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In the name
of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful |
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SECTION: 1
O Muddaththir (the one enveloped - one of the nicknames of
Prophet Muhammad)![1] Stand up and warn.[2] Proclaim the
greatness of your Rabb,[3] purify your clothes,[4] keep yourself
away from uncleanliness,[5] do not favor others to expect a
gain,[6] and be patient for the sake of your Rabb.[7]
74:[1-7] |
Instructions to the Prophet for cleanliness and patience
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When the Trumpet will be sounded,[8] that Day
will be a very difficult Day,[9] not easy for the
disbelievers.[10] Leave Me and the one (Walïd bin Mughïrah, a
staunch opponent of the Prophet) whom I created, alone.[11]
I gave him abundant resources,[12] thriving sons,[13] and made
his life smooth and comfortable.[14] Yet he hopes that I shall
give him more.[15] By no means! Because he has stubbornly denied
Our revelations.[16] Soon I shall make him suffer mounting
calamities,[17] surely he pondered and devised a plot.[18] May
he perish, how he plotted![19] Again, may he perish, how he
plotted![20] He looked around,[21] frowned and scowled,[22] then
he turned his back in scornful pride[23] and said: “This is
nothing but a magic from the old,[24] this is nothing but the
word of a human being."[25] Soon I shall cast him into Saqar.[26]
What will make you understand, what Saqar is?[27] It is
burning fire which leaves nothing and spares none.[28] It
shrivels human flesh.[29] It is guarded by nineteen guards.[30]
We have appointed none but angels as wardens of the fire; and We
have made their number a trial for the unbelievers, so that the
People of the Book may be convinced and the faith of the true
believers may be increased, and that no doubts will be left for
the People of the Book and the believers, and that those in
whose hearts there is a disease and the disbelievers may say:
“What could Allah mean by this parable?” Thus, Allah leaves to
stray whom He wills and guides whom He pleases. No one knows the
forces of your Rabb except Himself, and this (Qur'an) is
nothing but a reminder to mankind.[31]
74:[8-31] |
The
Day of Judgment will be very difficult, especially for those who
deny Allah's revelations and oppose His cause |
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SECTION: 2
Nay! By the moon,[32] by the departing night[33] and by the
coming of dawn,[34] surely this hellfire is one of mighty
scourge,[35] a warning to mankind;[36] to any of you who chooses
to go forward or to lag behind.[37] Every soul is held in pledge
for its deeds,[38] except the people of the right hand,[39] who
shall be in paradise. They will ask[40] from the culprits:[41]
“What brought you into hell?”[42] They will answer: “We did not
use to offer the Salah (prayers),[43] we did not use to
feed the poor,[44] we used to join those who wasted their time
in vain talk,[45] and we used to deny the Day of Judgment,[46]
until death overtook us."[47] On that Day, no
intercession of any intercessors shall profit them.[48] Then
what is the matter with them that they turn away from this
admonition?[49] Like frightened donkeys[50] fleeing from a
lion.[51] Nay, each of them wants a scripture of his own to be
unrolled before him.[52] But no! The fact is that they do not
fear the Hereafter.[53] But no! Surely this Qur’an is an
admonition.[54] Let him who wills take heed.[55] But none takes
heed except by the will of Allah. He Alone is worthy to be
feared and He Alone is worthy to forgive those who fear Him.[56]
74:[32-56] |
Actions which lead to hellfire are: Not offering Salah, not
feeding the poor, wasting time in vain talk and denying the Day
of Judgment |
Major Issues, Divine
Law and Guidance:
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* Instructions to the Prophet for
cleanliness and patience.
* The fact that the Day of Judgement will be very difficult
especially for those who deny Allah’s revelations and oppose His
cause.
* Actions which lead to the hellfire are: Not offering Salah,
not feeding the poor, wasting time in vain talk and denying the
Day of Judgement.
The earliest revelation to the Prophet (pbuh)
was the first five verses of Sürah Al-'Alaq, in which it was
said: “Read (O Prophet), in the name of your Rabb, Who created:
created man from a clot of congealed blood. Read; and your Rabb
is Most Generous, Who taught knowledge by the pen, taught man
what he did not know.”
This was his first experience of revelation, therefore, in this
Message it was not told what great mission he was being
entrusted with and what duties he had to perform in the future.
He was only initiated into it and then left alone for a while in
order to absorb the great strain this experience had caused him
and to allow him to become mentally prepared to receive the
revelation and perform the prophetic mission in the future.
After this intermission, when the revelation was resumed, the
first seven verses of Sürah Al-Muddaththir were revealed. In
these Ayat, he was for the first time commanded to arise and
warn the people of the consequences of the way of life they were
following and to proclaim the greatness of Allah in a world
where others were being magnified without any justification. He
was given this instruction: "The demand of the unique mission
that you are to perform now, is that your life should be pure in
every respect and you should carry out the duty of reforming
your people sincerely, irrespective of any worldly gain." Then,
in the last sentence, he is exhorted to endure with patience,
for the sake of his Rabb, all the hardships and troubles that he
might have to face while performing his mission.
In the implementation of this Divine Command, when the Prophet
began to preach Islam and recite the Qur’anic Sürahs revealed
successively, the people of Makkah felt alarmed, and it provoked
a great storm of opposition and hostility. A few months passed
in this state until the Hajj season approached. The people of
Makkah feared that if Muhammad (pbuh) started visiting the
caravans of the pilgrims coming from all over Arabia at their
resting places reciting the spell binding and unique verses of
the Qur’an to their assemblies, his message would eventually
reach every part of Arabia and influence countless people.
Therefore, the Qureysh chiefs held a conference and decided that
they would start a propaganda campaign against the Prophet (pbuh)
among the pilgrims as soon as they arrived. After they had
agreed on this, Walïd bin Al-Mughirah said to the assembled
people: “If you say contradictory things about Muhammad, we all
would lose our trust among the people. Therefore, let us agree
upon one opinion, which we should all say without dispute. They
all requested Walïd to come up with some statement and he said:
"Let me think it over for awhile." Then, after prolonged thought
and consideration, he said: "The nearest thing to the truth is
that you tell the Arabs that he is a sorcerer, who has brought a
message by which he separates a man from his father, and from
his brother, and from his wife and children, and from his
family." They all agreed on what Walïd had proposed. Then, in
accordance to the scheme, the men of Qureysh spread out among
the pilgrims of Hajj and warned everyone that they should avoid
the sorcery of Muhammad through which he stirs up division among
the families.” But the plan, which the Qureysh chiefs carried
out, yielded results contrary to what they had expected and
actually favored the Prophet and his name became known
throughout Arabia.
(Ibn Hisham, pp. 288-289) In conclusion, this Sürah clearly
states: "Allah does not stand in need of anybody’s faith. The
Qur’an is an admonition that has been presented before the
people openly; now whoever wants may accept it. Allah has the
right that the people should fear Him and He Alone has the power
to forgive the one who adopts piety and God consciousness, even
though one may have committed many acts of disobedience in the
past."
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