Surah al-Muddaththir

It is Meccan. Ibn Atiyyah stated that there is consensus on this, and in al-Tahrir, Muqatil stated that it is Meccan except for one verse, which is: "And We have not made their number except as a trial for those who disbelieve..." [74:31], and so on. It will come to pass, if Allah the Exalted wills, that which suggests that His saying, "Over it are nineteen," is Medinan, along with what is in it. Its verses are fifty-six in the Iraqi and first Medinan count, and fifty-five in the Levantine and last Medinan count, according to what has been detailed in its place.

It is sisterly with the preceding Surah in its opening with the calling of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; both of them were revealed, according to the well-known view, regarding one event. The former began with the command to stand [in prayer] at night, which is a specific form of worship, while this one begins with the command to warn, which contains the perfection of others.

Umayyah al-Azdi narrated from Jabir ibn Zayd—who is one of the scholars of the Successors (al-Tabi’un)—that al-Muddaththir was revealed immediately after al-Muzzammil. Ibn al-Durays recorded it from Ibn Abbas, and they considered this among the reasons for its placement after it. The apparent view is the weakness of this statement, for Ahmad, al-Bukhari, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, and a group [of scholars] recorded from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir: "I asked Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Rahman about the first of the Quran to be revealed. He said: 'O you who are wrapped in garments (al-Muddaththir).' I said: 'They say [it is] Read in the name of your Lord who created.' He said: 'I asked Jabir ibn Abd Allah about that and said to him what I said to you. Jabir said: I will tell you only what the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, told us. He said: I resided in Hira, and when I finished my residency, I descended and was called. I looked to my right and saw nothing, I looked to my left and saw nothing, and I looked behind me and saw nothing. I raised my head and saw the Angel who had come to me at Hira sitting on a chair between the heaven and the earth. I was terrified by him, so I returned and said: Wrap me up, wrap me up! So they wrapped me up, and there was revealed: O you who are wrapped in garments, arise and warn, and your Lord glorify.' In another narration: 'I came to my family and said: Cover me, cover me! So Allah the Exalted revealed: O you who are wrapped in garments...' until His saying: 'And shun the idols.'"

The event is indeed one, and if O you who are wrapped in garments (al-Muzzammil) had been the one revealed before it, it would have been mentioned [in that context]. Yes, the apparent meaning of this report necessitates that O you who are wrapped in garments (al-Muddaththir) was revealed before Read in the name of your Lord. However, what is recorded in the two Sahihs and others from Aisha is that the latter was the first of the Quran to be revealed, and this is what the majority of the Imams have adopted, such that some have said it is the [only] authentic view. Because of the authenticity of both reports, they required an answer, and five answers were transmitted in al-Itqan:

1. That the question in Jabir's hadith was about the revelation of a complete Surah, so he clarified that Surah al-Muddaththir was revealed in its entirety before the completion of Surah Iqra’, for the first that was revealed of it was its beginning.
2. That Jabir’s intent by "the first" is a priority specific to what occurred after the cessation of revelation, not an absolute priority.
3. That the intent is a priority specific to the command to warn. Some expressed this by saying: "The first that was revealed for Prophethood was Read in the name of your Lord, and the first that was revealed for Apostleship was O you who are wrapped in garments."
4. That the intent is the first that was revealed due to a preceding cause, which is what occurred of "wrapping" resulting from terror. As for Read, it was revealed initially without a preceding cause.
5. That Jabir deduced that through his own ijtihad (independent reasoning), and it is not from his narration [from the Prophet], so what Aisha—may Allah be pleased with her—narrated is given precedence over it.

He then said: "The best of these answers are the first and the last." End quote. There is a critique regarding this, so reflect and do not be heedless.

Al-Muddaththir: (1) O you who are wrapped in your mantle

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

"O you who are wrapped in your mantle" (al-Muddaththir). Its original form is al-Mutadaththir, but the ta has been assimilated into the dhal. It is based on the root tadaththara (to wrap oneself), meaning to put on dithar (mantle/wrapper)—with a kasra on the dal—which is the garment worn over the shirt that touches the body. The latter is called shi'ar because of its contact with the skin (bashara) and hair (sha'rah). From this is the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "The Ansar are the shi'ar (inner garment) and the people are the dithar (outer garment)."

The root, according to what has been said, revolves around the meaning of covering in a comprehensive sense, as if the dithar were a complete, outward covering. He (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) was addressed by a name derived from the state he was in, as a gesture of intimacy and gentleness, just as you heard regarding "O you who wrap yourself [in your mantle]" (al-Muzzammil). His wrapping himself (peace be upon him) occurred when he heard what was mentioned earlier. Al-Tabarani and Ibn Marduyah narrated, with a weak chain of transmission from Ibn Abbas, that Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah prepared food for the Quraish. When they had eaten, he said, "What do you say about this man?" They differed, then agreed that he was a sorcerer who passes on magic. This reached the Prophet (peace be upon him), so he became saddened, covered his head, and wrapped himself—as the sorrowful person does—so Allah, the Exalted, revealed: "O you who are wrapped in your mantle" up to His saying: "And for the sake of your Lord, be patient."

It is said that the intent of "the wrapped one" is the one wrapped in Prophethood and spiritual perfections, meaning the one adorned with them and decorated with their traces. It is also said that "the wrapped one" is used to signify the one absent from view, through metaphor and simile; thus, it is a call to him by the state he was in while in the Cave of Hira.

Some have said that the apparent meaning intended by "the wrapped one"—and likewise "the Muzzammil"—is a metonymy for the one at rest and unoccupied, as this was at the beginning of the mission. It is as if it were said to him (peace be upon him): "The time of rest has passed, and the troubles of obligations and guiding the people have come to you." You know that this does not negate the intended literal meaning, nor does it affect the quality of gentleness.

Some masters have said: "O you who cover the Muhammadan Reality with the mantle of human form," or "O you who are absent from the eyes of creation, so that none truly knows you except Allah, the Exalted." These and other expressions all point to what they have said concerning the Muhammadan Reality: that it is the "Reality of Realities," the essence of which none of the creatures can comprehend. Upon its tongue, one who said the following spoke:

And indeed, though I am a son of Adam in form, I possess a meaning that testifies to my Primordiality.

It is the First Determination, the treasurer of the locked secret, and it is... [it is to] matters far beyond the reach of intellect. Its meaning has exhausted humanity, for in proximity or distance, no one sees it except that they are silenced—like the sun which appears to the eyes from a distance as small, yet it exhausts the vision from near. And how could a people asleep, distracted by dreams, grasp its reality in this world? The extent of knowledge regarding him is that he is a human being, and that he is the best of all Allah’s creation.

Ikrimah recited al-Muddaththir with the dal unvowelled (light) and the tha with a kasra (stressed), on the pattern of al-fa'il (the active participle). It is also reported from him as al-Muddaththar (with the tha also lightened or stressed), on the pattern of al-maf'ul (the passive participle), from the verb dathara-hu. He said, "I dathartu this affair," and "It is fastened upon you," meaning it is tightened. The meaning is that he is the one relied upon; the grave matters are attached to him, and the affairs of their resolution and binding are tied to him. It is as if it were said: "O you upon whom the affairs of the people depend, for you are their means to Allah, the Exalted."