[1] (In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)

The meaning

More explanation

[The Prophet – salam to him – used to sleep in the first half of the night, and pray the ‘additional voluntary prayers’ in the other half of it, and following the prayers he mentioned God with glorification and praise.

Therefore, this soora (or chapter) was revealed:]

[2] 1. O you [: Mohammed] enwrapped in your raiment [preparing to sleep!]

[3] 2. Keep vigil [for reciting the Quran] all, except a little of, the night.

[4] 3. A half of the [night], or less than a little of the [half.]

[5] 4. Or more than the [half]^a, and recite the Quran in piece-meal^b.

[6] 5. We will certainly cast on you heavy words^c.

[7] 6. [The righteous work] that you perform by night is more effective [on people], and the speech is more upright.^d

[8] 7. Surely, you have a long day time during which you may glorify [your Lord] as you like.^e

^{4 a} The meaning: Make half of your night for reciting the Quran, and the other half for your sleep and repose.

Then divide the half of your vigilance into many hours: so in the first part of the night keep vigil for four hours, and for two hours in the terminal part of the night, i.e. at dawn time, so that the total will be six hours; and if you lessen of that or add more, you will not be blamed.

And sleep in the middle part of the night. But this is only a voluntary act, not obligatory.

^{4 b} i.e. rehearse or recite it as parts and phrases; [i.e. recite it in detailed way], so that your people may listen to it.

A similar aya has been previously explained in the interpretation of the Quran 25: 32; which means: (And We have revealed it piecemeal.)

In fact, God commanded him to recite the Quran in the first part and in the terminal part of the night, because sounds are hushed and souls are quiet, so that minds may listen to it at such time, and ears will be attentive to it, so that it will be more impressive on the hearer.

^{5 c} Which will be difficult for associaters to hear; because it will denounce their thinking and explain about their mistakes.

^{6 d} The meaning: The words by night will be more effective on the hearer, because people are quiet and sounds are hushed. Therefore, recite the Quran in the hours of the night with a loud voice in order that the associaters may hear and some of them may believe.

^{7 e} So dedicate the hours of the night exclusively for reciting the Quran.

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[9] 8. And remember the name of your Lord [with glorification and praise, whenever you like], and gradually devote your worship to Him^a.

[10] 9. Lord of the East and the West; there is no god but He; so take Him for a Guardian^b.

[11] 10. And forbear patiently [O Mohammed] their words [of the denial and mockery], and [now after you have warned them] forsake them with good leaving^c.

[12] 11. Leave to Me those who deny [Our messenger]^d: those given grace [of wealth and children^e.] And respite them for a little time^f.

[13] 12. For We have kinds of severe punishment, and a burning extensive fire.

[14] 13. And food that chokes [its eater]^g, and a painful punishment.

[15] 14. On the day when the earth and the mountains shall quake^h, and beforehand the mountains become a heaping sandⁱ.

^{8 a} Until your soul will have a higher promotion, and you will be in a high spiritual rank in the life of the World and in the Next Life.

The meaning: If you like to pray the ‘additional voluntary prayers’ or to mention God with glorification and celebration, then do that in day time, and dedicate your night time to reciting (or rehearsing) the Quran.

For We did not reveal to you the Quran in order to busy yourself with the prayers, but to warn people with its recital and rehearsing, so that they may listen to it and believe.

This is confirmed by His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 20: 2-3, which means:

(We have not revealed the Quran to you [Mohammed] to be wearied. But only as an admonition to him who fears [and dreads the punishment of his Lord.])

^{9 b} Of you, Mohammed.

^{10 c} It means: your consequence will be good after leaving them.

So the Prophet emigrated to Medina, so his consequence was good, and he defeated them.

^{11 d} It means: Refer their case to Me; I know about their condition; I will gradually seize them with death and killing until none of them will remain.

^{11 e} Those on whom I bestowed wealth and children, but they denied My messenger instead of showing gratitude for such bounties.

^{11 f} Then they will come to Us, by means of their death, and We will chastise them on account of their denial.

^{13 g} So that he cannot swallow it easily, due to its roughness and its many spikes; therefore, he does not like to swallow it.

^{14 h} i.e. will shake then will be cut up into many pieces, so that the big pieces will be moons to the inhabitants of the new planets, while the small pieces will be meteorites that will circle around the new planets.

^{14 i} i.e. the mountains will crumble and heap like heaping sand dunes. The tense in the aya is the past tense, because the mountains will become heaping sand dunes before this event, i.e. before the quaking and tearing up of the earth.

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[16] 15. Surely, We have sent to you [Mohammed as] a messenger to witness against you [on Doomsday^a], even as had We sent [Moses son of Amram as] a messenger to Pharaoh.

[17] 16. But Pharaoh rebelled against the messenger [and did not believe]; and, consequently, We seized him^b with a severe consecutive [kinds of] punishment^c.

[18] 17. Then, if you disbelieve [in the Quran], how will you avoid [the chastisement of] a day that shall turn children grey-headed?^d

[19] 18. [The day] when the heaven shall cleave^e; His promise shall be fulfilled.^f

[20] 19. These [Quran revelations] are indeed an admonition; therefore whoso likes [to go to Paradise], let him follow a way [leading him] to [the Paradise of] his Lord.^g

^{15 a} About your rebellion, O you deniers.

^{16 b} With the punishment then with the drowning.

^{16 c} Once with the locust, another time with the frog, the third time with the insect, the fourth, and the fifth … until the last was by the drowning.

^{17 d} Who then, other than God, can save you?

^{18 e} It means: It is the day in which the gaseous heavens will crack up and some parts of them will mix with others to become like the smoke.

^{18 f} It means: The earth quaking, the mountains heaping, the cleaving of the heaven and the occurring of the chastisement which We promised you about; these will inevitably happen.

^{19 g} The meaning: Whoso likes to take a way leading him to the Gardens (or Paradises), and to ascend to the spiritual heavens and dwell together with the angels and prophets; then let him believe and work the righteous work, and then he will reach to that place and dwell in the Gardens together with the prophets and the righteous.

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[When His saying – be glorified – in the beginning of this soora, was revealed, which means:

(O you [: Mohammed] enwrapped in your raiment [preparing to sleep!]

Keep vigil [for reciting the Quran] all, except a little of, the night.)

The Prophet said: “My Lord, I shall keep vigil at night for prayers and glorification from midnight till morning.”

Therefore, His saying – be glorified – was revealed:]

[21] 20. [O Mohammed] your Lord does know that you [awake and] stand [to pray] for:

less than two-thirds of the night [: more than the half one time],

or half of the night [another time],

or [another time still] a third of the night,

and so do a party of those [believers] with you^a.

God does appoint Night and Day in due measure^b.

He knows that you are unable to comprehend the [ambiguous revelations of the Quran], so He has turned towards you [and accepted your repentance^c.]

Therefore, now recite of the Quran as much as may be easy for you^d.

[Moreover], He knows that there may be [some] of you in ill-health, and others that travel through the earth [for trading and business], seeking after God's bounty; yet others fight in God's cause.^e

[Then God – be glorified – asserted for the third time about reciting (or rehearsing) the Quran by night, and He said:]

Therefore, recite as much of the Quran as may be easy [for you]^f; and establish the [prescribed] prayers, and the [obligatory] Zakat [alms], and lend to God^g a good loan^h.

And whatever charity you [believers] send before [you]ⁱ for your own souls, you shall find it with God^j: better [than that which you gave in the life of the World] and greater in recompense [than the recompense of the World if you take its recompense in the World^k], and ask of God His forgiveness [for your past sins]; for surely God is Most Forgiving^l, Most Merciful ^m.

^{20 a} They too stand for prayers, and so they perform the ‘additional voluntary prayers of the night’.

^{20 b} i.e. He knows their time and minutes, and knows what happens during them; for nothing of His creatures can be hidden from Him.

^{20 c} For that you substituted the prayers instead of reciting the Quran.

It means: I said to you: Recite the Quran by night, but you stood for prayers.

^{20 d} In the first part and in the terminal part of the night, in order that the associaters may listen to it, so they may believe.

Therefore, this is a second affirmation of the reciting of the Quran.

^{20 e} So these three are not blamed for leaving the Quran recital in these times; that is during illness, trading and fighting.

^{20 f} The addressing is for those who do not travel for trading and who are not ill.

^{20 g} By giving alms to the poor and needy, which God guarantees to repay for you by ten folds in the life of the World, and by seven hundred folds in the Next Life, but on condition that you dedicate that which you spend to God alone and in His way, not for any other purpose, and it should not be for the sake of angels, sheikhs, imams and others; because this is not allowed, and you will not be rewarded for it, but will be punished.

^{20 h} It means: The spending on the poor should be without taunting them or boasting with it, without hurting or insulting them, and your spending should not be for show business.

This is confirmed by His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 2: 264, which means:

(O believers, void not [the reward of] your almsgiving by taunting [with it] and annoyance.)

^{20 i} By spending that on the poor and needy.

^{20 j} In the Next Life; it means: you will find the ethereal or the spiritual of that which you gave to the poor: whether it is food, drink, fruits, clothes or furniture.

^{20 k} Because the property of the World will disappear, while the property of the Next Life will remain.

^{20 l} To those who repent.

^{20 m} To those who regret.

By God's help, the interpretation of the soora 73 of the Quran is completed;

So (praise be to God: Lord of the worlds.)

[1] بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

[2] 1. يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ

[3] 2. قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

[4] 3. نِصْفَهُ أَوِ انقُصْ مِنْهُ قَلِيلًا

[5] 4. أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا

[6] 5. إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا

[7] 6. إِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ اللَّيْلِ هِيَ أَشَدُّ وَطْءًا وَأَقْوَمُ قِيلًا

[8] 7. إِنَّ لَكَ فِي اَلنَّهَارِ سَبْحًا طَوِيلًا

[9] 8. وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا

[10] 9. رَبُّ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَاتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا

[11] 10. وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْرًا جَمِيلًا

[12] 11. وَذَرْنِي وَالْمُكَذِّبِينَ أُولِي النَّعْمَةِ وَمَهِّلْهُمْ قَلِيلًا

[13] 12. إِنَّ لَدَيْنَا أَنكَالًا وَجَحِيمًا

[14] 13. وَطَعَامًا ذَا غُصَّةٍ وَعَذَابًا أَلِيمًا

[15] 14. يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ الْأَرْضُ وَالْجِبَالُ وَكَانَتِ الْجِبَالُ كَثِيبًا مَّهِيلًا

[16] 15. إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولًا شَاهِدًا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًا

[17] 16. فَعَصَى فِرْعَوْنُ الرَّسُولَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُ أَخْذًا وَبِيلًا

[18] 17. فَكَيْفَ تَتَّقُونَ إِن كَفَرْتُمْ يَوْمًا يَجْعَلُ الْوِلْدَانَ شِيبًا

[19] 18. السَّمَاء مُنفَطِرٌ بِهِ كَانَ وَعْدُهُ مَفْعُولًا

[20] 19. إِنَّ هَذِهِ تَذْكِرَةٌ فَمَن شَاء اتَّخَذَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا

[21] 20. إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَقُومُ أَدْنَى مِن ثُلُثَيِ اللَّيْلِ وَنِصْفَهُ وَثُلُثَهُ وَطَائِفَةٌ مِّنَ الَّذِينَ مَعَكَ وَاللَّهُ يُقَدِّرُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ عَلِمَ أَن لَّن تُحْصُوهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْرَؤُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ عَلِمَ أَن سَيَكُونُ مِنكُم مَّرْضَى وَآخَرُونَ يَضْرِبُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ يَبْتَغُونَ مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَآخَرُونَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَاقْرَؤُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَقْرِضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا لِأَنفُسِكُم مِّنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِندَ اللَّهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا وَأَعْظَمَ أَجْرًا وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ