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Surah 74 · Makkah · 56 āyāt

Phase 01 · Ḥirāʾ and the first call(c. 13–11 BH) — view in timeline

Al-MuddaththirThe Cloaked One

المدثر

Among the earliest surahs revealed, coming after the fatrat al-waḥy that followed Sūrat al-ʿAlaq. It opens with a direct command to the Prophet ﷺ — wrapped in his cloak, startled by what he had seen — to rise and warn. The surah then turns outward to describe a hardened rejecter of the message, al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, whose calculated dismissal of the Qurʾān draws down a description of Saqar and its nineteen keepers, before closing with a sober meditation on how every soul is held hostage by what it has earned, and why excuses will not save the deniers.

Why it was revealed

The Prophet ﷺ had seen something in the cave that terrified him. He hurried home and asked to be wrapped, and while cloaked, the command came to rise and warn — the true beginning of open prophetic mission, following the private commissioning of Iqraʾ.

Drawn fromṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4770 (on the later revelation of 26:214, describing the same practice of open warning); Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4922–4926; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 161; Ibn Kathīr and al-Ṭabarī, Tafsīr on 74:11–25; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 74:1–2; reported in the sīrah literature

Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh رضي الله عنهما reported that the Prophet ﷺ described the period after Ḥirāʾ: 'While I was walking, I heard a voice from the sky. I raised my sight and saw the angel who had come to me in Ḥirāʾ, sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I was frightened by him and returned and said, Wrap me, wrap me! So they wrapped me. Then Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, revealed: O you who is wrapped up (in a cloak)! Arise and warn.'

Cited toṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4922–4926; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 161

In the Prophet's ﷺ life

Revelationc. 13 BH · Age 40 · Between Makkah and Ḥirāʾ

The fatrah ends: Jibrīl seen in the open sky

After the first revelation in Ḥirāʾ, revelation paused. Then the Prophet ﷺ, walking, heard a voice and looked up to see the same angel from the cave, now seated on a throne between heaven and earth — a sight that shook him.

Recalled in āyah 1

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمُدَّثِّرُ

O you who covers himself [with a garment],

Cited toṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4922–4926

  • Madd — 2 vowels
  • Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
  • Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
  • Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
  • Ghunnah — 2 vowels
  • Qalqalah
  • Ikhfāʾ
  • Ikhfāʾ shafawī
  • Idghām shafawī
  • Idghām with ghunnah
  • Idghām without ghunnah
  • Idghām mutajānisayn
  • Idghām mutaqāribayn
  • Iqlāb
  • Hamzat al-waṣl
  • Lām shamsiyyah
  • Silent letter

Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).

THEME 01Āyāt 1–7

Rise and warn

The opening address to 'the one wrapped up' launches five short commands: rise, warn, magnify your Lord, purify your garments, keep away from idols. It closes by forbidding him to give expecting more in return, and commanding patience for his Lord's sake.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

1

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمُدَّثِّرُ

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O you who covers himself [with a garment],

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2

قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ

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Arise and warn.

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3

وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ

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And your Lord glorify.

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4

وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ

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And your clothing purify.

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5

وَٱلرُّجْزَ فَٱهْجُرْ

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And uncleanliness avoid.

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6

وَلَا تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ

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And do not confer favor to acquire more.

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7

وَلِرَبِّكَ فَٱصْبِرْ

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But for your Lord be patient.

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From the tafsīr

Al-muddaththir refers to one wrapped in garments; the command 'qum fa-anḏhir' marked the beginning of his messengership (risālah), just as Sūrat al-ʿAlaq marked the beginning of his prophethood (nubuwwah).

Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

'Wa-thiyābaka fa-ṭahhir' (and purify your garments) is read both literally, of clean clothing, and by extension of purifying one's deeds and character — al-Ṭabarī records both views from the salaf.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān

Key takeaways

  • Warning others begins with rising — comfort is named first only to be left behind.

    Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

  • Magnifying Allah, purifying oneself, and abandoning idols are placed before any address to the disbelievers.

    Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

  • Sincerity is legislated early: do not seek increase in return for what you give.

    Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

Reflect

What comfort are you wrapped in that a call to act would require you to leave?

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Question 1 of 2

How do the commentators understand 'qum fa-anḏhir'?

Question 2 of 2

How is 'wa-thiyābaka fa-ṭahhir' explained by the commentators?

THEME 02Āyāt 5–7

Purification and perseverance

Between the outward acts of worship — magnifying Allah, purifying garments, avoiding idols — sits a warning against seeking worldly gain from one's giving, and a plain command: be patient for the sake of your Lord.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr

5

وَٱلرُّجْزَ فَٱهْجُرْ

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And uncleanliness avoid.

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6

وَلَا تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ

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And do not confer favor to acquire more.

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7

وَلِرَبِّكَ فَٱصْبِرْ

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But for your Lord be patient.

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From the tafsīr

'Wa-lā tamnun tastakthir' — do not give expecting more in return; sincerity means the deed is for Allah alone, not a transaction for worldly increase.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān

'Wa-li-rabbika fa-ṣbir' commands patience specifically for Allah's sake, in bearing the harm of those who would reject and mock the message.

Cited toIbn Kathīr

Key takeaways

  • Sincerity and patience are legislated at the very start of the prophetic mission, before any confrontation begins.

    Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr

  • Giving that expects a return in kind is not the giving asked of the believer.

    Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr

  • Patience here is not passive endurance but endurance rooted in who it is for.

    Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr

Reflect

Do you ever give, help, or teach while quietly expecting something back?

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Question 1 of 2

For whose sake is patience commanded in āyah 7?

Question 2 of 2

What is being forbidden in 'wa-lā tamnun tastakthir'?

THEME 03Āyāt 11–26

The man made alone, and his calculated rejection

Allah describes a man He created alone and then granted wealth, sons, ease, and status — yet he wants more, and repays these gifts by opposing the revelation. His deliberate process of judging, calculating, and then slandering the Qurʾān as 'magic, handed down' is described step by step, followed by the sentence: 'I will drive him into Saqar.'

Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

11

ذَرْنِى وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا

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Leave Me with the one I created alone

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18

إِنَّهُۥ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ

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Indeed, he thought and deliberated.

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19

فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ

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So may he be destroyed [for] how he deliberated.

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25

إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا قَوْلُ ٱلْبَشَرِ

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This is not but the word of a human being."

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From the tafsīr

The majority of the mufassirūn identify this man as al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, who was asked by Quraysh to describe the Qurʾān and, after being visibly moved by it, deliberated, frowned, and scowled before settling on calling it magic passed down from others.

Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

'Fa-qutila kayfa qaddar, thumma qutila kayfa qaddar' — 'so may he be destroyed, how he calculated!' — is repeated to condemn the deliberateness of his lie; he knew better and chose the slander anyway.

Cited toAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān

Key takeaways

  • Wealth and status given generously can be met with more demand rather than more gratitude.

    Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

  • Al-Walīd's rejection was not from ignorance — it was calculated, which is why it is condemned twice.

    Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

  • Being moved by truth is not the same as submitting to it; the gap between the two can be closed by pride.

    Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

Reflect

Have you ever recognised truth internally, then talked yourself out of following it?

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Question 1 of 2

Which figure is named by the commentators for these verses?

Question 2 of 2

What is the significance of repeating this condemnation?

THEME 04Āyāt 26–31

Saqar and the nineteen

Saqar is named as the destination for such rejection: it spares nothing and leaves nothing, scorching the skin, watched over by nineteen. Allah states that He made the keepers of the Fire angels, and that their number is set as a trial for the disbelievers and a certainty for the believers — a test of how people respond to a specific, named detail of the unseen.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

27

وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا سَقَرُ

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And what can make you know what is Saqar?

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28

لَا تُبْقِى وَلَا تَذَرُ

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It lets nothing remain and leaves nothing [unburned],

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30

عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ

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Over it are nineteen [angels].

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From the tafsīr

'Lā tubqī wa-lā tadhar' — it leaves nothing of the body and returns it repeatedly, sparing no part; 'lawwāḥatun li-l-bashar' — it visibly scorches and blackens the skin.

Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

The number nineteen was mocked by some of Quraysh as too few to guard so many; Allah responds that their vast numbers are known to none but Him, and the disbelievers' scoffing at the number itself becomes part of their trial.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān

Key takeaways

  • A single specific, seemingly small detail of the unseen can become the exact point at which people either submit or scoff.

    Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

  • The angels' strength makes their number irrelevant to their capability — the objection itself misreads the point.

    Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

  • Certainty (yaqīn) for the believer and fitnah for the denier can come from the very same statement.

    Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

Reflect

What detail of the unseen do you find yourself wanting to argue with rather than accept?

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Question 1 of 2

Why did some disbelievers scoff at 'over it are nineteen'?

Question 2 of 2

What two effects does the mention of nineteen serve, per āyah 31?

THEME 05Āyāt 38–56

Every soul held hostage, and the deniers' excuses

'Every soul, for what it has earned, is held in pledge' — except the People of the Right, who ask the criminals in the Fire what led them there. Their answer names four failures: neglecting prayer, not feeding the poor, indulging in idle talk with those who do, and denying the Day of Judgement — until certainty came to them, when intercession could no longer help. The surah closes by describing the deniers' evasions and their real disease: they simply do not wish to be reminded.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

38

كُلُّ نَفْسٍۭ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ

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Every soul, for what it has earned, will be retained.

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43

قَالُوا۟ لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ

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They will say, "We were not of those who prayed,

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From the tafsīr

The four causes named by the people of the Fire — abandoning prayer, withholding from the poor, keeping bad company in falsehood, and denying the Ākhirah — are together a diagnosis: neglect of worship, neglect of others, and neglect of belief in accountability, reinforcing each other.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān

'Fa-mā tanfaʿuhum shafāʿatu al-shāfiʿīn' — the intercession of intercessors will not benefit them, because intercession is only granted by Allah's permission to those He allows, and denial forecloses it.

Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

Key takeaways

  • Accountability is described as a pledge already in effect, not a distant possibility.

    Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

  • The criminals' own answer links neglecting prayer with neglecting the poor — worship and social duty are named together.

    Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

  • Turning away from a reminder is presented as a choice, and the surah does not pretend otherwise: 'they are, from the reminder, turning away.'

    Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

Reflect

Of the four causes the criminals name, which is quietly present in your own routine?

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Question 1 of 2

Why will intercession not help the deniers, according to Ibn Kathīr?

Question 2 of 2

According to āyāt 43–46, what led the criminals to the Fire?

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VOCABULARY

Roots from this surah

Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.

ن ذ ر

āyāt 2, 36

to warn of a coming danger

  • أَنْذَرَhe warned
  • نَذِيرa warner
  • إِنْذَارa warning

ط ه ر

āyāt 4

to be pure, clean

  • طَهَّرَhe purified
  • طَاهِرpure
  • طَهَارَةpurity, ritual cleanliness

ص ب ر

āyāt 7

to be patient, to hold oneself firm

  • صَبَرَhe was patient
  • صَبْرpatience
  • صَابِرone who is patient

ق د ر

āyāt 18, 19, 20

to measure, to calculate, to determine

  • قَدَّرَhe calculated, determined
  • قَدَرdecree, measure
  • مِقْدَارan amount, extent

ب ش ر

āyāt 25, 29, 31, 36

human being, mankind

  • بَشَرhuman being
  • بَشَرِيَّةhumanity
  • تَبْشِيرgiving glad tidings

س ق ر

āyāt 26, 27, 42

a name for the Hellfire, from scorching heat

  • سَقَرSaqar, the Fire
  • سَقَرَتْهُ ٱلشَّمْسُthe sun scorched him

ك س ب

āyāt 38

to earn, to acquire through one's own effort

  • كَسَبَhe earned
  • مَكْسَبan earning, gain
  • كَسْبacquisition

ص ل و

āyāt 43

to pray, to connect [to Allah in worship]

  • صَلَاةprayer
  • مُصَلٍّone who prays
  • صَلَّىٰhe prayed

Carry this with you

  • The call to rise and warn comes wrapped in a demand for personal purification first.
  • Recognising the truth internally is not the same as submitting to it — pride can close that gap, as it did for al-Walīd.
  • A single detail of the unseen, however small it seems, can be exactly the point on which faith or denial turns.
  • Every soul is already held in pledge by what it has earned; the People of the Right are named as the exception, not the rule.
  • Neglecting prayer and neglecting the poor are named together as companions in the criminals' own confession.

Where this surah connects

Cross-surah threads

Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.

The four trials4 movementsThe Hour and the accounting2 movementsPatience while the answer is delayed2 movementsProvision, wealth and the tongue that forgets1 movement
All threads →

Sources behind Sūrah Al-Muddaththir

Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.

Other references1

  • reported in the sīrah literature
FINAL ASSESSMENT

Full exam — the whole surah, from memory

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Al-Muddaththir — full exam

1 / 10 · 0 correct

10 questions across 5 themes.

Al-Muddaththir · Every soul held hostage, and the deniers' excuses

Which four causes do the criminals give for their fate in Saqar?

Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol