Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Muddaththir Verse 31

Mufti Taqi Usmani

And We did not make wardens of the Fire but (from) angels, and did not fix their number but as a test for those who disbelieve, so that those who are given the Book may come to believe, and those who believe may improve in belief, and so that those who are given the Book and those who believe may not doubt (its correctness), and so that those having malady in their hearts and the disbelievers say, “What has Allah meant by this strange statement?” Thus Allah lets go astray whomever He wills, and leads to the right path whomever He wills. And no one knows the hosts of your Lord but He. And this is nothing else but a reminder for mankind.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

We have appointed only ˹stern˺ angels as wardens of the Fire. And We have made their number only as a test for the disbelievers,[[ Some pagans made fun of the Prophet (ﷺ) when they were told that the keepers of Hell are nineteen angels. One of them said mockingly to other pagans, “You take care of two angels and I will vanquish the rest all by myself.” ]] so that the People of the Book will be certain, and the believers will increase in faith, and neither the People of the Book nor the believers will have any doubts, and so that those ˹hypocrites˺ with sickness in their hearts and the disbelievers will argue, “What does Allah mean by such a number?” In this way Allah leaves whoever He wills to stray and guides whoever He wills. And none knows the forces of your Lord except He. And this ˹description of Hell˺ is only a reminder to humanity.

Ruwwad Translation Center

We have only appointed angels as keepers of the Fire, and We have only made their number as a test for the disbelievers, so that those who were given the Scripture may have certainty and the believers may increase in faith; and neither those who were given the Scripture nor the believers may have any doubts; and so that those [hypocrites] in whose hearts is sickness and the disbelievers may say, “What does Allah mean by this number?” Thus Allah causes to stray whom He wills and guides whom He wills, and none knows the soldiers of your Lord but He. This is but a reminder to mankind.

A. J. Arberry

We have appointed only angels to be masters of the Fire, and their number We have appointed only as a trial for the unbelievers, that those who were given the Book may have certainty, and that those who believe may increase in belief, and that those who were given the Book and those who believe may not be in-doubt, and that those in whose hearts there is sickness, and the unbelievers, may say, 'What did God intend by this as a similitude?' So God leads astray whomsoever He will, and He guides whomsoever He will; and none knows the hosts of thy Lord but He. And it is naught but a Reminder to mortals.

Abdul Haleem

none other than angels appointed by Us to guard Hellfire- and We have made their number a test for the disbelievers. So those who have been given the Scripture will be certain and those who believe will have their faith increased: neither those who have been given the Scripture nor the believers will have any doubts, but the sick at heart and the disbelievers will say, ‘What could God mean by this description?’ God leaves whoever He will to stray and guides whoever He will- no one knows your Lord’s forces except Him- this [description] is a warning to mortals.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And We have appointed none but the angels to be wardens of the Fire. And their number we have made only a trial for those who disbelieve, so that those who are vouchsafed the Book may be convinced, and that those who believe may increase in faith, and that those who are vouchsafed the Book and the believers may not doubt, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the infidels may say: what meaneth Allah by this description! In this wise Allah sendeth astray whomsoever He will, and guideth whomsoever He will. And none knoweth the hosts of thy Lord but He. And it is naught but an admonition Unto man.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And We have set none but angels as Guardians of the Fire; and We have fixed their number only as a trial for Unbelievers,- in order that the People of the Book may arrive at certainty, and the Believers may increase in Faith,- and that no doubts may be left for the People of the Book and the Believers, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the Unbelievers may say, "What symbol doth Allah intend by this?" Thus doth Allah leave to stray whom He pleaseth, and guide whom He pleaseth; and none can know the forces of thy Lord, except He and this is no other than a warning to mankind.

Abul Ala Maududi

We have appointed none but angels as the keepers of the Fire, and We have not made their number but as a trial for the unbelievers so that those who have been endowed with the Book will be convinced and the believers' faith will increase, and neither those who have been endowed with the Book nor the believers will fall into any doubt. As for those in whose hearts there is a sickness as well as the unbelievers, they will say: “What did Allah aim at by this strange parable?” Thus does Allah let whomsoever He pleases to go astray, and directs whomsoever He pleases to the Right Way. And none knows the hosts of your Lord but He. (And Hell has only been mentioned here) that people may take heed.

Ahmed Ali

We have not appointed any one but angels as keepers of Hell, and their number that We have fixed is to make it a means of contention for disbelievers, so that those who were given the Book may be certain, and the faith of the believers may have greater increase, and the people of the Book and believers may not be deceived, and the sceptics and infidels may say: "What does God mean by this parable?" That is how God leads whosoever He will astray, and guides whosoever He will. None knows the armies of your Lord save Him self. This is no more than reminder for mankind.

Ahmed Raza Khan

We have not appointed the guards of hell, except angels; and did not keep this number except to test the disbelievers – in order that the People given the Book(s) may be convinced, and to increase the faith of the believers – and so that the People given the Book(s) and the Muslims may not have any doubt – and so that those in whose hearts is a disease and the disbelievers, may say, “What does Allah mean by this amazing example?” This is how Allah sends astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills; and no one knows the armies of Allah except Him; and this is not but an advice to man.

Ali Quli Qarai

We have assigned only angels as keepers of the Fire, and We have made their number merely a stumbling block for the faithless, and so that those who were given the Book may be reassured, and the faithful may increase in [their] faith, and so that those who were given the Book and the faithful may not be in doubt, and so that the faithless and those in whose hearts is a sickness may say, ‘What did Allah mean by this description?’ Thus does Allah lead astray whomever He wishes and guides whomever He wishes. No one knows the hosts of your Lord except Him, and it is just an admonition for all humans.

Ali Ünal

We have appointed none but angels as keepers of the Fire, and We have not caused their number to be anything but a trial for those who disbelieve, that those who were granted the Book before may become certain (that Muhammad, who explains everything revealed to him without any hesitation in the face of all antagonism and derision, is God’s Messenger), and those who believe may grow more firm in faith; and that both they who were granted the Book before and the believers may feel no doubt at all; and those in whose hearts there is a sickness and the unbelievers may say: "What does God mean by this description?" Thus God leads astray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. None knows your Lord’s hosts except He. All this is but a reminder to the mortals (so that they may take heed and act accordingly).

Amatul Rahman Omar

None but angels have We appointed as wardens of the Hell-fire. We have fixed their number in order to purify (and purge) the sins of those who disbelieve. The result of this is that the people of the Scripture will be convinced, and those who believe will increase in faith (and act with righteousness). And those who have been given the Scriptures as well as the believers may (both) attain certainty (and will not be misguided). And the people with diseased hearts and the disbelievers will say, `What does Allâh mean by such an illustration?´ Thus does Allâh forsake him who wishes (to go astray), and guides him who wishes (to be guided). And none knows (the number) of the hosts of your Lord but He. And this (Qur´ân) is nothing but a means for human beings to rise to eminence.

English Literal

And We did not make the fire`s owners/company (guards) except angels, and We did not make their number/count except (as) a test to those who disbelieved, who were given/brought The Book (Jews and Christians) to be sure/certain, and (for) those who believed (to) increase faith/belief; and (for) those who weregiven The Book (Jews/Christians), and the believers do not become doubtful/suspicious, and (for) those whom in their hearts/minds (is) sickness/disease (doubt), and the disbelievers to say: "What (has) God wanted/intended with that (as) an example/proverb?" As/like that God misguides whom He wills/wants ,and He guides whom He wills/wants, and none know your Lord`s soldiers/warriors except Him, and it is not except a reminder to the human.

Faridul Haque

We have not appointed the guards of hell, except angels; and did not keep this number except to test the disbelievers – in order that the People given the Book(s) may be convinced, and to increase the faith of the believers – and so that the People given the Book(s) and the Muslims may not have any doubt - and so that those in whose hearts is a disease and the disbelievers, may say, “What does Allah mean by this amazing example?” This is how Allah sends astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills; and no one knows the armies of Allah except Him; and this is not but an advice to man.

Hamid S. Aziz

And We have not made the wardens of the fire others than angels, and We have not made their number but as a trial for those who disbelieve, that those who have been given the Book (scriptures) may be certain and those who believe may increase in faith, and those who have been given the Book and the believers may not doubt, and that those in whose heart is a disease and the unbelievers may say, "What does Allah mean by this parable?" Thus does Allah make err whom He wills, and He guides whom He wills, and none knows the hosts (or forces) of your Lord but He Himself; and this is naught but a reminder to the mortals.

Hilali & Khan

And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Fire, and We have fixed their number (19) only as a trial for the disbelievers, in order that the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) may arrive at a certainty [that this Quran is the truth as it agrees with their Books i.e. their number (19) is written in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] and the believers may increase in Faith (as this Quran is the truth) and that no doubts may be left for the people of the Scripture and the believers, and that those in whose hearts is a disease (of hypocrisy) and the disbelievers may say: "What Allah intends by this (curious) example?" Thus Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And none can know the hosts of your Lord but He. And this (Hell) is nothing else than a (warning) reminder to mankind.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And We have made none but angels wardens of the Fire, and We have not made their number but as a trial for those who disbelieve, that those who have been given the Book may be certain and those who believe may increase in faith, and those who have been given the Book and the believers may not doubt; and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the disbelievers may say: What does Allah mean by this parable? Thus Allah leaves in error whom He pleases, and guides whom He pleases. And none knows the hosts of thy Lord but He. And this is naught but a Reminder to mortals.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And We have not made the wardens of the fire others than angels, and We have not made their number but as a trial for those who disbelieve, that those who have been given the book may be certain and those who believe may increase in faith, and those who have been given the book and the believers may not doubt, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the unbelievers may say: What does Allah mean by this parable? Thus does Allah make err whom He pleases, and He guides whom He pleases, and none knows the hosts of your Lord but He Himself; and this is naught but a reminder to the mortals.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

We have appointed only angels to be wardens of the Fire, and their number have We made to be a stumbling-block for those who disbelieve; that those to whom the Scripture hath been given may have certainty, and that believers may increase in faith; and that those to whom the Scripture hath been given and believers may not doubt; and that those in whose hearts there is disease, and disbelievers, may say: What meaneth Allah by this similitude? Thus Allah sendeth astray whom He will, and whom He will He guideth. None knoweth the hosts of thy Lord save Him. This is naught else than a Reminder unto mortals.

Muhammad Sarwar

We have made only angels as the keepers of the fire (for they are the strongest in carrying out Our commands). Our informing (people) of the numbers of these angels is a trial for the disbelievers. It gives more certainty to the people of the Book and strengthens the faith of the believers. The people of the Book and the believers have no doubt about it. We have fixed the number to make the disbelievers and those whose hearts are sick say, "What does God mean by such a parable?" Thus, God guides and causes to go astray whomever He wants. No one knows about the army of your Lord except He Himself. This parable is a reminder for mankind.

Qaribullah & Darwish

We have appointed none but angels to guard the Fire, and made their number only as a trial for the unbelievers, so that those to whom the Book was given are certain and those who believe increase in belief. And that those who were given the Book, and those who believe will not be in doubt. And that those in whose hearts there is a sickness, together with the unbelievers, may say: 'What did Allah intend by this as an example' As such, Allah leaves in error whom He will and He guides whomsoever He will. None knows the hosts of your Lord except He. This is no more than a Reminder to humans.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Fire. And We have fixed their number only as a trial for the disbelievers, in order that the People of the Scripture may arrive at a certainty and that the believers may increase in faith, and that no doubt may be left for the People of the Scripture and the believers, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the disbelievers may say: "What does Allah intend by this example" Thus Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And none can know the hosts of your Lord but He. And this is nothing but a reminder to mankind.

Wahiduddin Khan

We have appointed only angels to be wardens of the Fire. We have specified their number only as a trial for those who are bent on denying the truth, so that those who were given the Book might gain in certainty, and those who believe might increase in faith -- and so that neither those who have been given the Scripture nor the believers might have any doubts, and that those sick at heart and those who deny the truth might ask, "What does God mean by this parable?" In this way, God lets go astray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. And none knows the forces of your Lord but He. This is but a Reminder for man.

Talal Itani

We have appointed only angels to be wardens of the Fire, and caused their number to be a stumbling block for those who disbelieve; so that those given the Scripture may attain certainty; and those who believe may increase in faith; and those given the Scripture and the believers may not doubt; and those in whose hearts is sickness and the unbelievers may say, “What did God intend by this parable?” Thus God leads astray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. None knows the soldiers of your Lord except He. This is nothing but a reminder for the mortals.

Tafsir jalalayn

And We have appointed only angels as wardens of the Fire, in other words, and so they cannot be withstood as these [disbelievers are wont to] imagine; and We have made their number, so, only as a stumbling-block, a cause for error, for those who disbelieve, when they then say, `Why are there nineteen of them?', so that those who were given the Scripture, namely, the Jews, may be certain, of the sincerity of the Prophet (s) in [saying that] they are nineteen, for this concords with what is in their Scripture; and that those who believe, from among the People of the Scripture, may increase in faith, in affirmation of the truth, given that what the Prophet (s) has said concords with what is in their Scripture, and that those given the Scripture and the believers, [those] other than these [Jews], may not be in doubt, concerning the number of [these] angels, and that those in whose hearts there is a sickness, an uncertainty, [those] in Medina, and the disbelievers, in Mecca, may say, `What did God mean by this, number [as a], similitude?' (mathalan; they referred to it thus [as a mathal] on account of it being a curious matter; in terms of syntax, it [mathalan] is a circumstantial qualifier). Thus, that is, just as the one who rejects this number is led astray and the one who affirms the truth of it is guided, God leads astray whom He will and guides whom He will. And none knows the hosts of your Lord, namely, the angels, [none knows them] in terms of their strength and their assistants, except Him. And it, that is, Saqar, is nothing but a reminder for humans.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Number of Guardians of Hell and what the Disbelievers said about that

Allah says,

وَمَا جَعَلْنَا أَصْحَابَ النَّارِ


And We have set none as (Ashab) guardians of the Fire,

meaning, its guardians.

إِلاَّ مَلَيِكَةً

but angels.

Guardian angels, stern and severe.

This is a refutation of the idolators of the Quraysh when they mentioned the number of guardian angels. Abu Jahl said,

"O people of Quraysh! Are not every ten among you able to defeat one of them"

So Allah said,

وَمَا جَعَلْنَا أَصْحَابَ النَّارِ

إِلاَّ مَلَيِكَة

And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Fire.

meaning, extremely strong in their creation. They cannot be stood against nor defeated.

It has been said that Abu Al-Ashaddayn, and his name was Kaladah bin Usayd bin Khalaf, said,

"O people of Quraysh! You defend me against two of them and I will defend you against seventeen of them."

He said this thinking himself to be very great. For they claimed that he achieved such strength that he would stand on a skin of cow hide and ten people would try to pull it out from under his feet, but the skin would be torn to pieces and still not be removed from under him.

Concerning Allah's statement,

وَمَا جَعَلْنَا عِدَّتَهُمْ إِلاَّ فِتْنَةً لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا

And We have fixed their number only as a trial for the disbelievers,

meaning, `We only have mentioned their number as being nineteen as a test from Us for mankind.'


لِيَسْتَيْقِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ


In order that the People of the Scripture may arrive at a certainty,

meaning, so that they may know that this Messenger is true. For he speaks according to the same thing that they have with them of heavenly revealed Scriptures that came to the Prophets before him.

Concerning Allah's statement,

وَيَزْدَادَ الَّذِينَ امَنُوا إِيمَانًا

and that the believers may increase in faith.

meaning, to their faith. This is due to what they witness from the truthfulness of the information of their Prophet, Muhammad.

وَلَا يَرْتَابَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ وَالْمُوْمِنُونَ

وَلِيَقُولَ الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ

and that no doubt may be left for the People of the Scripture and the believers, and that those in whose hearts is a disease,

meaning, among the hypocrites.

وَالْكَافِرُونَ مَاذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِهَذَا مَثَلًا

and the disbelievers may say;"What does Allah intend by this example"

meaning, they say, "What is the wisdom in mentioning this here"

Allah says,

كَذَلِكَ يُضِلُّ اللَّهُ مَن يَشَاء وَيَهْدِي مَن يَشَاء

Thus Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills.

meaning, by way of examples like this, faith becomes firm in the hearts of some people and it is shaken with others.

This has a profound wisdom and it is an irrefutable proof. None knows the Soldiers of Allah except Him.

Allah says,

وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ إِلاَّ هُو

And none can know the hosts of your Lord but He.

meaning, none knows their number and their count except Allah.

This is so that one does not make the mistake of thinking that they are only nineteen in all. It has been confirmed in the Hadith concerning Al-Isra' that is reported in the Two Sahihs and other collections, that the Messenger of Allah said in describing the Frequented House (Al-Bayt Al-Ma`mur), which is in the seventh heaven,

فَإِذَا هُوَ يَدْخُلُهُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ سَبْعُونَ أَلْفَ مَلَكٍ لَاإ يَعُودُونَ إِلَيْهِ اخِرَ مَا عَلَيْهِم

Seventy thousand angels enter into it every day and they do not return to it as it is all that is due upon them (one visit in their lifetime).

Concerning Allah's statement,

وَمَا هِيَ إِلاَّ ذِكْرَى لِلْبَشَرِ




And this is nothing but a reminder to mankind.

Mujahid and others said,

وَمَا هِيَ
And this is not.

"This means the Hellfire which has been described."

إِلاَّ ذِكْرَى لِلْبَشَرِ

but a reminder to mankind.

Then Allah says,

كَلَّ وَالْقَمَرِ