dhakarah: it is a reminder, so whoever wills may remember it. Wa ma yadhkuruna illa an yasha'a Allah, huwa ahlu at-taqwa wa ahlu al-maghfirah. He is worthy of being feared and worthy of granting forgiveness. The surah that opened with a man wrapped in a cloak closes on those two names.

They wanted private scrolls with their names on them. The real problem was named in one line: they do not fear the Hereafter.

Structural Summary

Fifty-Six Verses. Arise and Warn.

Verses 1–7The CommandsStand, warn, magnify, purify, abandon filth, give without expecting return, and be patient for Him.

Verses 8–10The HornWhen the horn is blown, that Day is difficult, and for the deniers it is not easy.

Verses 11–17The Smoothed PathCreated alone, then given extended wealth, sons present, and a paved road. Then he wanted more.

Verses 18–25The CalculationHe thought and measured, frowned and scowled, turned and was arrogant, and called it human speech.

Verses 26–31SaqarIt leaves nothing and spares nothing. Nineteen over it, given as a trial and not as arithmetic.

Verses 38–48The Four AnswersNo prayer, no feeding the poor, joining the vain talk, and denying the Day, until certainty came.

Verses 49–56The FlightFleeing like startled donkeys, demanding private scrolls, not fearing the Hereafter.

Why This Surah Is For You

Verse 6 belongs on the wall of anyone whose giving is visible. La tamnun tastakthir. Do not give expecting more back, and do not give while holding it over the man who received it. The verse sits inside the seven core commands of a public mission, which tells you how central it is.

Verses 18 to 25 are the anatomy of motivated reasoning, and they describe a competent man, not a fool. He thought. He measured. He looked. Then he produced the verdict that protected his position, and the Quran films his face while he does it. Watch for the moment your analysis starts serving your standing.

The four answers in verses 43 to 46 are a self-audit with no interpretation required. Am I praying. Am I feeding the poor. Am I joining talk that erodes what I claim to believe. Do I live like the Day is real. Three of the four are things a busy successful man drifts into without deciding to.

Verse 44 pairs feeding the poor with prayer for the third time in this juz, after Al-Haqqah and Al-Ma'arij. The Quran keeps filing those two together. Any spiritual program that has your prayer handled and your giving unstructured is not the program these surahs describe.

The Practice · Daily Integration

Fifty-Six Verses. Give and Say Nothing.

Give something this week that nobody can trace and that buys you nothing. Verse 6 disqualifies the gift that expects a return and the gift that is held over the receiver.

Run the four answers from verses 43 to 46 as a monthly checklist. Prayer, feeding, the talk you join, and how real the Day is to you.

When you catch yourself building a case, stop and ask what conclusion your position needs. Verse 18 says he thought and measured, and the Quran curses the measurement, not the thinking.

Keep the seven commands of verses 1 to 7 in order. Stand first. Everything on that list comes after standing up.

He wrapped himself in a cloak and was told to stand. He is worthy of being feared and worthy of granting forgiveness.

آمِين

Prepared with discipline · Ameen

Verse-By-Verse · Test Yourself

The Quiz

Two questions per verse. Translation and a key Arabic word. Walk through it slow. The goal is comprehension, not speed.

Verse 11 / 112

The Verse

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمُدَّثِّرُ

Ya ayyuha al-muddaththir

What does this verse say?