Аль-Муззаммиль

The Holy Prophet ﷺ is addressed in this verse with reference to a particular style of wrapping himself in his clothes. The first event of this kind occurred when the Holy Prophet received first revelation in the cave of Hira'. Being his first experience, he felt it very hard, and was caught by, a shivery cold, and once he reached home, he asked his blessed wife Khadijah ؓ to wrap him in a blanket which she did. Some narrations have reported another event: When the Holy Prophet was accused, by the pagans of Makkah, of being a magician who separated between friends, he felt aggrieved, and wrapped himself in his clothes out of grief. Addressing him with reference to these events is a loving style _ adopted by Allah Ta'ala to console him. (Muhammad Taqi Usmani)

Commentary

يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ '0 you wrapped up in clothes [ 73:1] '. The word muzzammil literally means 'one wrapped up in clothes' and its near-synonym 'muddaththir' comes in the next Surah. The Holy Prophet ﷺ is addressed in this verse with reference to a particular style of wrapping himself in his clothes. The first event of this kind occurred when the Holy Prophet received first revelation in the cave of Hira'. Being his first experience, he felt it very hard, and was caught by a shivery cold, and once he reached home, he asked his blessed wife Khadijah ؓ to wrap him in a blanket which she did. A detailed account of this event is reported by Bukhari in the very first chapter of his book. Then the revelation stopped for some time. Speaking of this temporary break in the revelation [ termed as fatrat-ul-wahy ], Sayyidna Jabir ؓ reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in his narrative:

"Whilst I was walking along, I heard a voice from heaven and I raised up my eyes. Lo! The Angel that had appeared to me in Hira was sitting on a chair between heaven and earth, and I was struck with awe on account of him and returned home and said, Wrap me up, wrap me up [ zammiluni, zammiluni ]. Then Allah revealed the first five verses of Surah Al-Muddththir (chapter 74)." [ Bukhari and Muslim ]

According to this narrative, the Holy Prophet ﷺ is affectionately addressed as '0 you, enveloped in a mantle,' whereas in this Surah he is addressed as '0 you wrapped up in clothes'. Both forms of address are used affectionately and endearingly to console him. The latter title of address 'muzzammil' as it appears in this Surah could probably be connected to another incident (referred to in the footnote) but it, nonetheless, shows deep love and affection for the Holy Prophet ﷺ . [ Ruh-ul-Ma` ani ]. Having addressed him with this special title, the Holy Prophet ﷺ is told in the following verses that praying to Allah in the stillness of night [ salat-ut-tahajjud ] will prepare him for the heavy task entrusted to him. Some details of the night-prayer have also been set out.

Injunctions Pertaining to salat-ut-Tahajjud and its Abrogation

Reading into the titles muzzammil and muddaththir a consensus of scholarly opinion assigns the revelation of this Surah to the earliest period when the five daily prayers had not become obligatory. They were prescribed on the night of Holy Prophet's ﷺ Ascent to heavens. [ mi` raj ].

Imam Baghawl (رح) ، says, on the basis of Ahadith reported by Sayyidah ` A'ishah Siddigah ؓ and others, that 'night-prayer' was compulsory for the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the entire Muslim community until the five prayers were not prescribed.

This verse not only prescribes the night-prayer but it also prescribes to stand up in prayer from at least one quarter of the night, because the verse under comment basically commanded to stand up all night to pray except a little portion of it.

Imam Baghawi (رح) says, on the basis of narration of Ahadith, that the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the noble Companions ؓ in compliance with this command, spent the major portion of the night in tahajjud, so much so that their feet would swell and this exertion caused hardship and difficulty to them. This situation continued for a year. After that, towards the end of the Surah, the following injunction was revealed:

فَاقْرَ‌ءُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ‌ مِنْهُ

'...Therefore, recite as much of it as is easy_[ 73:20] '

It repealed the obligation of staying up for a long time, and granted them concession and permission to stay up for prayer as much as they could easily manage. This is transmitted by Abu Dawud and Nasa'i on the authority of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ says that when the five prescribed prayers became obligatory on the night of mi` raj, the obligatory nature of tahajjud was abrogated. It was, however, retained as sunnah, because the Holy Prophet ﷺ performed it most regularly. Most of the blessed Companions ؓ were regular with their tahajjud as well. [ Mazhari ] Let us now analyze the wordings of the verses.

قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا 'stand at night (for prayer) except a little_[ 73:2] '. The word al-lail with the definite article 'al' connotes 'the entire night', signifying that he should stay up the whole night for prayer except a little portion of it. As the word 'little' is indefinite, the verse further clarifies:

نِّصْفَهُ أَوِ انقُصْ مِنْهُ قَلِيلًا 'half of it, or make it a little less, [ 3] or أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ make it a little more [ 73:4] '. This is explicative of the exception 'except a little'. A question may be raised here that 'a little' cannot be 'half. The answer is that the earlier portion of the night is spent in the prayer at maghrib and ` isha'. 'Half then refers to the half of the rest of the night. Its total in relation to the whole night amounts to 'a little'. The verse permits to reduce it a little less than half and it also permits to add to it a little more than half. Thus it was compulsory to stay up at least for a little over one fourth of a night for prayer.

وَرَ‌تِّلِ الْقُرْ‌آنَ تَرْ‌تِيلًا '...and recite the Qur'an clearly with tartil (in a distinct and measured tone). [ 73:4] '. The word tartil , according to Imam Raghib as explicated in al-Mufradat, originally means 'to put together and arrange well the component parts of a word and speech and make it distinct'. The purport of the verse is to say that the Qur'an must not be recited in haste, but in a leisurely manner, distinctly, deliberately and in well-measured tone. At the same time, it is necessary to reflect on its meaning and message. [ Mazhari ]. The clause wa rattil is grammatically conjoined to qumil lail and signifies what is required to be done in tahajjud prayer. Although it comprises many components like tasbih, ruku ' (bowing), sujud (prostration) and so on, the verse indicates that the basic component of prayer is recitation of the Qur'an. The authentic Traditions bear testimony to the fact that the tahajjud prayer of the Holy Prophet ﷺ used to be prolonged very much. The noble Companions and their pupils followed the same pattern.

Ruling [ 1]

The verse under comment clarifies that the recitation of the Qur'an is required to be with tartil [ distinct recitation in well-measured tone ]. The Holy Prophet's ﷺ recitation fulfilled the requirements of tartil. Some people inquired from Sayyidah 'Umm Salamah ؓ about the Holy Prophet's ﷺ recitation of Qur'an in night-prayers. She emulated his recitation in which every single letter was clear and distinct. [ Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasal - as quoted by Mazhari ].

Ruling [ 2]

Tartil includes slow rhythmic recitation and beautification of the voice while reciting. Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Allah does not listen to any recitation as much as he listens to the recitation of a Prophet who recites with a beautiful voice." [ Mazhari ].

Sayyidna ` Alqamah ؓ saw a person reciting with a beautiful voice and he exclaimed:

لقد رتّل القراٰن فداہ ابی و اُمِّی

"He has recited the Qur'an with tartil: May my parents be sacrificed to him!" [ Quriubi ].

In short, tartil basically signifies that the letters and the words must be pronounced clearly and distinctly that will help understanding the Qur'an, and paying due care to its meaning. Hasan al-Basri (رح) reports that Allah's Messenger ﷺ passed by a person who was reciting a verse of the Qur'an and weeping. He said to the people, 'Have you heard of the command of Allah' وَرَ‌تِّلِ الْقُرْ‌آنَ تَرْ‌تِيلًا '...and recite the Qur'an clearly with tartil (in a distinct and measured tone). [ 73:4] '? This is tartil which this person is doing. [ Qurtubi ]

إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا ('We are going to send down to you a weighty discourse... 73:5) ' The word thagil means 'heavy' and the phrase 'weighty discourse' refers to the Qur'an, because the Qur'anic teachings of lawful and unlawful are permanently binding and carrying them out is the weightiest task for human nature, except those for whom Allah makes it easier. According to oft-quoted Ahadith, whenever a revelation descended upon the Holy Prophet t, he went into a trance and felt a peculiar sensation, so that even on an extremely cold day drops of sweat fell from his forehead, and he felt his body has become heavier. The Qur'anic revelation being 'a weighty discourse', his paroxysm was due to this sensation. If the Holy Prophet ﷺ received revelation while he was on his riding animal, it would begin to move the bottom of its neck intensely. [ Bukhari and others ].

The verse under comment prescribes tahajjud prayer on man, so that he may become accustomed to the difficulty of waking at night. This is a struggle against excess sleep and comfort of the carnal self. This exercise will make it easier to abide by the injunctions contained in the 'weighty discourse', that is, the Holy Qur'an.

إِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ اللَّيْلِ ('Truly, rising by night [ for prayer of tahajjud ] is the most effective way to subdue (one's self) and to make speech more upright.... 73:6). The word nashi'ah, on the grammatical measure of ` afiyah, is an infinitive noun which signifies 'to rise by night for prayer'. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ said that nashi'at-ul-lail means 'to rise by night for night-prayer after sleeping'. According to this definition, nashi'at-ul-lail refers to tahajjud prayer. Furthermore, the word tahajjud itself, literally, means 'to sleep at night and then wake up to perform the prayer'. Ibn Kaisan (رح) has said that prayer at the later part of the night is called nashi'at-ul-lail. Ibn Zaid (رح) says that performing prayer at any part of the night is nashi'at-ul-lail. Hasan al-Basri (رح) says that any prayer after the ` Isha' prayer is nashi'at-ul-lail. Ibn Abi Mulaikah ؓ says that he asked Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas and Ibn Zubair u about the meaning of nashi'at-ul-lail, they replied as follows: الّیل کلّھا ناشٔۃ (The entire night is nashi'ah." - Mazhari)

There is no conflict in these interpretations. The point is that the terms nashi'ah of the night and qiyam of the night are general, and may refer to any hour of night. Thus the two terms apply equally to

performing night-prayer in any part of the night, especially the one performed after ` Isha' prayer as explained by Sayyidna Hasan al-Basri (رح) . However, the constant practice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، that of the overwhelming majority of the Companions and their pupils, and that of the righteous predecessors of the 'Ummah was that they performed this prayer in the later part of the night after waking from sleep, and therefore it is more virtuous, more meritorious and attracts more blessings. Performing any nafl [ voluntary ] prayer after ` Isha' prayer fulfills the sunnah requirement of nashi'ah of the night and qiyam of the night.

هِيَ أَشَدُّ وَطْئًا (...is the most effective way to subdue (one's self) and to make speech more upright... 73:6). The word wat'an, with the letter waw carrying fath [=a ], is an infinitive which means 'to subdue' or 'to suppress'. Given this meaning, the sense is that this time of night helps one to suppress his evil desires and keep them under, control. This meaning is adopted by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (رح) and the translation of the text is based on this interpretation. In another qira'ah (version), however, the word is pronounced 'wita'an'. It is an infinitive that means 'to conform'. On another occasion in the Qur'an, we come across the following verse wherein a verb derived from this root is contained. The word in that verse is used in the same sense, thus:

لِّيُوَاطِئُوا عِدَّةَ مَا حَرَّ‌مَ اللَّهُ

'...so that they may conform (only) to the number of what Allah has sanctified - [ 9:37] '

Leading authorities on Tafsir, like Ibn Zaid and Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، have interpreted the word in the same sense here. Ibn Zaid ؓ said that getting up in the night for prayer is the most effective means of making the heart, eye, ear and tongue to mutually correspond and conform. Ibn ` Abbas ؓ said that the phrase means that during this time there is the closest degree of conformity and harmony between the ear and the heart. This is because there is no noise at the time of night when most people are asleep and one will not be disturbed as one is during the daytime. At night time when the tongue recites the Qur'an, the ears will be conducive to listening to the recitation with due concentration, and the heart will be conducive to understanding and considering its meaning and message.

وَأَقْوَمُ قِيلًا (And to make speech more upright - 73:6) The word aqwam means 'more upright'. The verse signifies that the recitation of the Qur'an is more upright and concentrated, because during the night there are no noises and commotion to distract the heart or the mind.

In sum, the purport of the verse is to put forward the wisdom underlying the injunction of the 'night-prayer' for the common people. The preceding verse put forward its wisdom for the Holy Prophet ﷺ :

إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا

'We are going to send down to you a weighty discourse.[ 73:5] '.

The 'weighty discourse' was concerned specifically with the Holy Prophet ﷺ as it was revealed to him. But for common people, Night-Prayer has two characteristics: [ 1] bringing harmony between the heart and the tongue; and [ 2] peace of mind - making it easier to recite the Qur'an.