| ٱلْمُدَّثِّر Al-Muddaththir The Cloaked One | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Meccan |
| Other names | The Man Wearing a Cloak, The Clothed One, Shrouded, The Enfolded One, The Hidden Secret |
| Position | Juzʼ 29 |
| No. ofverses | 56 |
| No. ofRukus | 2 |
| No. of words | 256 |
| No. of letters | 1,035 |
The Covered[1] (Arabic:ٱلْمُدَّثِّر,al-muddaththir, meaning "the Cloaked One" or "the Man Wearing a Cloak") is the 74th chapter (sūrah) of theQur'an, with 56 verses (āyāt).
| Quran |
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Many well-known authors' chronologies, including that ofIbn Kathir,[3] placeSurat al-Muddaththir as the secondsurah revealed to theIslamic prophetMuhammad, citing thehadith:
Jabir ibn Abd Allah told, I heard theMessenger ofAllah – and he was narrating about the pause inRevelation – so he said in his narration: "I was walking, when I heard a voice from the heavens. So I raised my head, and there was anangel, the one that had come to me atHira, sitting upon a chair between the heavens and the earth. I fled from him out of fear, and I returned and said: "Wrap me up! Wrap me up!" So they covered me. ThenAllah, Most High revealed: "O you who are wrapped up! Arise and warn." Up to His saying: "And keep away from theRujz!" before theSalat was made obligatory.
Sahih al-Bukhari,[4]Sahih Muslim,[5]Jami` at-Tirmidhi,[6]Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, etc.[7] Although reports exist of revelation order other than second, the thematic elements of preparation for the Day of Judgment and warnings for the non-believers are consistent with other early Meccan suras. According toSayyid Qutb's exegesis, the first verses of thissurah as well as those ofSurah 73 represent Muhammad's earliest revelations and those which prepare him for the ordeal of revelation.
Surat al-Muddaththir is structured thematically and chronologically. Containing 56 total verses, thissurah was most likely revealed on at least two occasions and compiled retroactively. Verses 1-30 and 32-56 are composed of short, poetic lines which maintain rhyme structure and the Arabic rhetorical device of parallel construction. This is consistent with the verses of the earlyMeccan period. Verse 31 is unique in its prose-like syntax and length; it is easily the longest verse of thissurah and is a glaring break with the rhyme structure that precedes and follows it. This type of verse is most common in the laterMedinan revelations.[citation needed]
There are several distinct thematic sections of thissurah.[8] The first is an injunction for self-preparedness. If verse 1 refers to Muhammed (al-Muddaththir, or cloaked one):You, wrapped in your cloak, then the second verse serves to alert Muhammad to a changing environment from which he is charged with saving mankind:Arise, and give warning (74:2). Verses 3-7 are injunctions, then, for him (or whoever follows the righteous path of God) to maintain cleanliness, monotheism, humility, and patience in his own life. These are all preparations for the revelation of the rest of the message.
The next thematic section ofSurat al-Muddaththir is a warning for theunbelievers. Verses 8-30 describe the rejection of God's word and the excruciating consequences that result. For he that has not been grateful for the bounty of God's blessing and demands more, disregarding the signs and revelations of God, will be cast into the Saqar, which here refers to the scorching fire of Hell. This image of an unbeliever emphasizes the individuality of the responsibility of obeying God's message: the onus falls upon the individual man to save himself from Hell.[8] Verse 30 refers to nineteen angels who guard the pit of hell; this curious detail is expounded upon in the following verse, which is believed to be a Medinan addition. Some scholars, such asSayyid Qutb, have stated that verse 31 serves as an explanation of verse 30 that was added after early Muslims and unbelievers alike questioned the specificity of the nineteen angels:[8]
"We have appointed none other than angels to guard the fire, and We have made their number a test for the unbelievers. Thus those who have been granted revelations in the past may be convinced and the believers may grow more firm in their faith; and so those who have been granted revelations and the believers will entertain no doubt; but the sick at heart and the unbelievers will ask, "What could God mean by this image?" Thus God lets go astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills. No one knows your Lord's forces except Him. This is all but a reminder for mankind." (74:31)
Thus, verse 31 explains the mystery of the nineteen angels by portraying the number as a marker of faith. True believers will not question it, as it is the word of God, and those who God has "led astray" will be troubled by doubts. It is possibly an allusion to theMetonic cycle used by theHebrew calendar.
The next section ofSurat al-Muddaththir uses the tangible, accessible physical world as proof that the devastation which awaits the unbelievers will be equally real (74:32-36). It then transitions back to the theme of individual responsibility. Verses 37-47 describe the trial of the soul in Saqar, and the decisions of the individuals who found themselves there. There will be no intercession for them; once they rejected God's word, their eternal souls were doomed (74:48).
Finally, thesurah returns to the realm of the living to give its final injunction. Verses 49-56 emphasize the vital need for mankind to fear and glorify God. Having given the believers an image of what happens to those who do not heed the message, thesurah ends with a reminder that ultimately, God controls the destiny of all mankind and that nobody will remember what God does not let him. This ultimate authority of God is the final image ofSurat al-Muddaththir.[citation needed]
Verses 50 and 51 talk aboutḥumur (Arabic:حُمُر, 'asses' or 'donkeys') fleeing from aqaswarah (Arabic:قَسْوَرَة, 'lion', 'beast of prey' or 'hunter').[9] TheAsiatic lion[10] and theSyrian wild ass[11] used to inhabit theArabian Peninsula.[12][13][14][15][16][17] Additionally, a reference to the lion in theregion of pilgrimage is found in ahadith.[18][19][20]
![A galloping wild ass in Vienna Zoo, 1915. The local subspecies is now extinct.[11]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSyrian_wild_ass.jpg)
![The Asiatic lion, which used to occur in the Arabian peninsula and the Middle East, but currently survives in India[10][12][13][14][15][16][17]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aAsiatischer_Loewe_Panthera_leo_persica_Tiergarten_Nuernberg-21.jpg)
Muddaththir is one of the names or titles of Muhammad. Later, it is used as a male given name spelt as "Mudathir" or "Mudather" in the Arabian Peninsula orAfrica, and as "Mudassar" inCentral Asia,South Asia andSoutheast Asia.[citation needed]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
Works related toThe Holy Qur'an (Maulana Muhammad Ali)/74. The One Wrapping Himself Up at Wikisource| International | |
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