Al-Muzzammil

You [Prophet], enfolded in your cloak!

يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ

yāayyuhā l-muzamilu

Stay up throughout the night, all but a small part of it,

قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

qumi al-layla illā qalīlan

half, or a little less,

نِصْفَهُ أَوِ انْقُصْ مِنْهُ قَلِيلًا

niṣ'fahu awi unquṣ min'hu qalīlan

or a little more; recite the Quran slowly and distinctly:

أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا

aw zid ʿalayhi warattili l-qur'āna tartīlan

We shall send a momentous message down to you.

إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا

innā sanul'qī ʿalayka qawlan thaqīlan

Night prayer makes a deeper impression and sharpens words––

إِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ اللَّيْلِ هِيَ أَشَدُّ وَطْئًا وَأَقْوَمُ قِيلًا

inna nāshi-ata al-layli hiya ashaddu waṭan wa-aqwamu qīlan

you are kept busy for long periods of the day––

إِنَّ لَكَ فِي النَّهَارِ سَبْحًا طَوِيلًا

inna laka fī l-nahāri sabḥan ṭawīlan

so celebrate the name of your Lord and devote yourself wholeheart-edly to Him.

وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا

wa-udh'kuri is'ma rabbika watabattal ilayhi tabtīlan

He is Lord of the east and west, there is no god but Him, so take Him as your Protector,

رَبُّ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَاتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا

rabbu l-mashriqi wal-maghribi lā ilāha illā huwa fa-ittakhidh'hu wakīlan

patiently endure what they say, ignore them politely,

وَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْرًا جَمِيلًا

wa-iṣ'bir ʿalā mā yaqūlūna wa-uh'jur'hum hajran jamīlan

and leave to Me those who deny the truth and live in luxury. Bear with them for a little while;

وَذَرْنِي وَالْمُكَذِّبِينَ أُولِي النَّعْمَةِ وَمَهِّلْهُمْ قَلِيلًا

wadharnī wal-mukadhibīna ulī l-naʿmati wamahhil'hum qalīlan

We have fetters, a blazing fire,

إِنَّ لَدَيْنَا أَنْكَالًا وَجَحِيمًا

inna ladaynā ankālan wajaḥīman

food that chokes, and agonizing torment in store for them

وَطَعَامًا ذَا غُصَّةٍ وَعَذَابًا أَلِيمًا

waṭaʿāman dhā ghuṣṣatin waʿadhāban alīman

on the Day when the earth and the mountains will shake. The mountains will become a heap of loose sand.

يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ الْأَرْضُ وَالْجِبَالُ وَكَانَتِ الْجِبَالُ كَثِيبًا مَهِيلًا

yawma tarjufu l-arḍu wal-jibālu wakānati l-jibālu kathīban mahīlan

We have sent a messenger to you [people] to be your witness, just as We sent a messenger to Pharaoh,

إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولًا شَاهِدًا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًا

innā arsalnā ilaykum rasūlan shāhidan ʿalaykum kamā arsalnā ilā fir'ʿawna rasūlan

but Pharaoh disobeyed the messenger and so We inflicted a heavy punishment on him.

فَعَصَىٰ فِرْعَوْنُ الرَّسُولَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُ أَخْذًا وَبِيلًا

faʿaṣā fir'ʿawnu l-rasūla fa-akhadhnāhu akhdhan wabīlan

So if you disbelieve, how can you guard yourselves against a Day that will turn children’s hair grey,

فَكَيْفَ تَتَّقُونَ إِنْ كَفَرْتُمْ يَوْمًا يَجْعَلُ الْوِلْدَانَ شِيبًا

fakayfa tattaqūna in kafartum yawman yajʿalu l-wil'dāna shīban

a Day when the sky will be torn apart? God’s promise will certainly be fulfilled.

السَّمَاءُ مُنْفَطِرٌ بِهِ ۚ كَانَ وَعْدُهُ مَفْعُولًا

al-samāu munfaṭirun bihi kāna waʿduhu mafʿūlan

This is a reminder. Let whoever wishes take the way to his Lord.

إِنَّ هَـٰذِهِ تَذْكِرَةٌ ۖ فَمَنْ شَاءَ اتَّخَذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا

inna hādhihi tadhkiratun faman shāa ittakhadha ilā rabbihi sabīlan

[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.

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَقُومُ أَدْنَىٰ مِنْ ثُلُثَيِ اللَّيْلِ وَنِصْفَهُ وَثُلُثَهُ وَطَائِفَةٌ مِنَ الَّذِينَ مَعَكَ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يُقَدِّرُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ ۚ عَلِمَ أَنْ لَنْ تُحْصُوهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ فَاقْرَءُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ ۚ عَلِمَ أَنْ سَيَكُونُ مِنْكُمْ مَرْضَىٰ ۙ وَآخَرُونَ يَضْرِبُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ يَبْتَغُونَ مِنْ فَضْلِ اللَّهِ ۙ وَآخَرُونَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۖ فَاقْرَءُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُ ۚ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَقْرِضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا ۚ وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا وَأَعْظَمَ أَجْرًا ۚ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ

inna rabbaka yaʿlamu annaka taqūmu adnā min thuluthayi al-layli waniṣ'fahu wathuluthahu waṭāifatun mina alladhīna maʿaka wal-lahu yuqaddiru al-layla wal-nahāra ʿalima an lan tuḥ'ṣūhu fatāba ʿalaykum fa-iq'raū mā tayassara mina l-qur'āni ʿalima an sayakūnu minkum marḍā waākharūna yaḍribūna fī l-arḍi yabtaghūna min faḍli l-lahi waākharūna yuqātilūna fī sabīli l-lahi fa-iq'raū mā tayassara min'hu wa-aqīmū l-ṣalata waātū l-zakata wa-aqriḍū l-laha qarḍan ḥasanan wamā tuqaddimū li-anfusikum min khayrin tajidūhu ʿinda l-lahi huwa khayran wa-aʿẓama ajran wa-is'taghfirū l-laha inna l-laha ghafūrun raḥīmun