English Translation and Tafsir of Surah Al-Muddathir Ayah 31-37
The Keepers of Hell
74:31 And We have not made the keepers of Hell but angels. And We have not made their number but as a trial for those who disbelieve, that those who have been given the Book should become certain and those who believe should increase in faith. And those who have been given the Book and the believers may not be in doubt. And those in whose hearts is a disease and the disbelievers may say, ‘What does Allah want by this similitude?’ Thus, Allah lets go astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And none knows the hosts of your Lord save Him. And this is nothing but a reminder for people.
74:32 No! By the moon,
74:33 and the night when it retreats,
74:34 and the dawn when it brightens.
74:35 Indeed, it is one of the greatest things,
74:36 a warning to mankind,
74:37 to whoever of you wishes to go forward or lag behind.
Relationship with the Previous Part
The previous part mentions that the keepers of Hell are nineteen without specifying to which class they belong. In addition, the wisdom behind this number is not clear and it increases the stubbornness of the disbelievers. Therefore, Allah, Exalted be He, mentions that the keepers of Hell do not belong to the same class of the dwellers of Hell so that they will not sympathize with them. They are not like human beings; rather, they are very strong angels, and one of them can destroy a complete town only with a single cry.
Tafsir
74:30 Over it are nineteen.
74:31 And We have not made the keepers of Hell but angels. And We have not made their number but as a trial for those who disbelieve, that those who have been given the Book should become certain and those who believe should increase in faith. And those who have been given the Book and the believers may not be in doubt. And those in whose hearts is a disease and the disbelievers may say, ‘What does Allah want by this similitude?’ Thus, Allah lets go astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And none knows the hosts of your Lord save Him. And this is nothing but a reminder for people.
Allah, Exalted be He, refers to some aspects of His ability and wisdom in these ayat, and some afflictions that He tests His slaves with to distinguish those whose faith is strong from those whose faith is weak.
Allah, Exalted be He, has made the keepers of Hell strong, stern angels, which falsify and refute the claim of the disbelievers, like abu Jahl, who claimed that every ten of among his people could defeat one of the keepers of Hell. Allah says that He has made the keepers of Hell strong angels, and no one can defeat or overpower them.
It was said that a man called Aba Al-Ashad, Kildah Ibn Aseed Ibn Khalaf, said, ‘O people of Quraysh, you can take care of two of the keepers of Hell, and I shall suffice you seventeen of them.’ He said so because he admired his strength. Abu Al-Ashad was very strong. It was said that he used to stand over the cowhide and ten men would try to remove it from under his feet, but the cowhide would be torn into pieces and Abu Al-Ashad would never move from his place.
74:31 And We have not made the keepers of Hell but angels. And We have not made their number but as a trial for those who disbelieve…
Allah, Exalted be He, has made the keepers of Hell strong, tough angels, who never disobey His commands and do as they are commanded. No human being can overcome them, nor resist their commands. Allah has made the number of Hell’s keepers nineteen to test the disbelievers. This test increases their disbelief and denial. They would mock Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him] when recited the Quran to them.
Imam Ar-Razi said, ‘Making the number of the keepers of Hell nineteen has become a trial from two sides. First, the disbelievers say, ‘Why do they not become twenty? What is the reason for specifying this number?’ Second, the disbelievers will say, ‘How will those nineteen keepers of Hell be able to punish all created beings among the human beings and the jinn from the time Allah began their creation until the Day of Judgment? As for the believers, they will not give any attention to these two questions.’
…that those who have been given the Book should become certain and those who believe should increase in faith.
Moreover, Allah, Exalted be He, has made the number of the keepers of Hell nineteen to make those who have been given the Book among the Jews and the Christians certain that Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him] is truthful about the revelation that he received from Allah. The former divine Scriptures mention this number of the keepers of Hell, just as the Quran does. In addition, Allah has made the number of the keepers of Hell nineteen so that the faith of the believers may increase and become firmer and stronger. They will be certain that their Prophet and Messenger Muhammad is truthful about the news of the unseen that he received through the divine revelation, as he told them the same number that was mentioned in the former divine Scripture.
Imam Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said, ‘Allah, Exalted be He, mentions that He has mentioned that the number of the keepers of Hell are nineteen to test the people. Those who have been given the Scripture will be certain that he is truthful because he says the exact number that was mentioned in the divine Scriptures that were revealed to their Prophets and Messengers. As for the believers, their faith will increase since they are certain that their Prophet and Messenger Muhammad is truthful.’
And those who have been given the Book and the believers may not be in doubt.
This is an affirmation of what is mentioned in the previous part. Allah, Exalted be He, has made the number of the keepers of Hell nineteen to make the people of the Scripture certain of the truthfulness of Messenger Muhammad and make the faith of the believers increase. In addition, Allah, Exalted be He, has made their number nineteen to remove any doubt that the people of the Scripture and the believers may have.
And those in whose hearts is a disease and the disbelievers may say, ‘What does Allah want by this similitude?’
Those in whose hearts is a disease among the hypocrites and the disbelievers may say, ‘What does Allah want by making the number of the keepers of Hell nineteen? They will be astonished by the fact that the number of the keepers of Hell as if they are astonished at a similitude. They will seek to know the wisdom behind making the number nineteen. However, their intention is not to know why Allah has made the number of keepers of Hell nineteen. They say so to deny that Allah has revealed such a fact to His Prophet and Messenger Muhammad.
Thus, Allah lets go astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills.
Allah lets go astray whom He wills among the disbelievers and the hypocrites, in whose hearts is a disease as they deny the fact that Allah has made the number of the keepers of Hell nineteen. Similarly, Allah guides those whom He wills among the believers to the right path as they believe in what Allah has revealed to His Messenger Muhammad.
And none knows the hosts of your Lord save Him. And this is nothing but a reminder for people.
O noble Messenger Muhammad, ‘None knows the hosts of your Lord save Him. No one knows how strong the hosts of your Lord are save Him. The keepers of Hell are nothing, but some of the soldiers of Allah. Indeed, Allah has made Hell, and the number of its keepers nothing but a reminder for people so that they may fear Him and obey His commands. Those who deeply think about Hell, its severe punishment, and its strong keepers will worship Allah sincerely, perform righteous deeds for the sake of Allah, and avoid His prohibitions.
It should be noted that Allah does not force people to go astray; rather, the intended meaning is that Allah has made clear the path of guidance and misguidance and sent His Prophets and Messengers to invite people to follow the right path and warn them of the evil outcome of following the path of misguidance. After that, man is free to choose to follow the path of guidance or misguidance, but he will bear the fruits of his choice.
74:32 No! By the moon,
74:33 and the night when it retreats,
74:34 and the dawn when it brightens.
No! The matter is not as the disbelievers claim. They deny that the number of the keepers of Hell is nineteen and that Hell will be their abode.
By the moon that Allah has determined its phases, by the night that Allah causes to retreat so that the day comes with its brightness, and by the dawn when it brightens.
Allah can swear by whatever thing of the creatures, but the created being can only swear by Allah. The oath to emphatically refute the claim of the disbelievers.
74:35 Indeed, it is one of the greatest things,
74:36 a warning to mankind,
74:37 to whoever of you wishes to go forward or lag behind.
Indeed, Hell with its nineteen keepers is one of the greatest things that deserve to be feared. Its torment is severe and no one can bear it. Verily, Hell is a warning to mankind. Those who wish to go forward by obeying the commands of Allah will do their best to avoid Hell. On the other hand, those who wish to lag behind by disobeying the commands of Allah will follow the path of misguidance, which will lead them to loss by entering Hell and suffering its severe torment.
Indeed, those whose hearts are covered by sins and whose souls seek only to satisfy their whims choose to lag behind. They willingly follow the path of misguidance whose end will be Hell.
Abdul Allah Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said, ‘[74:37 to whoever of you wishes to go forward or lag behind.] Whoever wished to go forward by obeying the commands of Allah, and whoever wishes to lag behind will disobey Him.’
Learned Lessons from Surah Al-Muddathir Ayah 31-37
• The keepers of Hell are nineteen strong angels. No human being, no matter how strong he is, can overcome or resist them.
• Making the number of the keepers of Hell nineteen is a trial. The disbelievers will mock this number as they think that they can defeat them easily. On the other hand, the believers will increase in faith as they are certain that Allah is able and He has made them nineteen for wisdom that He only knows.
• The people of the Scripture among the Jews and Christians will be certain of the truthfulness of Messenger Muhammad because the number of the keepers of Hell agrees with what is mentioned in their Scriptures.
• Hell with its severe torment is a warning to human begins. Those who wish to go forward by obeying the commands of Allah and avoiding His prohibitions will do their best to avoid it. On the other hand, those who wish to lag behind by disobeying the commands of Allah will not take heed of the warning.
• Allah, Exalted be He, has made the path of guidance and misguidance clear, sent His Prophets and Messengers to invite them to follow the right path and give people the choice to follow the path they want, but they will bear the outcome of their choice.
• No one knows the number of the hosts of Allah.
• Hell with its great torment is one of the great calamities.
• Allah, Exalted be He, swears by the moon, the night, and the dawn as they are some of the wondrous creatures that He created. Their creation indicates the perfect ability of Allah.
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