يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ
O THOU enwrapped one! (1)
قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا
Keep awake [in prayer] at night, all but a small part (2)
نِصْفَهُ أَوِ انْقُصْ مِنْهُ قَلِيلًا
of one-half thereof – or make it a little less than that, (3)
أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا
or add to it [at will]; and [during that time] recite the Qur'ān calmly and distinctly, with thy mind attuned to its meaning. (4)
إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا
Behold, We shall bestow upon thee a weighty message (5)
إِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ اللَّيْلِ هِيَ أَشَدُّ وَطْئًا وَأَقْوَمُ قِيلًا
[and,] verily, the hours of night impress the mind most strongly and speak with the clearest voice, (6)
إِنَّ لَكَ فِي النَّهَارِ سَبْحًا طَوِيلًا
whereas by day a long chain of doings is thy portion. (7)
وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا
But [whether by night or by day,] remember thy Sustainer's name, and devote thyself unto Him with utter devotion. (8)
رَبُّ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَاتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا
The Sustainer of the east and the west [is He]: there is no deity save Him: hence, ascribe to Him alone the power to determine thy fate, (9)
وَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْرًا جَمِيلًا
and endure with patience whatever people may say [against thee], and avoid them with a comely avoidance. (10)
وَذَرْنِي وَالْمُكَذِّبِينَ أُولِي النَّعْمَةِ وَمَهِّلْهُمْ قَلِيلًا
And leave Me alone [to deal] with those who give the lie to the truth – those who enjoy the blessings of life [without any thought of God] – and bear thou with them for a little while: (11)
إِنَّ لَدَيْنَا أَنْكَالًا وَجَحِيمًا
for, behold, heavy fetters [await them] with Us, and a blazing fire, (12)
وَطَعَامًا ذَا غُصَّةٍ وَعَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
and food that chokes, and grievous suffering (13)
يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ الْأَرْضُ وَالْجِبَالُ وَكَانَتِ الْجِبَالُ كَثِيبًا مَهِيلًا
on the Day when the earth and the mountains will be convulsed, and the mountains will [crumble and] become like a sand-dune on the move! (14)
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولًا شَاهِدًا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًا
BEHOLD, [O men,] We have sent unto you an apostle who shall bear witness to the truth before you, even as We sent an apostle unto Pharaoh: (15)
فَعَصَىٰ فِرْعَوْنُ الرَّسُولَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُ أَخْذًا وَبِيلًا
and Pharaoh rebelled against the apostle, whereupon We took him to task with a crushing grip. (16)
فَكَيْفَ تَتَّقُونَ إِنْ كَفَرْتُمْ يَوْمًا يَجْعَلُ الْوِلْدَانَ شِيبًا
How, then, if you refuse to acknowledge the truth, will you protect yourselves on that Day which shall turn the hair of children grey, (17)
السَّمَاءُ مُنْفَطِرٌ بِهِ كَانَ وَعْدُهُ مَفْعُولًا
[the Day] on which the skies shall be rent asunder, [and] His promise [of resurrection] fulfilled? (18)
إِنَّ هَٰذِهِ تَذْكِرَةٌ فَمَنْ شَاءَ اتَّخَذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا
This, verily, is a reminder: let him who wills, then set out on a way to his Sustainer! (19)
- O THOU enwrapped one!1
- 1 The expression muzzammil has a meaning similar to that of muddaththir, which occurs at the beginning of the next surah: namely, "one who is covered [with anything]", "enwrapped" or "enfolded [in anything]"; and, like that other expression, it maybe understood in a concrete, literal sense - i.e., "wrapped up in a cloak" or "blanket" - as well as metaphorically, i.e., "wrapped up in sleep" or even "wrapped up in oneself. Hence, the commentators differ widely in their interpretations of the above apostrophe, some of them preferring the literal connotation, others the metaphorical; but there is no doubt that irrespective of the linguistic sense in which the address "O thou enwrapped one" is understood, it implies a call to heightened consciousness and deeper spiritual awareness on the part of the Prophet.
- O thou folded in garments!5754
- 5754 Muzzammil: Some Commentators understand by this, "properly dressed for prayer", or "folded" in a sheet, as one renouncing the vanities of this world. Muzzammil is one of the titles of our Prophet. But there is a deeper mystic meaning in this and the address "Thou wrapped up" of the next Surah. Human nature requires warm garments and wrappings to protect the body from cold or heat or rain. But in the spiritual world these wrappings are useless; the soul must stand bare and open before Allah, in the silence of the night, but not too austerely, as the following verses show.
-
O thou folded in garments!
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
O thou wrapped up in thy raiment!
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
O you who have wrapped up in your garments!
— M. Habib Shakir -
O you wrapped in garments (i.e. Prophet Muhammad SAW)!
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
O thou enwrapped!
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
O you (Prophet Muhammad) wrapped,
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
O thou enwarpped in robes!
— Ayub Khan -
O thou wrapped up in thy mantle,
— Sher Ali -
O THOU enwrapped one!
— Muhammad Asad -
O thou enwrapped in thy robes,
— Arthur Arberry -
O you the (sleeping) enwrapped one!{{1}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi