Surah Al-Muzzammil (73) — Ayah 6

(Ayah 6) ➊ {اِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ الَّيْلِ هِيَ اَشَدُّ …: ’’ نَاشِئَةَ الَّيْلِ ‘‘} (rising at night) is the verbal noun of {’’نَشَأَ يَنْشَأُ‘‘} (F, K) on the pattern of {’’عَافِيَةٌ‘‘} and {’’كَاذِبَةٌ‘‘}. {’’ نَشَأَ مِنْ مَّكَانِهِ‘‘} means he rose from his place. {’’ وَطْاً ‘‘ ’’وَطِئَ يَطَأُ‘‘} (S) is its verbal noun, meaning to trample with the feet, to crush. {’’ اَقْوَمُ ‘‘} means straighter, more correct. It is a verbal noun like {’’ قِيْلًا ‘‘ ’’ قَوْلاً‘‘}.

➋ That is, rising at night is very burdensome on the temperament and surpasses all other things in crushing the self. It should be clear that those who can endure the greatest physical pain, even their courage fails in the face of the pain of sleeplessness. By leaving something as desirable as sleep and performing the most difficult act of standing (in prayer), such strength to endure hardship is developed in the self that it becomes capable of bearing the burden of divine revelation and the heavy responsibility of the Prophetic mission. {’’ اَقْوَمُ قِيْلًا ‘‘} At night, when there is silence everywhere and people are asleep, when a person stands before his Lord at that blessed time, there is nothing to distract his attention. The words that come from his mouth at that time come from both the tongue and the heart, and there is no element of showing off or being heard by others in this act, because no one else is watching or listening, so it is considered more correct in speech. Then, the last part of the night is especially a time of acceptance, as narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ يَنْزِلُ رَبُّنَا تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالٰی كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِلَی السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا حِيْنَ يَبْقٰی ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الْآخِرُ يَقُوْلُ مَنْ يَّدْعُوْنِيْ فَأَسْتَجِيْبَ لَهُ؟ مَنْ يَّسْأَلُنِيْ فَأُعْطِيَهُ؟ مَنْ يَّسْتَغْفِرُنِيْ فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ؟ ] [بخاري، التہجد، باب الدعاء والصلاۃ من آخر اللیل : ۱۱۴۵۔ مسلم: ۷۵۸ ] "Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends every night to the lowest heaven, when the last third of the night remains, and says: 'Who is there to call upon Me so that I may answer his supplication? Who is there to ask of Me so that I may give to him? Who is there to seek forgiveness from Me so that I may forgive him?'"

6. 1. The second meaning is that, compared to the day, the Qur'an is clearer and more effective for presence of heart at night, because at that time other sounds are silent. Calmness prevails in the atmosphere; at that time, what the worshipper recites is not lost in the noise of voices and the commotion of the world, rather the worshipper is well protected from it and feels its impact.

6. Surely, rising at night [6] is most effective for subduing the self [7] and most suitable [8] for reciting the Qur’an.

[6]
The Literal Meaning of Tahajjud:

The obligation of the five prayers was established at the time of Mi'raj. Before this, both youﷺ and the other noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to perform only this night prayer. There was no arrangement or command for congregational prayer either. The noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to perform this prayer individually in their own homes. When the five daily prayers were made obligatory during Mi'raj, this prayer remained obligatory only for the Messenger of Allahﷺ, and its obligation was lifted from the rest of the Muslims. However, encouragement to perform it was certainly given. Now, for the general Muslims, the status of this prayer is that of a confirmed Sunnah (Sunnat Mu’akkadah). Its timings were also different. Many Muslims used to perform it in the early part of the night, while some others used to perform this prayer in the latter part of the night. One form of yourﷺ night vigil (Qiyam al-Layl) is that which is mentioned above in the narration of Sayyidah Umm Salamahؓ. And from a linguistic perspective, this is the very meaning of the word Tahajjud or Hujood: that is, to sleep and wake up several times during the night. Then, even after the five prayers were made obligatory, this prayer remained obligatory for youﷺ, and its time was fixed from midnight until the break of dawn. That is, this prayer can be performed at any time during this period. From these verses, it is also incidentally understood that before the revelation of Surah Al-Muzzammil, such a portion of the Quran had already been revealed that could be recited with measured recitation (tarteel) in this lengthy prayer.

[7] وَطَأ means to trample, to tread, to subdue completely. That is, staying awake at night and preparing one's self for the worship of Allah is a very effective remedy for removing the rebelliousness of the self and subduing its strength. However, the self finds this very burdensome. And the second meaning of ﴿وَطَأ عَلَي الاَمْرِ﴾ is to make a task easy according to one's own will. Thus, although staying awake at night is very burdensome for the self, it will be very suitable and beneficial for the reformation of the self and for the purpose for which we want to train youﷺ.

[8] ﴿أقْوَمُ قِيْلاً﴾ means that which makes speech more correct. That is, the second benefit of staying awake at night is that at this time the heart and mind are fresh. There is no noise or commotion. Therefore, the Quran that is recited at this time one's temperament will ponder upon it with full attention. Thus, this time is suitable for understanding the meanings of the Quran and for being affected by it.