Surah Al-Muzzammil English Translation & Brief Tafsir

¹O Prophet, who, withdrawing into your inner world, have wrapped yourself in the cloak of solitude and withdrawn into yourself in anxious waiting! The time has come to set out for the struggle in your Lord’s way! We know that, because of the burden you have taken on, you have become absorbed in yourself and have, as it were, withdrawn from society into yourself. So if you are asking, “Where should I begin?”, come, begin with yourself.

²Therefore, as the first step toward illumination, rise at night to worship, and spend the night in worship, except for a small part of it. In the hours of the night when everyone is in deep sleep, leave your bed and rise; perform the prayer, read the Quran, and reflect on the verses. In the silent calm of the night, turn your feelings and your mind wholly to your Lord.

³If you wish, on some nights spend half of the night in worship. During the rest of it, sleep and rest, so that you are not left without strength during the day. Or, depending on the circumstances, take a little away from your sleep.

⁴Or add to half the night as much as you are able. Read the Quran in a measured order, that is, slowly, giving it its due. Read what is made known to you from the Quran calmly and with great attention, reflecting on its meaning. Reading slowly and thoughtfully in the calm of the night will help you grasp better what has been sent to you. In this way, the meaning of Allah’s word settles firmly in your mind, and its content has its effect on you.

⁵Truly, We will reveal to you the Quran, a word whose responsibility is very weighty and whose value is lofty. You will take on a great responsibility that will last your whole life. And so you will take upon your shoulders the task of understanding the Quran, living it, conveying it, and making it prevail on earth. To be able to carry this responsibility, you must be prepared in your mind, your feelings, and your ideals!

⁶Truly, rising at night and leaving your sleep is more effective for performing the prayer with reverent humility. This worship you perform at night will make you stronger in grasping the revelation. For those who cannot lift the quilt off themselves cannot lift the burden of this cause. Let those who aspire to this task know well that worship at night is very arduous. But in the silence of the night, a person comes into complete harmony with his inner world. Night worship is also more effective in helping the verses settle in the mind. It is, moreover, better suited to conscious reading.

⁷Do not put off your night worship until the day. If you put it off, you will not gain the benefit you gain at night, and the likelihood that you will neglect it will be very high. For during the day you have busy and important duties. During the day you will carry out the instructions you receive at night, apply Allah’s verses in your own person, and convey them to people. For this cause you will meet many difficulties and endure many hardships.

⁸So, night and day, remember the name of your Lord with all sincerity, make it your principle to serve your Lord alone, and do not let Him leave your mind. Reflecting on the wisdom and power of your Lord, turn to Him alone with all your strength.

⁹Allah is the Sovereign of all directions and all times. He is the true Ruler of all lands, past and future, in the east and the west, the north and the south! He is the Lord of the east, the west, and everything you can or cannot see. There is no authority and no god other than Him to whom one must submit and whose rule one must obey unconditionally. So do your part and leave the rest to Allah! Take refuge in His help and protection, and accept Allah alone as Lord and God, as the trustworthy protector who will give direction to your life. There is no one besides your Lord who may act as a god by establishing dominion and authority over created beings. So trust in Him alone, and take Him alone as the guardian of your affairs (wakil).

¹⁰Patiently withstand the reactions shown to the call you make in Allah’s name by those who persist in polytheism by taking other lords and gods besides Allah, and distance yourself from them in a good manner. Give them no opportunity to draw you into needless arguments. In the face of their slanders and lies, and their words full of mockery and insult, be patient and continue the struggle. Do not waste your energy getting into fruitless arguments with those wrongdoers who knowingly reject the truth and want to obstruct you from conveying the message of revelation to people. Do not respond to their rude behavior, and leave their company in a good manner. With a dignified attitude befitting a believer, put an end to the arguments and distance yourself from them. Then, until you reach the pure hearts that will listen to this call, continue conveying the message with good character, without growing weary.

¹¹As for the wrongdoers who deny Allah’s verses because they fear that the system of exploitation they have built will collapse… O My Messenger! As for those deniers who, when Allah’s verses are brought to their minds, reject your prophethood and the rulings and reports of the Quran: I Myself will deal with those insolent ones who are ungrateful and call you a liar! Leave to Me the people of wealth, devoted to luxury and pleasure, who have set up an order of exploitation that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer and who reject your call. You need only carry out your duty of conveying the message and warning in full, and be patient until Our decree of punishment comes to pass. Do not be hasty, and give them a little time, enough for them to reflect and accept what is right. During this period they are free to choose whatever path they wish. But let them know this well: Our granting them respite does not mean that We will do nothing. For this reign of theirs will not last long, and they will be tested with calamities.

¹²But if those who insist on living as polytheists do not come to the right path in this world, let them know this well: there is no doubt that with Us there are iron rings to be fastened around their necks and, as the recompense for their transgression, a fiercely blazing fire of Hell.

¹³In Hell, for the disbelievers, there is vile food that will not go down the throat and sticks there when they try to swallow it, and a most painful punishment.

¹⁴The Resurrection that they refuse to accept is such a day that on it the earth and the great mountains will be shaken by a violent quake, the seas will swell, the heavens will be emptied and begin to tremble, and the mountains they thought could never fall will become like a heap of sand. On that day there will be no office and no authority to protect them. At the divine tribunal every person will answer for whom he followed and by what standard he lived his worldly life, and everyone will be given in full the reward or punishment he deserves.

¹⁵O people! Surely We have sent to you a prophet named Muhammad, who will bear witness on the Day of Resurrection to what you did and who will set forth the truth in all its clarity. Once, too, We sent a prophet named Moses to Pharaoh and his people to tell them of tawhid and to warn them.

¹⁶But Pharaoh, too, had opposed the messenger who invited him to salvation, just as you do, and had stubbornly persisted in preserving the system of shirk. So, as a lesson, We seized him and those who followed his system with a terrible punishment, holding them fast, and destroyed him along with his whole army. So you must take a lesson from what befell them.

¹⁷So, O you to whom this call is addressed! If you too now persist in disbelief despite all these warnings, and if you take no lesson from what the Prophet conveys and deny as Pharaoh did, how will you protect yourselves from Allah’s punishment on a day that will turn even children’s hair white with fear and make them white-haired old men? You never can.

¹⁸For this reason, at the Resurrection, even the sky, which you see as boundless and think can never fall, will split open and crack from the violence of that day, and so the day Allah has promised will have arrived. All these coming events bear witness that Allah’s promise to raise the dead and call them to account will surely be fulfilled one day.

¹⁹Surely this Quran is a warning delivered to humanity before the Resurrection arrives, and a counsel for you to take to heart. Allah has given human beings the freedom to choose. So whoever wishes strives to draw near to his Lord through righteous deeds and turns to the path to which Allah invites, in order to reach well-being. Whoever among you takes counsel by following Allah’s laws takes a path to his Lord. And whoever wishes does not take counsel, and bears his own responsibility.

²⁰Truly, your Lord knows that you spend sometimes nearly two-thirds of the night, sometimes half of it, and sometimes a third of it in worship. He knows that a group of self-sacrificing believers who take you as their example also spend the night in worship in this way, that is, that they perform the night prayer. It is Allah alone who created both the night and the day and who truly values what you do. He knows how hard and arduous it is for you to rise every night and pray. But to prepare for a heavy task, you had to go through this stage for a certain period. Now that this has been accomplished, the time has come to move on to the second stage: Allah already knew that you would no longer be able to sustain the night prayer. Because He knew that you would not have the strength for this every night, He granted you a concession. Thus He has accepted your repentance for small lapses, pardoned you, and lightened your burden. This is an ease for you from your Lord. So the believers rise at night as their hearts desire, without forcing themselves, and reflect by reading Our verses. When you rise for the night prayer and stand in the presence of your Lord, read whatever of the Quran comes easily to you. Do not forget that your Lord does not lay on His servants who love Him a burden beyond their strength. For Allah knows that in the future some of you will be ill; some of you will travel the earth to trade and seek provision from Allah’s bounty; and others of you, leaving their property, homes, children, and spouses, will fight in Allah’s way and will strive to convey Allah’s call to people. Thus, as a blessing, your Lord makes His commands easy in this way for those who are ill, traveling, or at war. So read as much of the Quran as you can read with ease. Meanwhile, place the prayer at the center of life and perform it properly and with care. Do not hold back from sacrificing your wealth for the sake of an Allah-centered order and morality. Give the zakat, which purifies your consciences and frees you from evil traits such as stinginess. By using your lives, your wealth, and all your abilities as Allah wills, lend Allah a good loan, to receive its reward in the Hereafter. Give it in Allah’s way willingly and to earn His good pleasure. For every good deed you do, your Lord considers Himself indebted to you. He repays His debt in the best way by rewarding you. Do not forget that whatever good you do as charity for yourselves, you will find with Allah something better and more than it, as a great reward. Allah will give you their recompense many times over. O you who believe! Before you come into your Lord’s presence, do in advance whatever will be in your favor and send it ahead to your Lord, so that your reckoning may be made easy! But however much good you do, do not consider yourselves flawless and perfect. Always ask Allah for forgiveness so that you may reach what is better and finer. Promise to avoid making mistakes as far as you can! Surely Allah is most forgiving, most compassionate, and protecting. Know that there is no place of refuge other than your Lord.