The Tafsir of Surat Al-Muzzammil
(Chapter - 73)
Which was revealed in Makkah
(In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
(1. O you wrapped up!) (2. Stand (to pray) all night, except a little.) (3.
Half of it or less than that, a little.) (4. Or a little more. And Rattil the
Qur'an Tartil.) (5. Verily, We shall send down to you a Word Thaqil.) (6.
Verily, rising (Nashi'ah) at night is better for understanding and more
suitable for speech (recitation).) (7. Verily, for you in the day is lengthy
Sabh.) (8. And remember the Name of your Lord and (Tabattil) devote yourself to
Him with complete devotion.) (9. Lord of the east and the west; La ilaha illa
Huwa, so take Him as a trustee.)
The Command to stand at Night (in Prayer)
Allah commands His Messenger to cease being wrapped up, and this means to be
covered during the night. He commands him to get up and stand in prayer to His
Lord. This is as Allah says,
(Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and
they spend out of what We have bestowed on them.) (32:16) Thus, the Prophet did
as Allah ordered him, by standing for prayer at night. This was obligatory upon
him alone, as Allah said,
(And in some parts of the night offer the Salah with it (the Qur'an), as an
additional prayer for you. It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqam
Mahmud.) (17:79) Here Allah explains how much prayer he should perform. Allah
says,
(O you wrapped up! Stand all night, except a little.) Ibn `Abbas, Ad-Dahhak and
As-Suddi all said,
(O you wrapped up!) "This means, O you who are asleep.'' Qatadah said, "The one
who is wrapped up in his garments.'' Concerning Allah's statement,
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(Half of it) means, instead of the whole night.
(A little less than that, or a little more.) meaning, `We have commanded you to
stand in prayer for half of the night, either a little more than it or a little
less. There is no hardship on you concerning that (slight increase or decrease).
The Way of reciting the Qur'an
Concerning Allah's statement,
[وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْءَانَ تَرْتِيلاً]
(And Rattil the Qur'an Tartil.) meaning, recite it slowly, for that will help
in understanding the Qur'an and contemplating it. This is how the Prophet used
to recite. `A'ishah said, "He (the Prophet) used to recite the chapter slowly,
so much so that it would be longer than chapters that were actually longer than
it.'' In Sahih Al-Bukhari, it is recorded from Anas that he was asked about the
recitation of the Messenger of Allah , so he replied, "He used to elongate the
letters.'' Then he (Anas) recited,
(In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.) (1:1) and he
elongated "In the Name of Allah,'' and he elongated "The Most Gracious,'' and
he elongated "The Most Merciful.'' Ibn Jurayj reported from Ibn Abi Mulaykah,
who narrated from Umm Salamah that she was asked about the recitation of the
Messenger of Allah , so she said, "He used to pause in his recitation, verse by
verse.
(In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is
Allah's, the Lord of all that exists. The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The
Only Owner of the Day of Recompense.) (1:1-4) This was recorded by Ahmad, Abu
Dawud and At-Tirmidhi. We have already mentioned the Hadiths which prove the
recommendation of slow rhythmic recitation and beautification of the voice
while reciting at the beginning of this Tafsir. For example, the Hadith which
states,
(Beautify the Qur'an with your voices.) and the Hadith,
(He is not of us who does not chant nicely with the recitation of the Qur'an.)
and the Hadith,
(Verily, he has been given this windpipe from the windpipes of the family of
Dawud.) Referring to Abu Musa. Abu Musa replied, "If I knew that you had been
listening to my recitation, I would have truly beautified it for you.'' It has
been narrated from Ibn Mas`ud that he said, "Do not scatter the (recitation of)
Qur'an out like the scattering of sand, and do not rush through it like the
hasty recitation of poetry. Stop at its amazing parts and make your heart move
with it. None of you should let his concern be to reach the end of the
chapter.'' This has been recorded by Al-Baghawi. Al-Bukhari recorded from Abi
Wa'il that he said, "A man came to Ibn Mas`ud and said, `I read the Mufassal
chapters (from Qaf to An-Nas) last night in one unit of prayer.' Ibn Mas`ud
said, `This is rushing like the haste of reciting poetry. the Most Merciful.
The Only Owner of the Day of Recompense.) (1:1-4) This was recorded by Ahmad,
Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi. We have already
mentioned the Hadiths which prove the recommendation of slow rhythmic
recitation and beautification of the voice while reciting at the beginning of
this Tafsir. For example, the Hadith which states,
(Beautify the Qur'an with your voices.) and the Hadith,
(He is not of us who does not chant nicely with the recitation of the Qur'an.)
and the Hadith,
(Verily, he has been given this windpipe from the windpipes of the family of
Dawud.) Referring to Abu Musa. Abu Musa replied, "If I knew that you had been
listening to my recitation, I would have truly beautified it for you.'' It has
been narrated from Ibn Mas`ud that he said, "Do not scatter the (recitation of)
Qur'an out like the scattering of sand, and do not rush through it like the
hasty recitation of poetry. Stop at its amazing parts and make your heart move
with it. None of you should let his concern be to reach the end of the
chapter.'' This has been recorded by Al-Baghawi. Al-Bukhari recorded from Abi
Wa'il that he said, "A man came to Ibn Mas`ud and said, `I read the Mufassal
chapters (from Qaf to An-Nas) last night in one unit of prayer.' Ibn Mas`ud
said, `This is rushing like the haste of reciting poetry.
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