Surah Al-Muzzammil: Thematic English Translation (Mustafa Çevik)

O Prophet, you who have wrapped yourself in the cloak of solitude! At a late hour of the night, a little before or a little after midnight, rise and read slowly what has been made known to you of the Quran! We will continue to send down to you verses that carry a heavy responsibility.

Reading at night is more effective for your grasp of the revelation. During the day you will be fully occupied with conveying what you have learned.

Never put your Lord out of your mind, and turn to Him with all your strength.

Allah is the Creator and true Lord (Owner) of the east and the west, of every direction you can and cannot see, of every place and of everything. No one but Him has the right to be god over what He has created. So take Allah alone as your Lord and your God, and seek refuge in Him alone. Allah is sufficient as the One to whom you entrust your affairs.

Patiently withstand the reactions and attacks against the call you make in Allah’s name from those who have chosen to associate partners with Allah by taking other lords and gods besides Him, and who persist in doing so; distance yourself from them in a good manner, and give them no opportunity to draw you into needless arguments.

Leave to Me those who, although We have endowed them with countless blessings, are ungrateful, deny Our verses as lies, and reject the call; give them enough time to reflect and accept what is right.

For those who persist in a life of associating partners with Allah, there await in the Hereafter, as the recompense for their ingratitude, rebellion, and transgression, fetters, a searing fire, food that will not go down the throat, and a very severe punishment.

After the Last Hour, when the earth and the mountains upon it will be shaken by a terrifying quake and turned into heaps of sand, every human being will, on the Day of Reckoning, give an account of whom and what he followed in living his worldly life.

Just as We sent a messenger to Pharaoh and his people and warned them of the punishment of the Day of Reckoning, We have sent to you a prophet who warns you of the truth you will face and who is a witness over you. Pharaoh paid no heed to the call of the messenger sent to him and turned away, stubbornly persisting in preserving the system of shirk (associating partners with Allah). Thereupon We seized Pharaoh and those who followed his system in a grip they could not escape, and destroyed them.

And you, to whom this call is addressed! If, like Pharaoh and his people, you continue to persist stubbornly in your shirk, your transgression, and your ingratitude, no one can save you from destruction either. Moreover, you will never be able to protect yourselves from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, which by its terror will turn children into white-haired old men.

From the terror of the Last Hour the sky will crack and split apart, and the day Allah has promised will have arrived.

You are being told that you will face these truths, and you are being given counsel. Whoever wishes takes heed and turns to the path to which Allah invites.

O Prophet! Allah certainly knows that you, and some of the believers with you, stay up for less than two-thirds of the night, or for a third of it, trying to educate yourselves and others.

In the nights that Allah, who created night and day in due measure, created for your rest, do not go to excess in your prayers and put yourselves and others under strain. Allah knows that there may be sick people among you, that some of you must seek your provision from Allah’s bounty during the day, and that some of you will be striving to convey Allah’s call to people. Do not strain yourselves by neglecting your need for rest. Perform your prayers with the verses that are easy for you. Do not hold back from making sacrifices with your wealth for the sake of an Allah-centered system and morality; gladly lend Allah a good loan in His way. Allah will return it to you many times over.

Ask Allah for forgiveness and help. Allah is the One who forgives those who strive for His call and shows them abundant mercy.