Al-Muddaththir — The Cloaked One
سُورَةُ المُدَّثِّرِ
Verses
56
Revealed
4th
Period
Makkan
Juz
29
Al-Muddaththir addresses the Prophet ﷺ wrapped in his cloak and rouses him with the command that opened his public mission: arise and warn. Five rapid directives follow — magnify your Lord, purify your garments, shun the idols, give without seeking gain, and be patient for your Lord's sake — before the scene leaps to the terror of the Trumpet and a Day that is anything but easy for the disbelievers. The surah then turns to a single man Allah created alone, to whom He gave extensive wealth and sons present at his side and a life made smooth — yet who schemed against the revelation, deliberating step by step (he thought, then looked, then frowned and scowled, then turned away in arrogance) until he pronounced his verdict: this is nothing but magic passed down, nothing but the word of a mortal. His sentence is Saqar, and over it are nineteen keepers.
The number nineteen becomes a sign that sorts hearts — a trial for the disbelievers, a source of certainty for the People of the Scripture, and an increase of faith for the believers, while none knows the hosts of your Lord but He. Oaths by the moon, the retreating night, and the brightening dawn seal the warning. Then the surah's moral core: every soul is held in pledge for what it earned, except the Companions of the Right, who in the Gardens ask the people of the Fire what drove them into Saqar — and receive a four-fold confession: we did not pray, we did not feed the poor, we indulged in vain talk, and we denied the Day of Recompense. The surah closes on those who flee the Reminder like frightened donkeys fleeing a lion, and on an open door: this is a reminder, so whoever wills may take heed.
Arise and warnThe Trumpet & the hard DayThe man who schemed against revelationSaqar & its nineteenEvery soul held in pledge
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Core message
The Prophet ﷺ, wrapped in his cloak, is roused with the command that launched the public mission: qum fa-andhir (arise and warn) (v.2). Five directives follow in rapid succession — magnify your Lord (v.3), purify your garments (v.4), shun ar-rujz, the idols and all defilement (v.5), do not give seeking to gain more in return (v.6), and be patient for your Lord's sake (v.7). Then the scene leaps forward: when the Trumpet (an-nāqūr) is blown (v.8), that Day will be ʿasīr — a difficult Day (v.9), for the disbelievers anything but easy (v.10).
1–2
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمُدَّثِّرُ•قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ
Yā ayyuhā-l-muddaththir•Qum faʾandhir
O you who covers himself [with a garment], Arise and warn
3–7
وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ•وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ•وَٱلرُّجْزَ فَٱهْجُرْ•وَلَا تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ•وَلِرَبِّكَ فَٱصْبِرْ
Warabbaka fakabbir•Wathiyābaka faṭahhir•War-rujza fahjur•Walā tamnun tastakthir•Walirabbika faṣbir
And your Lord glorify And your clothing purify And uncleanliness avoid And do not confer favor to acquire more But for your Lord be patient.
8–10
فَإِذَا نُقِرَ فِى ٱلنَّاقُورِ•فَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَوْمٌ عَسِيرٌ•عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ غَيْرُ يَسِيرٍ
Faʾidhā nuqira fī-n-nāqūr•Fadhālika yawmaʾidhin yawmun ʿasīr•ʿAlā-l-kāfirīna ghayru yasīr
And when the trumpet is blown, That Day will be a difficult day For the disbelievers - not easy.
Memory hook — one call, five commands, one Day
The section opens with the sleeper roused — yā ayyuhā l-muddaththir (v.1) — and a single imperative, qum fa-andhir (v.2). Then five staccato commands, each landing on the emphatic -ir/-ur rhyme: kabbir (magnify), ṭahhir (purify), uhjur (shun), and fa-ṣbir (be patient). Then the Day arrives with the blast of the Trumpet (v.8). One call → five commands → one Day.
Purify your garments — v.4
Wa thiyābaka fa-ṭahhir (and your garments purify) was understood by the mufassirin on two levels: the literal cleanliness of one's clothes, and — as Mujāhid and others noted — a metaphor for purifying the self, one's conduct, and the heart. A warner sent to people must himself be clean, inwardly and outwardly.
Give without seeking gain — v.6
Wa lā tamnun tastakthir (and do not confer a favour seeking to gain more) is read by the mufassirin as a call to pure sincerity: do not give a gift expecting a larger return, and do not let your good deeds feel like a favour you are owed for. The warner gives freely, for Allah alone.
Section 1 — Arise and warn, and the Trumpet (vv. 1–10)
ٱلْمُدَّثِّرُ
al-muddaththir
The one who covers himself [in a cloak]
v.1 — the Prophet ﷺ addressed; the surah's name
قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ
qum fa-andhir
Arise and warn
v.2 — the command that began the public mission
وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ
wa rabbaka fa-kabbir
And magnify your Lord
v.3 — proclaim His greatness above all
وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ
wa thiyābaka fa-ṭahhir
And your garments purify
v.4 — clothing, and the self, kept clean
ٱلرُّجْزَ
ar-rujz
Defilement / the idols
v.5 — shun it (fa-hjur)
فَٱصْبِرْ
fa-ṣbir
So be patient
v.7 — for your Lord's sake
ٱلنَّاقُورِ
an-nāqūr
The Trumpet / horn
v.8 — when it is blown, the Day begins
عَسِيرٌ
ʿasīr
Difficult / hard
v.9 — that Day, on the disbelievers, not easy
Section 2 — The man created alone, and Saqar (vv. 11–30)
وَحِيدًۭا
waḥīdā
Alone
v.11 — the one Allah created with nothing
مَّمْدُودًۭا
mamdūdā
Extensive / abundant
v.12 — the wealth granted to him
شُهُودًۭا
shuhūdā
Present [at his side]
v.13 — sons around him
يَطْمَعُ
yaṭmaʿu
He desires / craves
v.15 — that I should add still more
عَنِيدًۭا
ʿanīdā
Obstinate / defiant
v.16 — toward Our verses
فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ
fakkara wa qaddara
He thought and measured
v.18 — the first rung of his scheming
سِحْرٌۭ يُؤْثَرُ
siḥrun yu'thar
Magic passed down [from others]
v.24 — his verdict on the Qur'an
سَقَرَ
saqar
Saqar (a name of Hellfire)
v.26 — where he will be cast
تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ
tisʿata ʿashar
Nineteen
v.30 — over it are nineteen [keepers]
Section 3 — The nineteen as a trial, and the oaths (vv. 31–37)
أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلنَّارِ
aṣḥāba n-nār
The keepers of the Fire
v.31 — made only angels
فِتْنَةًۭ
fitna
A trial / test
v.31 — their number as a test for the disbelievers
جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ
junūda rabbik
The hosts of your Lord
v.31 — none knows them but He
ٱلْقَمَرِ
al-qamar
The moon
v.32 — the first oath
أَدْبَرَ
adbara
It retreats / departs
v.33 — by the night as it turns away
أَسْفَرَ
asfara
It brightens
v.34 — by the morning as it lights up
إِحْدَى ٱلْكُبَرِ
iḥdā l-kubar
One of the greatest [afflictions]
v.35 — the Fire
نَذِيرًۭا
nadhīrā
A warning
v.36 — to mankind
يَتَقَدَّمَ أَوْ يَتَأَخَّرَ
yataqaddama aw yata'akhkhar
To advance or hold back
v.37 — whoever among you wills
Section 4 — The pledge and the people of the Fire (vv. 38–48)
رَهِينَةٌ
rahīna
Held in pledge / retained
v.38 — every soul, for what it earned
أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلْيَمِينِ
aṣḥāba l-yamīn
The Companions of the Right
v.39 — the exception, in Gardens
ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
al-mujrimīn
The criminals
v.41 — those asked in the Fire
سَلَكَكُمْ
salakakum
Put you / drove you in
v.42 — what put you into Saqar?
ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ
al-muṣallīn
Those who pray
v.43 — we were not among them
نُطْعِمُ ٱلْمِسْكِينَ
nuṭʿimu l-miskīn
We [would] feed the poor
v.44 — nor did we do this
نَخُوضُ
nakhūḍu
We plunge into vain talk
v.45 — with those who indulged
بِيَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ
bi-yawmi d-dīn
In the Day of Recompense
v.46 — which we used to deny
شَفَٰعَةُ ٱلشَّٰفِعِينَ
shafāʿatu sh-shāfiʿīn
The intercession of intercessors
v.48 — will not avail them
Section 5 — Fleeing the Reminder, and the close (vv. 49–56)
ٱلتَّذْكِرَةِ
at-tadhkira
The reminder
v.49 — from which they turn away
مُعْرِضِينَ
muʿriḍīn
Turning away
v.49 — what is wrong with them?
حُمُرٌۭ مُّسْتَنفِرَةٌۭ
ḥumurun mustanfira
Startled / frightened donkeys
v.50 — how they flee the Qur'an
قَسْوَرَةٍۭ
qaswara
A lion
v.51 — from which the donkeys bolt
صُحُفًۭا مُّنَشَّرَةًۭ
ṣuḥufan munashshara
Scriptures spread open
v.52 — what each of them demands
ٱلْءَاخِرَةَ
al-ākhira
The Hereafter
v.53 — which they do not fear
تَذْكِرَةٌۭ
tadhkira
A reminder
v.54 — indeed, the Qur'an is this
أَهْلُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ
ahlu t-taqwā
Worthy of being feared
v.56 — and worthy of granting forgiveness
Note on movement
Al-Muddaththir's 56 verses fall into short, hard-hitting movements: the opening call and its five commands, the Trumpet and the hard Day, the long portrait of the scheming man and his sentence to Saqar, the sign of the nineteen and the oaths, the moral reckoning of the people of the Fire, and the closing image of the fleeing donkeys. Reciters usually let the pace tighten through the scheming passage (vv.18–25) and soften at the open-door ending.
Full surah — the complete arc
Verses 1–56 · in one sitting
Reciting the whole surah preserves its sweep: the call to warn → the Trumpet → the man who schemed against revelation → Saqar and its nineteen → every soul in pledge → the fleeing donkeys and the open door.
The ending — huwa ahlu t-taqwā wa ahlu l-maghfira — is a balanced close on fear and hope, a fitting note to carry into ruku'.
Reflect as you go: the surah keeps asking what a heart does with a warning — the scheming man rejects it, the people of Saqar ignored it, and the closing verse leaves the door open to whoever wills.
Two-part split — common for qiyam
Split at v.30
Rak'ah 1 — vv.1–30: the call to arise and warn, the Trumpet and the hard Day, and the man created alone whose scheming ends in Saqar, closing on “over it are nineteen.”
Rak'ah 2 — vv.31–56: the wisdom of the nineteen, the oaths, every soul in pledge, the confession of the people of the Fire, and the closing reminder.
Three-part split — extended nights
Breaks at v.10 and v.37
Rak'ah 1 — vv.1–10: the cloaked one roused, the five commands, and the blast of the Trumpet on a Day hard for the disbelievers.
Rak'ah 2 — vv.11–37: the man created alone, his step-by-step scheming, Saqar, and the sign of the nineteen sealed by the oaths.
Rak'ah 3 — vv.38–56: every soul in pledge, the four confessions of the people of the Fire, and the fleeing donkeys giving way to the open door.
Natural stopping points
v.7
End of the five opening commands — wa li-rabbika fa-ṣbir. A clean break before the scene jumps forward to the Trumpet.
v.10
End of the Trumpet passage — the hard Day, not easy for the disbelievers. A settled landing before the portrait of the scheming man.
v.30
ʿalayhā tisʿata ʿashar — “over it are nineteen.” The end of the Saqar passage and a striking pause before its wisdom is unfolded.
v.37
End of the oaths and the warning to mankind — to whoever wills to advance or hold back. A natural pivot into the reckoning that follows.
v.48
fa-mā tanfaʿuhum shafāʿatu sh-shāfiʿīn — the close of the people of the Fire's confession. A heavy, complete unit before the final turn.
v.56
The final verse — He is worthy of fear and worthy of forgiveness. A balanced rhetorical close that needs nothing after it.
How well do you know this surah?