Topic: Tahajjud

22:33.

Important Words:

الصفا والمروة (As-Safa and Al-Marwah) are the names of two hills near the Ka‘bah in Mecca, the first-mentioned being the nearer of the two. Both Arabian history and the traditions of Islam connect these hills with the story of Hagar and Ishmael when Abraham left them near these hills under God’s command. Ishmael was yet a child, and when the scanty provisions ran out and he was in a pitiable condition for want of water, Hagar anxiously and repeatedly ran between these two hills in search of water and help, but none was found. When, however, she was in her seventh circuit, an angel of God called to her saying that God had brought forth a spring of water near her son and that she should go and look to it (Bukhari, ch. on Anbiya’). Thus the hills of صفا (Safa) and مروة (Marwah) became شعائر الله i.e. Signs of God worthy of due honour and respect in the sight of every true believer. The Bible also makes mention of مروة in a somewhat changed form (Gen. 22:2; also Enc. Bib. under Moriah) in connection with the sacrifice of Abraham’s son.

شعائر (Signs) is the plural of شعیرة which is derived from شعر meaning, he knew or he perceived. Thus شعیرة means: (1) anything by means of which another thing may be known; (2) a sign; (3) anything which is considered or is performed as a mark of submission to God; (4) the rites of pilgrimage and practices pertaining thereto (Aqrab).

حج (is on pilgrimage) means: (1) he sought a person or thing; (2) he went or repaired to a person or thing; (3) he went to a person again and again; (4) he visited a holy place; (5) he performed حج (Pilgrimage) to the Ka‘bah; (6) he overpowered a person in argument (Aqrab).

اعتمر (performs ‘Umrah) is derived from عمر which means, he occupied or tenanted a house; he worshipped God and prayed to Him. اعتمر means, he went to, or visited, a place. عمرة means, visiting a place; worshipping and praying to God; performing Lesser Pilgrimage in which some of the rites of حج are left out (Aqrab).

تطوع (does beyond what is obligatory) is derived from طاع i.e. he obeyed; he did an act willingly and voluntarily. The infinitive الطوع means: (1) obedience; (2) doing an act willingly without its being obligatory on one. تطوع means, he performed an act with effort and volition. تطوع خیرا means, he performed a good act which was not obligatory on him (Aqrab & Mufradat).

Commentary:

To a superficial observer the verse under comment dealing with the subject of Pilgrimage appears to have no connection with the preceding ones which deal with the subject of trials and sacrifices. But a deeper study will at once disclose a very close connection between the two. The preceding verses warned Muslims to be prepared for sacrifices and gave them the glad tidings that if they performed the required sacrifices willingly and patiently, God would bless them greatly and would show special mercy to them and would remember them with kindness and would provide guidance for them whenever needed. Now, in order to bring home to them the truth of this promise, He invites the attention of Muslims to the great sacrifice of Abraham near the site of As-Safa and Al-Marwah. Abraham obeyed His Lord and left his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael near these two hills of Mecca, which was then a most desolate tract. The seed was sown in a soil which was apparently the most barren of all soils, but how wonderfully it prospered! God was a most Loving and Faithful God who so fondly remembered His servants, Abraham and Ishmael, even after the lapse of 2,500 years, and Muslims can expect the same love and the same fidelity from Him, if they too love and obey Him. Safa and Marwah, as explained under Important Words above, are two hills which stand as a memorial to Hagar’s great patience and extraordinary loyalty to God on the one hand and to God’s special treatment of her and her son on the other. A visit to these hills makes the pilgrim deeply impressed with the love, fidelity and power of God.

The words, it is no sin for him, should not be taken to mean that performing the circuit between Safa and Marwah is only permissible and not obligatory. The expression is used simply to remove the aversion to such performance found among certain persons on the basis of the fact that heathen Arabs had placed two idols on these two hills (Muslim). God removed this erroneous notion by saying that it was no sin to perform the circuit between Safa and Marwah, which on account of the great sacrifice of Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael on the one hand and the resulting blessings of God on the other, had become شعائر الله i.e. great Signs of God. That the performance of these circuits is obligatory in both حج and عمرة(the Greater and the Lesser Pilgrimage) is clear from the practice of the Holy Prophet and his injunctions to his followers (Bukhari, ch. Al-Hajj).

The words, whoso does good beyond what is obligatory, do not refer to حج (Greater Pilgrimage), which under certain conditions is obligatory on each Muslim once in a lifetime, but to عمرة (Lesser Pilgrimage) which is not obligatory but simply supererogatory. The words may also be considered to refer to any additional حج or Pilgrimage which a Muslim may perform, after he has performed the one obligatory Pilgrimage.

As this verse mentions the subject of Pilgrimage only secondarily, we are not giving here a note on the rites and philosophy of which will be discussed when we come to the relevant verses.

50:41; 52:50; 73:3-5; 76:27.

Important Words:

فتھجد به (wake up for it in the latter part of the night). تھجد is derived from ھجد (hajada). ھجد (hajada) and ھجد (hajjada) and تھجد (tahajjada) mean the same thing i.e. (1) he slept or slept in the night or in the latter part of the night; (2) he remained awake or was sleepless or wakeful in the night; (3) he awoke from sleep to pray or for some other purpose; (4) he prayed in the night. Hence praying in the latter part of the night is called تھجد (tahajjud). Some say that ھجود which is the noun infinitive from ھجد means, to sleep in the day and ھجوع means, to sleep in the night or simply to sleep (Lane & Aqrab).

نافلة (as a supererogatory service) is derived from نفل. They say نفل الرجل i.e. he presented to the man a thing for which he desired no return or reward. نفل الامیر الجند means, the commander gave to the soldiers the booty. نفل (nafal) is to do more than one is bound to do by duty or of which the doing is not obligatory. نافلة means, what accedes to or exceeds the original; a voluntary gift by way of alms or as a good work; a gift; a deed beyond what is incumbent or obligatory; grandson or grandchild; supererogatory Prayer (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The words نافلة لک (as supererogatory service for thee) refer to the Tahajjud Prayer offered in the latter part of the night. The word نافلة, as its meanings show, implies that the Tahajjud Prayer is not obligatory for Muslims. The verse may also be taken to indicate that this Prayer was obligatory only for the Holy Prophet, and not for any other Prophet. The word نافلة further means a special favour and signifies that Prayers are not a burden to weary the flesh but a privilege and a favour from God.

The expression, It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to an exalted station, embodies a great prophecy. Perhaps no other person has been so much maligned and abused as the Holy Prophet of Islam and certainly no other person has been the recipient of so much Divine praise and the object of the invocation of so many Divine blessings and favours upon him as he. The implied prophecy was that whereas the sons of darkness would abuse and condemn the Prophet, the good, the noble and the righteous would invoke God’s blessings upon him and God Himself would proclaim his praises from His Exalted Throne. Thus the Prophet’s praise by God and His Elect would far outweigh the undeserved abuse heaped upon him by the sons of darkness.

The expression مقاما محمود (exalted station) may also be understood to imply the special prerogative of شفاعة (intercession) which God bestowed upon the Holy Prophet. There is a well-known hadith that the followers of all other Prophets, having despaired of the intercession of their own Prophets on the Day of Judgement, will seek the Holy Prophet’s intercession and he will intercede for them, and thus they will acknowledge his greatness. The advent of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi is another manifestation of this مقام محمود(exalted station) of the Holy Prophet. When denunciation of him reached its climax, and he was also deserted by his own so-called followers and friends, God raised the Promised Messiah and Mahdi from among his followers and through him vindicated his honour. The Promised Messiah refuted and rebutted the charges of his enemies, and by imparting to his followers true knowledge of the manifold excellences and beauties of his teaching and character, inspired them with a new love and veneration for him. The mention of the grant of the مقام محمود after the command for obligatory and supererogatory Prayers implies the hint that the real remedy for him who receives mockery and abuse from the people of the world is not to retaliate with mockery and abuse but to turn to God and seek His help. This is sure to turn enemies into friends, as happened in the Prophet’s case. His bitterest enemies became his most devoted followers. Of the many exalted stations the Holy Prophet was destined to obtain, the first was his possession of Medina from where spread his praise and holiness to the ends of the earth. This is why the next verse refers to his Migration to Medina.

Important Words:

تتجافی (keep away) is derived from جفا which means, it did not cleave to its place. They say جفا الرجل i.e. he turned away, shunned or avoided or he withdrew to a distance, from the man. جفت المرأة ولدھا means, the woman neglected her child. جفا جنبه عن الفرش او تجافی عنه means, his side was restless on the bed; his side did not cleave to its place on the bed; his side became removed or withdrawn from it (Lane & Aqrab).

17:80; 50:41; 52:50; 76:27.

Commentary:

In this and the next verse the Holy Prophet is told that praying to God in the stillness of the night will prepare him for the heavy task entrusted to him.

17:107; 25:33.

Important Words:

رتل (recite) is derived from رتل (ratila). They say رتل الشیء i.e. the thing was or became well arranged. رتل الثغیر means, the front teeth were or became even in their growth or separated one from another; were well set together and were white and lustrous. رتل الکلام (rattala) means, he put together and arranged well the component parts of the speech and made it distinct. ترتیل in its original sense relates to the teeth, signifying their being separated one from the other, and when used with regard to a speech it signifies, putting together and arranging well its component parts and making it distinct. رتلت القرآنmeans, I recited the Quran in a leisurely manner, deliberately, distinctly and well (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

قولا ثقیلا may have any one of the following meanings: (a) The Quran is pregnant with the highest import. (b) It is too heavy to be displaced or dislocated i.e. the Quranic Teaching will continue to guide mankind and no other teaching would ever take its place or improve upon it. (c) No word or letter of the Quran could be changed, altered or amended. (d) The Quran will break all opposition and (e) no single book or a collection of books could encompass all the knowledge contained in it. Briefly, the collective and concerted effort of all mankind will not be able to produce a Book like the Quran.

According to an oft-quoted hadith, the Holy Prophet, whenever a revelation descended upon him, went into a trance and felt a peculiar sensation so that even on an extremely cold day big drops of sweat fell from his forehead and he felt a dead weight of his body (Bukhari). The Quranic revelation being "a weighty word", his paroxysm was due to this sensation.

Important Words:

وطأ (subduing) is derived from وطیء. They say وطیء الشیء i.e. he trod under foot the thing. وطیء الفرس means, he mounted the horse. وطیء أرض عدوہ means, he entered the enemy’s land (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Getting up in the night for Prayer is a potent means of subduing one’s self and of bringing under effective control one’s evil propensities and inclinations. It is a proven experience of all spiritual wayfarers and holy men that nothing conduces to one’s spiritual development so much as Prayers at night. In the stillness and solitude of night, a peculiar sort of peace prevails and all nature is quiet, and man, being all alone with his Creator, enjoys special communion with Him, and becomes illumined with a special heavenly light which he imparts to others. The time is eminently suited for man to develop strength of character and to make his speech sane, solid and sound. Effective speech and infinite capacity for hard work are two very necessary qualifications for a Reformer to succeed in his mission, Prayer at night helps in the development of these two qualities. Having acquired control over one’s mind and tongue one comes to exercise control over others. This is the significance of the verse under comment. The verse may also mean that Night Prayer causes the actions of man to correspond to his words, which constitutes another sure sign of the strength of his character and the sincerity of his heart.

26:219.

25:65; 41:39.

2:246; 57:12; 64:18.

2:211.

Commentary:

In the opening verse of the Surah the Holy Prophet was enjoined that he should constantly pray in the night, for this would give him the necessary strength to discharge the grave responsibility of preaching the Divine Message that was shortly going to devolve on him. In the verse under comment he is assured of Divine pleasure, and is told that he has faithfully carried out God’s command about the night prayer, not only he, but a party of believers also. The command was not specifically directed to the followers of the Holy Prophet, but being always desirous of following in his footsteps, they copied his example in this respect also.

The sentence "Allah determines the measure of the night and the day," signifies that sometimes the nights are long and sometimes they are short and sometimes the day and the night are equal.

The words ان لن تحصوه may apply to Muslims in general. In this sense they are told that all of them would not be able to say the Night Prayer regularly and punctually. Or the words may signify that as Muslims are longing to win God’s pleasure and attain nearness to Him, so they should read the Quran thoughtfully. In this way they would acquire knowledge of, and insight into, Divine attributes.

Besides the meaning given in the text, the expression فاقرؤا ما تیسر منه may mean: (1) recite of the Quran as much as you possibly can.