Surah Al-Muddathir

Al-Muddathir ("The Cloaked One") is the 74th surah of the Quran, in the 29th juz. It is a Meccan surah of 56 verses, fourth in the traditional order of revelation, after Al-Muzzammil. Its opening command to the Prophet ﷺ, "Arise and warn", marks the beginning of his mission of calling people to God.

Jabir ibn Abdullah reports that after a pause in revelation, the Prophet ﷺ saw the angel who had come to him at Hira seated on a throne between heaven and earth. Shaken, he went home saying "Wrap me up!", and God revealed: O you who are cloaked, arise and warn (al-Bukhari, Muslim). Jabir considered it the first surah revealed, but most scholars, relying on Aisha's account, hold that the opening of Al-Alaq came first and this surah after the pause.

The first verses set out the Prophet's task: magnify your Lord, purify your garments, shun idolatry, do not give in order to gain more, and be patient for your Lord's sake (74:3-7). When the Trumpet sounds, that Day will be hard for the disbelievers (74:8-10).

Verses 11 to 26 describe a man to whom God gave wealth and sons, who deliberated and schemed, then turned away in arrogance and declared the Quran mere magic handed down, the word of a mortal (74:24-25); commentators identify him as al-Walid ibn al-Mughira. He is promised Saqar, guarded by nineteen, a number given as a test (74:26-31).

Every soul is held in pledge for what it has earned (74:38). The people of the right ask the criminals what brought them into Saqar, and they answer that they did not pray, did not feed the poor, indulged in idle talk and denied the Day of Judgment (74:39-47). The deniers flee the reminder like frightened donkeys fleeing a lion (74:49-51), and the surah ends: He is worthy to be feared and worthy to forgive (74:56). Read it with Al-Muzzammil, revealed just before.