Al-Muzzammil المزمل
The Enshrouded One
Al-Muzzammil addresses the Prophet ﷺ as "the enshrouded one" — wrapped in a garment, likely at night — and instructs him to pray during the night, a portion of it, specifying roughly half, a little less, or a little more, and to recite the Quran slowly and distinctly (tartil), a verse that became a foundational reference for the practice of measured Quranic recitation. It explains the reason for this demanding regimen: God is about to place a weighty word upon him, and rising at night produces a firmer footing and clearer speech than the distractions of daytime. The surah's final verse, understood to have been revealed later, eases the earlier command — God knows some believers cannot always calculate the night precisely, some travel seeking His bounty, some fight in His cause — so it permits reciting whatever is manageable instead, alongside establishing prayer, giving charity, and giving God a good loan, an early instance of a specific obligation being revealed and then adjusted for genuine hardship.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمُزَّمِّلُ
You [Prophet], enfolded in your cloak!
قُمِ ٱلَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا
Stay up throughout the night, all but a small part of it,
نِّصْفَهُۥٓ أَوِ ٱنقُصْ مِنْهُ قَلِيلًا
half, or a little less,
أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ تَرْتِيلًا
or a little more; recite the Quran slowly and distinctly:
إِنَّا سَنُلْقِى عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا
We shall send a momentous message down to you.
إِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ ٱلَّيْلِ هِىَ أَشَدُّ وَطْـًٔا وَأَقْوَمُ قِيلًا
Night prayer makes a deeper impression and sharpens words––
إِنَّ لَكَ فِى ٱلنَّهَارِ سَبْحًا طَوِيلًا
you are kept busy for long periods of the day––
وَٱذْكُرِ ٱسْمَ رَبِّكَ وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا
so celebrate the name of your Lord and devote yourself wholeheart-edly to Him.
رَّبُّ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَٱتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا
He is Lord of the east and west, there is no god but Him, so take Him as your Protector,
وَٱصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَٱهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْرًا جَمِيلًا
patiently endure what they say, ignore them politely,
وَذَرْنِى وَٱلْمُكَذِّبِينَ أُو۟لِى ٱلنَّعْمَةِ وَمَهِّلْهُمْ قَلِيلًا
and leave to Me those who deny the truth and live in luxury. Bear with them for a little while;
إِنَّ لَدَيْنَآ أَنكَالًا وَجَحِيمًا
We have fetters, a blazing fire,
وَطَعَامًا ذَا غُصَّةٍ وَعَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
food that chokes, and agonizing torment in store for them
يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ ٱلْأَرْضُ وَٱلْجِبَالُ وَكَانَتِ ٱلْجِبَالُ كَثِيبًا مَّهِيلًا
on the Day when the earth and the mountains will shake. The mountains will become a heap of loose sand.
إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولًا شَـٰهِدًا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًا
We have sent a messenger to you [people] to be your witness, just as We sent a messenger to Pharaoh,
فَعَصَىٰ فِرْعَوْنُ ٱلرَّسُولَ فَأَخَذْنَـٰهُ أَخْذًا وَبِيلًا
but Pharaoh disobeyed the messenger and so We inflicted a heavy punishment on him.
فَكَيْفَ تَتَّقُونَ إِن كَفَرْتُمْ يَوْمًا يَجْعَلُ ٱلْوِلْدَٰنَ شِيبًا
So if you disbelieve, how can you guard yourselves against a Day that will turn children’s hair grey,
ٱلسَّمَآءُ مُنفَطِرٌۢ بِهِۦ ۚ كَانَ وَعْدُهُۥ مَفْعُولًا
a Day when the sky will be torn apart? God’s promise will certainly be fulfilled.
إِنَّ هَـٰذِهِۦ تَذْكِرَةٌ ۖ فَمَن شَآءَ ٱتَّخَذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِۦ سَبِيلًا
This is a reminder. Let whoever wishes take the way to his Lord.
۞ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَقُومُ أَدْنَىٰ مِن ثُلُثَىِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَنِصْفَهُۥ وَثُلُثَهُۥ وَطَآئِفَةٌ مِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ مَعَكَ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يُقَدِّرُ ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ ۚ عَلِمَ أَن لَّن تُحْصُوهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ فَٱقْرَءُوا۟ مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ ٱلْقُرْءَانِ ۚ عَلِمَ أَن سَيَكُونُ مِنكُم مَّرْضَىٰ ۙ وَءَاخَرُونَ يَضْرِبُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يَبْتَغُونَ مِن فَضْلِ ٱللَّهِ ۙ وَءَاخَرُونَ يُقَـٰتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ فَٱقْرَءُوا۟ مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُ ۚ وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَأَقْرِضُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا ۚ وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا۟ لِأَنفُسِكُم مِّنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا وَأَعْظَمَ أَجْرًا ۚ وَٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌۢ
[Prophet], your Lord is well aware that you sometimes spend nearly two-thirds of the night at prayer––sometimes half, sometimes a third––as do some of your followers. God determines the division of night and day. He knows that you will not be able to keep a measure of it and He has relented towards all of you, so recite as much of the Quran as is easy for you. He knows that some of you will be sick, some of you travelling through the land seeking God’s bounty, some of you fighting in God’s way: recite as much as is easy for you, keep up the prayer, pay the prescribed alms, and make God a good loan. Whatever good you store up for yourselves will be improved and increased for you. Ask God for His forgiveness, He is most forgiving, most merciful.
Arabic text and translation (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem) via the Quran.Foundation API.
Frequently asked
Twenty verses.
Meccan, revealed in Makkah — though its final verse is often held to be a later, Medinan addition.
To pray during the night for roughly half of it, a little less or more, and to recite the Quran with tartil — slow, distinct recitation.
It permits reciting whatever portion of the Quran is manageable at night, acknowledging that illness, travel for provision, and fighting in God's cause make a fixed nightly measure impractical for everyone.