Al-Muzzammil: (20) Indeed, your Lord knows...
His saying, the Exalted: **{Indeed, your Lord knows that you remain [in prayer] less than two-thirds of the night, or half of it, or a third of it, and [so do] a party of those who are with you}** (73:20).
In this verse, there are two issues:
Issue 1:
The meaning of His saying: **{Indeed, your Lord knows that you...}** (less than two-thirds of the night).
The term *adna* (less/nearer) is used metaphorically for *aqall* (less) because when the distance between two things decreases, the space between them is small, and when it increases, the space is large.
Issue 2:
There are variant readings for **{and half of it, and a third of it}**:
1. Read with the accusative case (*wa niṣfahu wa thuluthahu*): This means you pray less than two-thirds, and you pray half (and a third).
2. Read with the genitive case (*wa niṣfihi wa thuluthihi*): This means you pray less than two-thirds, and the half and the third [are also included in what you pray].
However, we have previously explained in the exegesis of {O you who wraps himself [in clothing], stand [in prayer] all night except a little} (73:2) that this does not imply that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was neglecting an obligation.
His saying, the Exalted: {and [so do] a party of those who are with you} refers to his Companions praying this mentioned amount of the night.
His saying, the Exalted: **{And Allah determines the night and the day}** (73:20).
This means that the only one who knows the measures of the parts of the night and the day is Allah, the Exalted.
His saying, the Exalted: **{He knows that you will not be able to count it}** (73:20).
In this, there are two issues:
Issue 1:
The pronoun in **{that you will not be able to count it}** (*an lan tuḥṣūhu*) refers to an implied verbal noun, meaning: He knows that you cannot truly calculate the measure of every part of the night and the day, nor can you achieve those measures through scrutiny and precaution except with extreme difficulty.
Muqatil said: A man used to pray the entire night for fear that he might not achieve what he was commanded regarding the obligatory portion of the night vigil.
Issue 2:
Some used this verse as evidence for imposing a burden beyond capacity, arguing that Allah said: **{you will not be able to count it}** (*lan tuḥṣūhu*), implying inability, yet He commanded them to do it.
The response is that *iḥṣā’* (counting/encompassing) here means difficulty, not absolute impossibility. It is like someone saying, "I cannot bear to look at so-and-so," when they find looking at him burdensome.
His saying, the Exalted: **{So He relented toward you and forgave you}** (73:20).
This is an expression for the concession (relaxation) in abandoning the prescribed amount of standing [in prayer], similar to His saying: **{So now have relations with them and seek what Allah has decreed for you}** (Al-Baqarah: 187).
The meaning is that He removed the accountability from you for abandoning this act, just as He removed accountability from the one who repents.
His saying, the Exalted: **{So recite what is easy [for you] of the Qur'an}** (73:20).
There are two opinions regarding this recitation:
**The First Opinion:** This recitation refers to the prayer itself, because recitation is one part of the prayer, so the name of the part is used for the whole. This means: perform whatever is easy for you in prayer.
Here, there are two further views:
1. Al-Hasan said: This refers to the *Maghrib* and *‘Ishā’* prayers.
2. Others said: The obligation of that night vigil (*tahajjud*) was abrogated, and what was easy of it sufficed. Then, even that was abrogated by the five obligatory prayers.
**The Second Opinion:** What is meant by **{So recite what is easy [for you] of the Qur'an}** is the recitation of the Qur'an itself. The purpose is the study of the Qur'an so that one is safe from forgetting it.
It was said: One should recite one hundred verses. It was said: Whoever recites one hundred verses will be recorded among the devout (*al-qānitīn*). It was said: fifty verses. Some said: Even a short *sūrah* is sufficient, because the removal of the *tahajjud* obligation was to remove hardship, and excessive recitation involves hardship, so it cannot be considered obligatory.
Another discussion here is what is narrated from Ibn Abbas, who said: The night vigil was lifted as an obligation from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), becoming voluntary, but it remained obligatory for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
Then, the Exalted mentioned the wisdom behind this abrogation: {He knows that you will not be able to count it, so He relented toward you and forgave you. So recite what is easy [for you] of the Qur'an. He knows that there will be among you those who are ill and others who travel through the land} (73:21).
Know that the structure of this verse is as if it were saying: Why did Allah abrogate that? He replied: Because He knew that [some people] would be unable to perform it due to illness, or those traveling in the land for trade, or those striving in the cause of Allah.
As for the sick, they cannot engage in tahajjud due to their illness. As for the travelers and the fighters, they are occupied during the day with arduous tasks, and if they did not sleep at night, the causes of hardship would accumulate upon them. This reason was not present for the Prophet (peace be upon him), as Allah says: {Indeed, for you by day is extended occupation} (73:7). Thus, it is natural that the obligation of tahajjud was abrogated for him.
One of the subtleties of this verse is that Allah equated the fighters (al-mujāhidūn) with travelers seeking lawful earnings. Ibn Mas'ud said: "Any man who brings goods to a city of the Muslims, patiently seeking reward, and sells them at the price of the day, he is considered among the martyrs by Allah."
Then, He repeated the phrase {So recite what is easy [for you] of it} for emphasis.
Then He said: {And establish prayer}—meaning the obligatory ones—or {And establish prayer}—meaning the obligatory ones.
It is also said that this refers to Zakāt al-Fiṭr, because there was no zakāh in Mecca; it was only legislated later. Whoever interprets it as the obligatory zakāh considers the end of the sūrah to be Medinan.
His saying, the Exalted: **{And give charity (lend to Allah a good loan)}** (73:21).
There are three interpretations for this:
1. It refers to all forms of charity.
2. It refers to paying *Zakāh* in the best manner: giving it from the purest wealth, that which is most beneficial to the poor, observing the intention and seeking the Face of Allah, and giving it to the deserving recipients.
3. It refers to every good deed performed involving oneself or one's wealth.
Then, the Exalted mentioned the wisdom behind giving wealth: {And whatever good you put forward for yourselves—you will find it with Allah. It is better and greater in reward} (73:20).
And {And seek forgiveness from Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful} (73:20).
In this, there are two issues:
Issue 1:
Ibn Abbas said: You will find what you put forward with Allah better and greater in reward than what you postpone until your deathbed bequest. Al-Zajjaj said: What good you put forward for yourselves, you will find it with Allah to be better for you than the enjoyment of this world. The correct view is that of Ibn Abbas.
Issue 2:
The meaning of the verse is: Whatever good you put forward for yourselves, you will find it with Allah to be better and greater in reward. However, He said **{It is better}** (*huwa khayrun*) for emphasis and exaggeration. Abu as-Samāl read it as **{It is better and greater in reward}** (*huwa khayrun wa aʿẓamu ajran*) with the nominative case, making *khayrun* the subject and *aʿẓamu ajran* the predicate.
Then He said: {And seek forgiveness from Allah} for your sins and shortcomings, especially those related to the night vigil, {Indeed, Allah is Forgiving} of the sins of the believers, {Merciful} to them.
Regarding Ghafūr (Forgiving), there are two opinions:
- That He forgives all sins, which is the view of Muqatil.
- That He forgives the one who persists in sin. Muqatil supported his view with two arguments:
- First: The phrase {Forgiving and Merciful} encompasses both the repentant and the persistent, because it is valid to make an exception for either one of them alone, and the ruling of exception is to exclude what would have been included without it.
- Second: The forgiveness of the repentant is obligatory upon the opponent (in argument), and fulfilling an obligation does not merit praise. Since the purpose of the verse is to establish praise, it must be interpreted to include everyone to realize that praise.
And Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, knows best. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the Master of the Messengers, Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions.
