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Surah 74. Al-Muddaththir

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74:1
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمُدَّثِّرُ Y a ayyuh a almuddaththir u
O THOU [in thy solitude] enfolded!1
  - Mohammad Asad

The expression muddaththir (an abbreviated form of mutadaththir) signifies "one who is covered [with something]" or "enfolded [in something]"; and all philologists point out that the verb dathara, from which the above participial noun is derived, may equally well have a concrete or abstract connotation. Most of the commentators understand the phrase "O thou enfolded one" in its literal, concrete sense, and assume that it refers to the Prophet's habit of covering himself with a cloak or blanket when he felt that a revelation was about to begin. Razi, however, notes that this apostrophe may well have been used metaphorically, as an allusion to Muhammad's intense desire for solitude before the beginning of his prophetic mission (cf. introductory note to surah {96}: and this, according to Razi, would explain his being thus addressed in connection with the subsequent call, "Arise and warn" - i.e., "Give now up thy solitude, and stand up before all the world as a preacher and warner."

O Muddaththir (the one enveloped - one of the nicknames of Prophet Muhammad)!
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
O you covered up 'in your clothes'!
  - Mustafa Khattab
O thou enveloped in thy cloak,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
O thou wrapped up (in a mantle)! 5778
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In these wonderful early verses there is a double thread of thought: (1) A particular occasion or person is referred to; (2) a general spiritual lesson is taught. As to (1), the Prophet was now past the stage of personal contemplation, lying down or sitting in his mantle; he was now to go forth boldly to deliver his Message and publicly proclaim the Lord: his heart had always been purified, but now all his outward doings must be dedicated to Allah, and conventional respect for ancestral customs or worship must be thrown aside; his work as a Messenger was the most generous gift that could flow from his personality, but no reward or appreciation was to be expected from his people, but quite the contrary; there would be much call on his patience, but his contentment would arise from the good pleasure of Allah. As to (2), similar stages arise in a minor degree in the life of every good man, for which the Prophet's life is to be a universal pattern.

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74:2
قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ Qum faan th ir
Arise and warn!
  - Mohammad Asad
Stand up and warn.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Arise and warn 'all'.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Arise and warn!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Arise and deliver thy warning!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:3
وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ Warabbaka fakabbir
And thy Sustainer's greatness glorify!
  - Mohammad Asad
Proclaim the greatness of your Rabb,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Revere your Lord 'alone'.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Thy Lord magnify,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And thy Lord do thou magnify!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:4
وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ Wathiy a baka fa t ahhir
And thine inner self purify!2
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "thy garments (thiyab) purify": but almost all the classical commentators point out that the noun thawb and its plural thiyab is often metonymically applied to that which a garment encloses, i.e., a person's "body" or, in a wider sense, his "self" or his "heart", or even his "spiritual state" or "conduct" (Taj al-'Arus). Thus, commenting on the above verse, Zamakhshari draws the reader's attention to the well-known idiomatic phrases tahir ath-thiyab (lit., "one who is clean in his garments") and danis ath-thiyab ("one who is filthy in his garments"), and stresses their tropical significance of "free from faults and vices" and "vicious and perfidious", respectively. Razi states with approval that "according to most of the [earlier] commentators, the meaning [of this verse] is, 'purify thy heart of all that is blameworthy'".

purify your clothes,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Purify your garments.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Thy raiment purify,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And thy garments keep free from stain! 5779
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Possibly, in its immediate application, there is a reference to the dirt and filth which the Pagans used to throw at the Prophet to insult and persecute him.

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74:5
وَٱلرُّجْزَ فَٱهْجُرْ Wa al rrujza fa o hjur
And all defilement shun!
  - Mohammad Asad
keep yourself away from uncleanliness,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'Continue to' shun idols.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Pollution shun!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And all abomination shun! 5780
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Rujz or Rijz: abomination: usually understood to refer to idolatry. It is even possible that there was an idol called Rujz. But it has a wider signification, as including a mental state opposed to true worship, a state of doubt or indecision.

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74:6
وَلَا تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ Wal a tamnun tastakthir u
And do not through giving seek thyself to gain,3
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit. "and do not bestow favours to obtain increase".

do not favor others to expect a gain,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Do not do a favour expecting more 'in return'.1
  - Mustafa Khattab

 It was a common practice to give someone a gift, hoping to receive a more valuable gift in return. This practice is disliked in Islam.

And show not favor, seeking worldly gain!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Nor expect in giving any increase (for thyself)! 5781
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The legal and commercial formula is that you give in order to receive. And usually you expect to receive what is worth to you a little more than you give. The spiritual consideration is that you give, but expect nothing from the receiver. You serve Allah and Allah's creatures.

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74:7
وَلِرَبِّكَ فَٱصْبِرْ Walirabbika fa i s bir
but unto thy Sustainer turn in patience.
  - Mohammad Asad
and be patient for the sake of your Rabb.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
And persevere for 'the sake of' your Lord.
  - Mustafa Khattab
For the sake of thy Lord, be patient!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
But for thy Lord's (Cause) be patient and constant! 5782
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Our zeal for Allah's Cause itself requires that we should not be impatient, and that we should show constancy in our efforts for His Cause. For we have faith, and we know that He is All-Good, All-Wise, and All-Powerful, and everything will ultimately be right.

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74:8
فَإِذَا نُقِرَ فِى ٱلنَّاقُورِ Fai tha nuqira fee a l nn a qoor i
And [warn all men that] when the trumpet-call [of resurrection] is sounded,
  - Mohammad Asad
When the Trumpet will be sounded,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'For' when the Trumpet will be sounded,1
  - Mustafa Khattab

 This is when the Trumpet will be blown for the second time, causing everyone to rise from the dead for judgment. See 39:68.

For when the trumpet shall sound,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Finally when the Trumpet is sounded
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:9
فَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَوْمٌ عَسِيرٌ Fa thal ika yawmai th in yawmun AAaseer un
that very Day shall be a day of anguish,
  - Mohammad Asad
that Day will be a very difficult Day,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
that will 'truly' be a difficult Day-
  - Mustafa Khattab
Surely that day will be a day of anguish,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
That will be that Day a Day of Distress 5783
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Sinner's course is now shown in contrast to the Seeker's. The Sinner may be self-complacent now: but what will be his position when the Reckoning comes? Not easy, indeed a Day of Distress!

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74:10
عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ غَيْرُ يَسِيرٍ AAal a alk a fireena ghayru yaseer in
not of ease, for all who [now] deny the truth!4
  - Mohammad Asad

Since this is the earliest Qur'anic occurrence of the expression kafir (the above surah having been preceded only by the first five verses of surah {96}, its use here - and, by implication, in the whole of the Qur'an - is obviously determined by the meaning which it had in the speech of the Arabs before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad: in other words, the term kafir cannot be simply equated, as many Muslim theologians of post-classical times and practically all Western translators of the Qur'an have done, with "unbeliever" or "infidel" in the specific, restricted sense of one who rejects the system of doctrine and law promulgated in the Qur'an and amplified by the teachings of the Prophet - but must have a wider, more general meaning. This meaning is easily grasped when we bear in mind that the root verb of the participial noun kafir (and of the infinitive noun kufr) is kafara, "he [or "it"] covered [a thing]": thus, in 57:20 the tiller of the soil is called (without any pejorative implication) kafir, "one who covers", i.e., the sown seed with earth, just as the night is spoken of as having "covered" (kafara) the earth with darkness. In their abstract sense, both the verb and the nouns derived from it have a connotation of "concealing" something that exists or "denying" something that is true. Hence, in the usage of the Qur'an - with the exception of the one instance (in 57:20 ) where this participial noun signifies a "tiller of the soil" - a kafir is "one who denies [or "refuses to acknowledge"] the truth" in the widest, spiritual sense of this latter term: that is, irrespective of whether it relates to a cognition of the supreme truth - namely, the existence of God - or to a doctrine or ordinance enunciated in the divine writ, or to a self-evident moral proposition, or to an acknowledgment of, and therefore gratitude for, favours received. (Regarding the expression alladhinakafaru, implying conscious intent, see surah {2}, note [6].)

not easy for the disbelievers.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
far from easy for the disbelievers.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Not of ease, for disbelievers.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Far from easy for those without Faith.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:11
ذَرْنِى وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا Th arnee waman khalaqtu wa h eed a n
LEAVE Me alone [to deal] with him whom I have created alone,5
  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "...whom I alone have created". The above sentence can be understood in either of these two senses, depending on whether one relates the expression "alone" (wahid) to God - thus stressing His uniqueness as Creator - or to this particular object of His creation, man, who begins and ends his life in a state of utter loneliness (cf. 6:94 and 19:80 and {95}). In either case, our attention is drawn to the fact of man's inescapable dependence on God. Beyond that, the phrase in question carries a further meaning, namely, "Leave it to Me alone to decide what to do with him who forgets that I am his Creator and Sustainer" - thus forbidding any human punishment of "those who deny the truth".

Leave Me and the one (Walid bin Mughirah, a staunch opponent of the Prophet) whom I created, alone.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
And leave to me 'O Prophet' the one I created all by Myself,
  - Mustafa Khattab
Leave Me (to deal) with him whom I created lonely,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Leave Me alone (to deal) with the (creature) whom I created (bare and) alone! 5784 5785
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The question of Justice and Punishment to men is for Allah alone. For man at his best can see only one side of truth, and only Allah is All-Knowing. He alone can judge the limits of Justice and Mercy.

Man's adventitious advantages-wealth, power, position, talents-are not due to his own merits. They are gifts from Allah, Who created him. In himself he came bare and alone.

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74:12
وَجَعَلْتُ لَهُۥ مَالًا مَّمْدُودًا WajaAAaltu lahu m a lan mamdood a n
and to whom I have granted resources vast,
  - Mohammad Asad
I gave him abundant resources,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and granted him abundant wealth,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And then bestowed upon him ample means,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
To whom I granted resources in abundance
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:13
وَبَنِينَ شُهُودًا Wabaneena shuhood a n
and children as [love's] witnesses,
  - Mohammad Asad
thriving sons,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and children always by his side,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And sons abiding in his presence
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And sons to be by his side! 5786
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The great ones of the earth may have wealth, a large following, sons by their side to defend them and do their bidding and man-power to help them in their battles. Life may be smooth and agreeable to them. But their responsibility is to Allah.

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74:14
وَمَهَّدتُّ لَهُۥ تَمْهِيدًا Wamahhadtu lahu tamheed a n
and to whose life I gave so wide a scope:6
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "for whom I have spread [all] out in a [wide] spread" - i.e., "whom I have endowed with potentialities far beyond those open to other living beings".

and made his life smooth and comfortable.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and made life very easy for him.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And made (life) smooth for him.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
To whom I made (life) smooth and comfortable!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:15
ثُمَّ يَطْمَعُ أَنْ أَزِيدَ Thumma ya t maAAu an azeed a
and yet, he greedily desires that I give yet more!
  - Mohammad Asad
Yet he hopes that I shall give him more.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Yet he is hungry for more.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Yet he desireth that I should give more.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Yet is he greedy that I should add (yet more) 5787
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Sinner takes Allah's gifts as if they were his right. The more he gets, the more is he greedy. Yet to Allah's Signs and revelations he is wilfully deaf or even openly rebellious. But he is only preparing the way for his own undoing.

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74:16
كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ لِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا عَنِيدًا Kall a innahu k a na li a y a tin a AAaneed a n
Nay, verily, it is against Our messages that he knowingly, stubbornly sets himself7 -
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "he is wont (kana) to set himself". The noun 'anid, derived from the verb 'anada, denotes "one who opposes or rejects something that is true, knowing it to be true" (Lisan al-'Arab). The element of human contrariness and stubbornness is implied in the use of the auxiliary verb kana, which indicates here a permanently recurring phenomenon despite its past-tense formulation. I am, therefore, of the opinion that verses {18-25}, although ostensibly formulated in the past tense, must also be rendered in the present tense.

By no means! Because he has stubbornly denied Our revelations.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
But no! 'For' he has been truly stubborn with Our revelations.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Nay! For lo! he hath been stubborn to Our revelations.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
By no means! For to Our Signs he has been refractory!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:17
سَأُرْهِقُهُۥ صَعُودًا Saorhiquhu s aAAood a n
[and so] I shall constrain him to endure a painful uphill climb!8
  - Mohammad Asad

In combination with the verb urhiquhu ("I shall constrain him to endure") the term sa'ud (lit., "ascent" or "climb") has the tropical connotation of something extremely difficult, painful or distressing. In the above context, it is an allusion to the loss of all instinctive innocence - and, hence, to the individual and social suffering - which unavoidably follows upon man's wilful neglect of moral and spiritual truths ("God's messages") in this world and bars his spiritual development in the life to come.

Soon I shall make him suffer mounting calamities,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
I will make his fate unbearable,
  - Mustafa Khattab
On him I shall impose a fearful doom.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Soon will I visit him with a mount of calamities! 5788
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"A mount of calamities" or disasters: may be understood as a phrase for cumulative disasters.

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74:18
إِنَّهُۥ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ Innahu fakkara waqaddar a
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] -
  - Mohammad Asad
surely he pondered and devised a plot.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
for he contemplated and determined 'a degrading label for the Quran'.
  - Mustafa Khattab
For lo! he did consider; then he planned
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
For he thought and he plotted
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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74:19
فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ Faqutila kayfa qaddar a
and thus he destroys himself,9 the way he meditates:
  - Mohammad Asad

The expression qutila reads, literally, "he has been killed" or, as an imprecation, "may he be killed". Since a literal rendering of this expression - whether conceived as a statement of fact or an imprecation - would be meaningless here, many commentators (Tabari among them) understand it as signifying "he is rejected from Gods grace" (lu'ina) i.e., "killed" spiritually by his own action or attitude; hence my rendering, "he destroys himself".

May he perish, how he plotted!
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
May he be condemned! How evil was what he determined!
  - Mustafa Khattab
(Self) destroyed is he, how he planned!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And woe to him! how he plotted! 5789
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. li. 10: "Woe to the falsehood-mongers!"

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74:20
ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ Thumma qutila kayfa qaddar a
yea, he destroys himself, the way he meditates!
  - Mohammad Asad
Again, may he perish, how he plotted!
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
May he be condemned even more! How evil was what he determined!
  - Mustafa Khattab
Again (self) destroyed is he, how he planned!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Yea woe to him! how he plotted!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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