Al-Muddaththir

The Covered (, al-muddaththir, meaning "the Cloaked One" or "the Man Wearing a Cloak") is the 74th chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an, with 56 verses (āyāt).

Summary

:1-7 Muhammad commanded to rise and preach Islam

:8-10 The Judgment Day shall be a sad day for the unbelievers

:11-26 God exhorts Muhammad to leave his enemy in his hands

:27-29 The pains of hell described

:30-34 Nineteen angels set as a guard over hell, and why nineteen are mentioned

:35-40 Oath to attest the horrible calamities of hell-fire

:41-49 The wicked shall in hell confess their sins to the righteous

:50-55 Infidels shall receive no other warning than that of the Quran

Chronology

Many well-known authors' chronologies, including that of Ibn Kathir, place Surat al-Muddaththir as the second surah revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, citing the hadith: <blockquote>Jabir ibn Abd Allah told, I heard the Messenger of Allah – and he was narrating about the pause in Revelation – 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 an angel, the one that had come to me at Hira, 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. Then Allah, Most High revealed: "O you who are wrapped up! Arise and warn." Up to His saying: "And keep away from the Rujz!" before the Salat was made obligatory.

</blockquote> Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, etc. 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 to Sayyid Qutb's exegesis, the first verses of this surah as well as those of Surah 73 represent Muhammad's earliest revelations and those which prepare him for the ordeal of revelation.

Structure

Surat al-Muddaththir is structured thematically and chronologically. Containing 56 total verses, this surah was most likely revealed on at least two occasions and compiled retroactively. the verses in the surah are short and poetic with exception of verse 31 because it is explanation of previous verse addressing polytheists and believer's question on the specialty of number 19 in previous verse. 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 of Surat al-Muddaththir is a warning for the unbelievers. 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.

The next section of Surat 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, the surah 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, the surah 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 of Surat al-Muddaththir.

The ḥumur and qaswarah

Verses 50 and 51 talk about ḥumur (, 'asses' or 'donkeys') fleeing from a qaswarah (, 'lion', 'beast of prey' or 'hunter'). The Asiatic lion and the Syrian wild ass used to inhabit the Arabian Peninsula. Additionally, a reference to the lion in the region of pilgrimage is found in a hadith.

File:Syrian wild ass.jpg|A galloping wild ass in Vienna Zoo, 1915. The local subspecies is now extinct.