Overview - Surah 74: al-Mudathir (The Cloaked One)

Overview

SURAH 74 Al-Muddaththir (Wrapped in Cloak)

Prologue

The information we expressed in the previous surah, The Enfolded One, about the occasion and timing of its revelation, also applies to this surah. Some reports suggest that it was the first to be revealed after Sarah 96, The Germ Cell, while other reports suggest that it was revealed after the Islamic message went public, when the unbelievers began their persecution campaign against the believers in earnest.

Al-Bukhari mentions a report by Yahya ibn Abi Kathir who says that he asked Abu Salamah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman about the first Qur'anic revelation. He answered that it was Surah Al-Muddaththir. "I told him that people said that it was Sarah 96, beginning with 'Read in the name of your Lord.' Abu Salamah said that he asked Jabir ibn Abdullah about this and when Jabir replied that it was al-Muddaththir, he said to him what you had just said. Jabir replied that he only gave me what the Prophet himself said to his Companions: 'I went in seclusion at Hira, and when I finished my time there, I came down. I heard a call, and I looked to my right and left but could see nothing. I came to Khadijah, saying: "Wrap me in a cloak and pour some cold water on me." They did so. I then received the revelation: "You, wrapped in your cloak, arise and give warning. Glorify your Lord's greatness."

Jabir reports that he heard the Prophet speaking about early revelations. He said: "While I was walking, I heard a voice coming from the sky. I lifted my eyes to the sky and I saw the angel who carne to me when I was at Hira sitting on a chair in between the sky and the earth. I fell to the ground. Then I came hurriedly to my people, saying: 'Wrap me. Cover me.' I then received the revelation: ' You, wrapped in your cloak, arise and give warning. Glorify your Lord's greatness; dean your garments; stay away from all filth.' Then more revelations came in succession.

Commenting on this hadith, Ibn Kathir says in his commentary on the Qur'an: "This is the accepted report. It means that revelations started before this, because of the Prophet saying, 'I saw the angel who came to me when I was at That angel was obviously Gabriel who visited the Prophet saying: 'Read in the name of your Lord who has created — created man out of a clinging cell mass.' Read for your Lord is the most Bountiful One, who has taught the use of the pen, taught man what he did not know.' (96: 1-5) A lull in revelation then took place, and thereafter the angel again came to him. To reconcile the different reports we say that the first revelation the Prophet received after the lull was this surah."

A different report is given by al-Tabarani on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas: "Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah prepared food for a number of people from the Quraysh, and when they had finished their meal, he asked them what they thought of Muhammad. Some said that he was a sorcerer, but others said he was not. Some said he was a soothsayer, but others denied this. Others still said he was a poet, but yet others objected. Then some said that what he said was mere 'sorcery handed down from olden times'. They all agreed to this. When the Prophet was informed of this, he felt very sad. He covered his head and wrapped himself up. God revealed to him: "You, wrapped in your cloak, arise and give warning. Glorify your Lord's greatness; clean your garments; stay away from all filth; do not hold up what you give away showing it to be much; but to your Lord turn in patience." (Verses 1-7)

This report is almost identical to the one that refers to the preceding surah, The Enfolded One. Thus, we cannot be at all certain which of these two surahs preceded the other, or which was revealed on what occasion.

Yet a close look at the text of the surah suggests that its first seven verses were probably revealed in the very early days of the Islamic message. The same may be said of the first nine verses of Sarah 73, The Enfolded One. Both openings aimed to prepare the Prophet for his great task, particularly when he needed to go public and address all the community with his message. He would then have to face strong opposition and compounded trouble that required such preparations. This would mean that the rest of the two surahs was revealed later, when the Prophet faced determined rejection and false accusations of fabricating his message.

Nevertheless, this does not exclude the other possibility that the openings of the two surahs were revealed together with what followed them. This so as to reply to the denial by the Quraysh and to comfort the Prophet who took their scheming to heart. Thus, the two surahs would be like Sarah 68, The Pen, which is also discussed in this volume.

Be that as it may, the surah begins with an address from on high assigning a great mission to the Prophet, one that required he get out of bed and start striving: "You, wrapped in your cloak, arise and give warning." (Verses 1-2) He is directed to prepare himself for his great task, taking the measures outlined to him in the surah: "Glorify your Lord's greatness; clean your garments; stay away from all filth; do not hold up what you give away, showing it to he much; but to your Lord turn in patience." (Verses 3-7) Like the one in the preceding surah, this directive ends with the need to be patient.

The surah then includes a strong warning to those who deny the Day of Judgement, threatening them with a war directly waged by God, on the same lines as the warning given in the preceding surah: "When the trumpet is sounded that will be a day of anguish, far from easy for the unbelievers. Leave to me the one I created alone, to whom I have granted vast wealth, and sons by his side, making lift smooth and easy for him; yet he greedily desires that I give him more. No! He has set himself stubbornly against Our revelations. I will constrain him to endure a painful uphill climb." (Verses 8-17)

The surah makes special mention of this person who was particularly hostile to the Islamic message, but without naming him. It paints an image of his scheming against Islam, in the same way as we have seen in Surah 68. It may be that both surahs talk of the same person, said to be al-WalId ibn al-Mughirah, but more of this later. The surah mentions the reason for God's warning to this person: "He thought and he schemed. Damn him, how he schemed' Again, damn him, how he schemed! He looked around, then he frowned and glared, then he turned his back and gloried in his arrogance, and said 'This is just sorcery handed down from olden times! This is nothing but the word of a mere mortal!" (Verses 18-25) The surah then specifies his destiny: "I will cast him into the scorching fire. Would that you knew what the scorching fire is like! It leaves nothing, and spares nothing; it appears before mankind, guarded by nineteen." (Verses 26-30)

The mention of the 'scorching fire' and the nineteen guards in charge of it invited much questioning from the unbelievers who also added to it ridicule and sarcastic remarks, and raised doubts among those who were not firm in faith. The surah outlines God's wisdom in mentioning this number, giving us a glimpse of the world beyond our perception and the fact that knowledge of this world is God's own preserve. This glimpse sheds light on some aspects of the Islamic concept of this world beyond: "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 yet 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." (Verse 31)

The whole question of hell and the life to come is then related to some scenes of the universe which all people see. Thus the surah combines the inspiration of these scenes with the feelings aroused by the earlier warnings: "No! By the moon! By the night when it departs, and the shining dawn! It is indeed one of the mighty things, a warning to all mankind, to those of you who choose to go ahead or to lag behind." (Verses 32-37)

The surah shows the respective positions of the unbelievers and the righteous. The unbelievers will make a long confession explaining the reasons why they deserved their fate on that day of reckoning and requital. This is followed by a final word about them, when no word of intercession on their behalf will be of any use: "Every soul is held in pledge for what it has wrought, except for those on the right hand. They will be in gardens, and will ask about the guilty ones: 'What brought you into the scorching fire?' They will answer: 'We were not among those who prayed, neither did we feed the needy; but we indulged with others in vain talk, and we denied the Day of Judgement until there came upon us that which is certain.' So, of no benefit to them could be the pleas of any intercessors." (Verses 38-48)

Having painted this image of their position of humiliation and shameful confession, the surah wonders at the unbelievers' attitude to the call that seeks to remind them of the way to save themselves. It paints a sarcastic picture that invites ridicule at their wild resistance: "What is the matter with them that they turn away from all admonition like terrified asses fleeing from a lion?" (Verses 49-51) It exposes their arrogance, which is the true reason for their obstinate rejection of every caring advice: "Every one of them demands to be given revelations unfolded before him." (Verse 52) They are so envious of the Prophet, thinking that they were more deserving of being given the divine message. There is, however, another deep reason: "No! They do not fear the life to come." (Verse 53)

Finally, the surah makes a categorical statement that leaves no room for favours for anyone: "No! This is indeed an admonition. Let him who will, take heed." (Verses 54-55) All is left up to God's will: "They, however, will not take heed unless God so wills. He is the Lord to be feared, the Lord of forgiveness." (Verse 56)

The surah represents a stage of the hard fought struggle in which the Qur'an is in combat with jahiliyyah and its ingrained notions and concepts. It was also combating headstrong and deliberate rejection using diverse methods. There are many similarities of approach between this surah and Surahs 73 and 68, which suggests that all three were revealed within the same period, dealing with similar situations. The only exception, of course, is the second part of Surah 73, which as we have seen deals with something different.

The present surah is characterised by short verses and a fast flow. Its verses have a variety of endings and rhymes. Its beat moves slowly at times, but is very fast at others, particularly when it describes the individual who comes in for criticism, or when it paints the image of hell's scorching fire. This variation of tone, beat, rhyme, images and scenery gives the surah a distinctive ambience, particularly as it picks up a rhyme that has already been used and changed, or when the rhyme changes in the same section to deliver an intended surprise. We will now look at the surah in detail.
 

Overview

(Verses 1 - 10)

Essential Preparations

You, wrapped in your cloak, arise and give warning. Glorify your Lord's greatness; clean your garments; stay away from all filth; do not hold up what you give away showing it to be much; but to your Lord turn in patience. (Verses 1-7)

This is an address from on high, calling on the Prophet to get ready for his great task. He is to warn mankind, wake them up and save them from evil in this life and from the fire in the life to come, setting them on the way to salvation before it is too late. This is a hard, momentous task when assigned to an individual human being, even though he may be God's Prophet and Messenger. Mankind had, however, gone so far astray and were too steeped in sin, rebellion, arrogance and persistence. All this made advocacy of the divine faith the most difficult task to be assigned to anyone.

"You, wrapped in your cloak, arise and give warning." (Verses 1-2) To give warning is the most obvious aspect of the divine message. It alerts people to the impending danger that threatens to engulf those who are oblivious of it, heading unaware into error. Such warning manifests God's grace which He bestows on people. They take away nothing of His kingdom when they go astray, and increase His kingdom by nothing when they follow His guidance. 

However, it is out of His grace that He gives them such care so as to save themselves from severe punishment in the life to come and to rid themselves of evil in this life. The fact that His messengers call on them to respond so as to earn His forgiveness and be admitted into His heaven is certainly a manifestation of His grace.

Having given His Messenger the instruction to warn others, He adds some directives for the Prophet to observe in his own life. The first of these is to "Glorify, your Lord's greatness." (Verse 3) Only your Lord is great and only He deserves to be glorified. This directive lays down an aspect of the Islamic concept of God and His oneness. Every person, every creature, every value and everything is small, while God alone is great. All entities, sizes, forces, values, events, situations, concepts and shapes dwindle into insignificance, while God alone is supreme, perfect and majestic. The Prophet is instructed to warn mankind, bearing all the difficulties of such a task, with this vision in mind. He will then think little of any force or plot aiming to impede his work, as he realises that his Lord alone is great. Advocates of the divine message need to always keep this principle in mind when they go about fulfilling their difficult task.

The Prophet is then directed to maintain purity and cleanliness: "Clean your garments." (Verse 4) In Arabic usage, this expression of cleaning one's garments means maintaining purity of heart and high moral values together with clean action. It refers to the purity of self which is covered by those garments. Such purity and cleanliness signify the condition that is best suited for receiving instructions from on high. Moreover, it is the closest thing to the nature of the Islamic message. Furthermore, it is necessary for the task of warning and delivering the message, advocating it in the midst of a multitude of forces and trends that bring with them much filth, dirt and indecency. The advocate of the divine faith needs to be perfectly clean so that he can save those who are tainted while allowing nothing to taint him. This directive shows deep understanding of the needs of those who undertake advocacy of God's faith in all types of social environment and situations.

The next directive requires the Prophet to steer away from polytheism and all that exposes people to God's punishment: "stay away from all filth." (Verse 5) The Prophet stayed away from all this long before he was endowed with prophethood. His was an upright nature that disliked all deviation from the truth, and disowned all erroneous beliefs and loose morality. He never indulged in any unbecoming practice. However, this directive is a declaration of separation between two different routes that can never cross. The Arabic word rujz, which is translated here as 'filth', originally meant suffering or torment. It then came to signify anything that leads to it. Hence, the directive to abandon all such filth that incurs punishment and torment.

The Prophet is also directed to be self-effacing so as not to hold up what he has to exert of effort, thinking it to be much: "Do not hold up what you give away showing it to be much." (Verse 6) He was to give much, sacrifice much and put up with much hardship. Yet God wants him not to think too highly of what he has to give, feeling that it is much. To be a true advocate of the divine faith, one must not think of what one has to give or sacrifice for it. The sacrifice required is so great that no one can give it willingly unless he also forgets it, or rather does not feel it in the first place because he is so preoccupied with his duty towards God. In essence, he feels that whatever he has to give for His sake is only part of His grace and favour. Thus, giving the sacrifice and exerting the effort are an aspect of grace God bestows on us. We should be grateful to Him for enabling us to give it in the first place, rather than holding it up, thinking we have done something great.

The last directive is to be patient: "But to your Lord turn in patience." (Verse 7) This is a directive that is given every time the Prophet is assigned a task or needs counselling. Patience is the most important prerequisite in this hard battle of advocating God's message. It is a battle against two enemies simultaneously: personal desires on the one hand, and external enemies motivated by their own desires on the other. The most effective weapon in this hard and long battle is patience for God's sake and with the aim to please Him.

When this divine directive has been given to the noble Prophet, the surah outlines the terms of the warning to be given. This is delivered in a way that alerts attention to the hard day they are warned about:

When the trumpet is sounded that will be a day of anguish, far from easy for the unbelievers. (Verses 8-10)

The sounding of the trumpet is here expressed in a stronger way than normally used in other surahs. In its Arabic expression, nuqira fin-naqur, it gives a feeling of a sound that is sharper to the ear, almost beating on it. Hence, the day will be hard for the unbelievers. Its hardship is emphasised by negating all traces of ease. It is hard from start to finish, without any respite. No details are given of this hardship; it is left in general terms to impart a feeling of distress and choking. It behoves those unbelievers, then, to heed the warning before the trumpet is sounded, ushering in this very hard day.