Home > Surah 74 - The Cloaked One
This is one of the longest and most complex verses in the Meccan corpus. It serves as a meta-commentary on why the Quran uses specific, often cryptic, information. This verse explicitly tethers the "certainty" of the People of the Book to the specific details mentioned in the Quran.
Surah 74:31:
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.
The verse claims that the number of angels over hell (nineteen, mentioned in v. 30) was chosen so that the People of the Book would have "certainty" and "not doubt."
In order for a Jew or Christian to find "certainty" in the number 19, that specific number must be found in the Torah or the Gospel in relation to the guardians of hell.
There is no mention of "nineteen" guardians of hell in the Bible. Angels are usually described in "myriads" or "thousands of thousands" (Daniel 7:10, Revelation 5:11).
The Quran has provided a specific "verification test" that fails upon contact with the actual Scripture. By claiming this number brings certainty to those with the Bible, the Quran is essentially making a false citation of the Biblical text.
The verse is addressed to the "People of the Book" present during the revelation.
For them to have "certainty" and "no doubt" by comparing the Quran to their Scripture, their Scripture must have been present, uncorrupted, and clear at that moment.
If the Bible was already corrupted (as many Muslims claim today), it could not possibly serve as a source of "certainty" or a "no-doubt" witness for a new revelation.
74:31 certifies the authenticity of the 7th-century Bible. If that Bible does not contain the number 19, the Quran’s claim that the number was sent to "convince" the People of the Book becomes a logical absurdity.
The verse states that God uses these examples as a Fitnah (trial) so that people will ask, "What does Allah mean by this example?"
The verse admits that God is the source of the skepticism in the "sick-hearted" by providing them with obscure information.
This contrasts with the God of the Bible, who is "not the author of confusion" (1 Corinthians 14:33) and desires all men to come to the knowledge of the truth.
You can argue that the Quranic God intentionally creates barriers to understanding, whereas the Biblical God provides "Clear Proofs" that lead to salvation, not mathematical riddles meant to be a stumbling block.
Surah 74:31 says that God chose the number nineteen so that I, as a 'Person of the Book,' might have 'certainty' and 'not doubt.'
I am looking at my Scripture (the Bible) right now—the same one that existed in the 7th century. Where is the number nineteen in relation to the guardians of hell?
If it's not there, then your Quran is making a false claim about what my Book contains.
If you say the number was 'removed,' then God's plan in 74:31 was a failure, because He sent a number to bring certainty that He knew wasn't there anymore.
Either the number nineteen is in the Bible (which it isn't), or the Quran's claim that this number provides 'certainty' to Christians is a demonstration that the author of the Quran did not know what was actually in the Bible. Why does your Book appeal to mine for 'certainty' when my Book exposes the Quran's mistake?"
By focusing on the word Liyastayqina (certainty), you pin the idea that the Bible is the ultimate witness. If the witness doesn't back up the claim, the claim is dismissed.
How do Muslims explain the total absence of the "19" motif in the Biblical descriptions of judgment, despite this verse's claim that it should bring us certainty?