'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah [Al-Muzzammil]

And it is entirely Meccan according to the saying of Al-Mahdawi and the group. The majority said: It is Meccan except for His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Indeed, your Lord knows﴾ [Al-Muzzammil: 20] to the end of the Surah, for that was revealed in Medina.

His saying, the Exalted:

﴿O you who wraps himself (in clothing)﴾ ﴿Stand (to pray) at night except for a little﴾ ﴿Half of it or subtract from it a little﴾ ﴿Or add to it and recite the Qur'an with measured recitation﴾ ﴿Indeed, We will cast upon you a heavy word﴾ ﴿Indeed, the rising by night is more intense (for the soul) and more suitable for (words of) recitation﴾ ﴿Indeed, for you by day is prolonged occupation﴾ ﴿And remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with (complete) devotion﴾ ﴿Lord of the east and the west; there is no deity except Him, so take Him as Disposer of (your) affairs﴾ ﴿And be patient over what they say and avoid them with gracious avoidance﴾

His saying, the Exalted: ﴿O you who wraps himself (in clothing)﴾ is a call to the Prophet ﷺ. The people differed as to why he was called by this. Aisha, Al-Nakhai, and a group said: Because at the time of the revelation of the verse, he was wrapped in a garment. And wrapping oneself is the act of enveloping in clothing by folding and rolling up. From this is the saying of Imru' al-Qais:

As if our father in his finery and delicacy ∗∗∗ is a great man among people in a wrapped garment.

And the word

People have differed regarding this matter of standing at night, how it was. The majority of the scholars said: It is a matter of recommendation; it was never made obligatory. This is supported by the authentic hadith: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, stood one night in Ramadan behind the mat of the room, and he prayed, and some people prayed with him. Then they increased in number on the following night, and the mosque became crowded with them on the third or fourth night, but the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, did not come out. They piled up at his door, and he came out angry and said: 'I only refrained from coming out because I feared that it would be made obligatory upon you.'" It is said that he, blessings and peace be upon him, did not speak to them until after the morning. Others said: It was obligatory at the time this verse was revealed. These people differed; some of them said: It was obligatory upon the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, specifically, and it remained so until he passed away. It is said: Rather, it was abrogated from him, and he did not die except while standing was voluntary. Some said: It was obligatory upon everyone, and the matter continued, according to what was said by Sa'id ibn Jubair, for ten years. Aisha and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said: It lasted for a year, and it was also narrated from her that it lasted for eight months. Then Allah, the Exalted, had mercy on them, so the verse was revealed: 'Indeed, your Lord knows that you stand...' [Al-Muzzammil: 20], which alleviated it for them. Qatadah said: It remained for a year or two. Abu al-Samal read: 'Stand at night' with a dammah on the meem due to the meeting of the two silent letters, and the kasrah is more common in the speech of the Arabs, as the people read.

And His saying, the Exalted, 'half of it' can be understood as a substitute for His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'a little,' and it can be understood as a substitute for 'the night.' However you interpret the meaning, He commanded standing for half of the night or more or less. The majority among the scholars do not exceed two-thirds, and the least does not fall short of one-third. This is supported by the hadith of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, in the house of Maymunah, may Allah be pleased with her, where he said: When half the night had passed or shortly before it, the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, stood. It is necessary for this substitute that was mentioned to be that the night has been described as 'little.' It may be possible, in my view, that His saying, the Exalted, 'except for a little,' is an exception from the standing, making the night a general term, then His saying, the Exalted, 'except for a little,' meaning the nights that are exempted from standing due to excuse and the like. This perspective aligns well with the recommendation. Al-Jurjani spoke extensively and in detail about this verse in a way that is not beneficial, much of it is not correct. The majority read: 'Or decrease' with a dammah on the waw. Al-Hasan, Aasim, and Hamzah read with a kasrah on the waw. Isa read in both ways, and the pronouns in 'from it' and 'upon it' refer back to 'the half.'

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And recite [the Qur'an] in a measured tone" means in the language: take your time and distinguish between the letters to clarify. The aim is that thought finds space for contemplation and understanding of the meanings. By this, the heart softens and is filled with light and mercy. Ibn Kaysan said: what is meant is to understand it while reciting it. And from this is: "the eloquent tongue" meaning that which is clarified, with openings and distinctions. It has been narrated that the reading of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was clear and measured. If someone wanted to count the letters, they could count them.

And "the heavy saying" is the Qur'an. People have differed as to why it is called heavy. A group of the commentators said: because it was heavy upon the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, to the extent that when it was revealed to him while he was on his she-camel, it knelt down with him. And his thigh almost crushed the thigh of Zayd ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him. Abu Al-Aliya and Al-Qurtubi said: rather it is called heavy due to its weight upon the disbelievers and hypocrites because of its miraculous nature and its warnings and the like. And the knowledgeable scholars said: its meaning is that it is heavy in meanings concerning the commands of obedience and the legal obligations of jihad and the like, and the continuous practice of good deeds. Al-Hasan said: "Indeed, the recitation is light, but the action is heavy."

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿Indeed, the rising of the night﴾, Ibn Jubayr and Ibn Zayd said: It is a word of Habashi origin, a man rises from the night. So 'rising' - on this - is the plural of 'rising one', meaning: standing. And 'more steadfast in its approach' means: more stable and independent in standing. 'And more upright in saying' means: with their thoughts free and their attention directed to what they are reading. Ibn Abbas, Anas ibn Malik, and Ali ibn al-Husayn said: The rising of the night is between Maghrib and Isha. Aisha and Mujahid said: The rising is the standing after sleep. Whoever stands at the beginning of the night before sleeping has not stood for the rising of the night. Ibn Jubayr, Ibn Zayd, and a group said: The rising of the night includes all of its hours, because it rises gradually, bit by bit. Ibn Abbas, Ibn al-Zubayr, Abu Mijlaz, and al-Hasan said: What is after Isha is the rising of the night, and what is before it is not considered rising. Ibn Abbas said: Their prayer was at the beginning of the night, so it is more steadfast, meaning: more deserving of what Allah has made obligatory upon you regarding standing; because when a person sleeps, he does not know when he will wake up. Al-Kisai said: The rising of the night is its beginning. Ibn Abbas and Ibn al-Zubayr also said: The whole night is rising. And 'more steadfast in its approach' - on this - it is possible that it means: more stable, and the relation of stability to it is in regard to the one standing in it. It is also possible that he means that it is difficult to stand due to the prevention of sleep, as he said: 'O Allah, make Your approach heavy upon Mudar.' So the Most High reminded of its difficulty to make known the greatness of the reward in it, as He promised regarding prayer (p-443) and peace upon the ablution in the disliked things and walking in the darkness to the mosques and similar matters. The majority read: 'approach' with a fathah on the waw and a sukoon on the ta. Abu Amr, Mujahid, Ibn al-Zubayr, and Ibn Abbas read: 'agreement' in the form of fi'al, and the meaning is: concurrence; because the mind is free from the concerns of the day, it agrees with the heart of the person with his tongue and thought. This is a correct concurrence, and with this meaning, Mujahid and others interpreted the word. Qatadah read - in the narration of Hussein -: 'agreement' with a kasrah on the waw and a sukoon on the ta, and the hamzah is restricted. Anas ibn Malik read: 'and more correct in saying.' It was said to him: It is only 'more upright.' He said: More upright, more correct, and more fitting are one.

Sahl said: "And remember the name of your Lord" means: 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' at the beginning of your prayer. And "tabattal" means: to cut off from everything except Him, and devote yourself to Him. Zayd ibn Aslam said: "Tabattul" is the rejection of the world, and from it: the rope has been cut off, and their saying regarding the divorced woman: 'batlah', and from it is 'al-batul'. "Tabtilan" is a source not based on the original form.

Hamzah, Al-Kisai, Ibn Amer, and Asim - in the narration of Abu Bakr - read: "The Lord of the East and the West" with a genitive case as a substitute for "your Lord". The others, and Hafs from Asim, read: "The Lord of the East and the West" in the nominative case as a separate statement, meaning: He is the Lord, or as an introduction and news: "There is no deity except Him". Ibn Abbas and the companions of Abdullah read: "The Lord of the Easts and the Wests" in the plural. And "the Trustee" is the one who is responsible for the affairs to which things are entrusted.

His saying, exalted is He: "And be patient over what they say" - it is said that it is a reconciliation abrogated by the verse of the sword, and the intended meaning of the verse is Quraysh. Some scholars said: His saying "And avoid them with a good avoidance" is abrogated. As for patience over what they say, it may sometimes be appropriate, and its ruling remains regarding what is appropriate of the good avoidance from the Muslims. Abu Darda said: We may frown in the faces of a people while our hearts curse them. The first statement is more apparent; because the verse is indeed about the disbelief of Quraysh and their rejection of his message and informing them of that, and it cannot be that the ruling in this context remains.