Sūrat al-Muzzammil is the seventy-third chapter of the Quran according to the current sequence. It is a Meccan surah where the bulk of its verses were revealed in Mecca, and its last verse descended in Medina.
Scholars of the Quran have made the observation that Meccan verses generally tend to be short, whereas Medinan verses tend to be long (although exceptions exist for this general rule). Medinan verses tend to deal mostly with matters of law such as prayers, fasting, pilgrimage, social affairs, family affairs, and so on, with verses on warfare being specifically Medinan as warfare was permitted only in Medina. Meccan verses generally tend to narrate stories of previous generations, past prophets and nations, trials faced by past prophets and their followers at the hands of their antagonists, and warnings to the unbelieving contemporaries of Prophet Muhammad (s) that they would face a similar punishment to that incurred by the past disbelievers if they remained stubbornly insistent on disbelief.
When these general observations are applied to this surah it can be seen, with the exception of the last verse which is particularly lengthy, that being a hallmark of Medinan verses, all the remaining verses are short, which is a hallmark of Meccan verses. The last verse further deals with legislative matters such as prayers, zakat, the goodly loan, and also warfare, all of these being telltale signs of Medinan verses. Then verses 15-18 recount the experiences of a prophet, identified in other verses to be Prophet Moses (a), who was sent to Pharaoh. The latter rejected Prophet Moses (a) and his message due to which he was punished; the contemporaries of Prophet Muhammad (s) are then warned of similar reprisals if they are similarly disobedient. Such content is an indication that these verses are Meccan in descent. Therefore, the identification of this surah as Meccan with the last verse being Medinan seems borne out by the internal evidences available from these verses.
Chronological lists of Meccan and Medinan surahs mention that this surah was the third to be revealed in Mecca in terms of historical chronology, and most scholars of the Quran are agreed that the current classification of Quranic surahs into Meccan and Medinan is done on the basis of the identification of the place where the first verses of a surah were revealed. This agreement is the solution suggested in response to the quandary posed by the fact that some surahs of the Quran have a verse or two, or entire sets of verses, revealed at different times and places during the Prophet’s time in Mecca and Medina. These verses would then be inserted into relevant surahs on the instructions of the Prophet.
Hence, if this surah is suggested to be Meccan as well as the third surah to be revealed chronologically, this may only refer to the first few verses of this surah, which would belong to the earliest Meccan period of the Prophet’s mission. But the same cannot be maintained for the remaining verses of this surah as these portray a picture obtainable only during the later years of the Prophet’s time in Mecca.
A study of the Prophet’s time in Mecca based on the historical and hadith works suggests that it can be broadly divided into three periods: the first period which constituted of secretive preaching, the second period which is supposed to have begun when the Prophet invited his near kin to Islam, and the third period which began when the Prophet made a general invitation to Islam to all the Quraysh. To insist on exact and accurate dates for these periods would be futile, for as M. Watt writes: ‘At the time when these momentous events were taking place, nobody paid attention to precise dates. Years later when men became interested in dates, various conflicting reports were in circulation and the Muslim scholars had a difficult task working out a coherent scheme. They managed to do so, however, for the main points, while admitting uncertainty and differing among themselves on others.’
The first period started from the commencement of the Prophet’s mission at around the age of forty on 27 Rajab. Kulaynī reports from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) who said: ‘Do not abandon the fast of the twenty-seventh day of Rajab for it is the day on which prophethood was bestowed on Muhammad (s).’
Kulaynī also reports from Imam al-Riḍā (a) who said: ‘God, the exalted and majestic, commissioned Muhammad as a mercy for the universe on 27 Rajab, and whoever fasts on this day will be granted the reward due for sixty days of fasting.’ An exactly similar report to that of Imam al-Riḍā (a) is attributed to the Prophet’s companion Abū Hurayrah, while reports with the same basic information that the Prophet commenced his mission on 27 Rajab in the fortieth year of his life have been recorded from Salmān al-Fārsī, Anas ibn Mālik, and ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Abbas, though with slight variations.
During this period, the preaching of the Prophet was secretive and limited to his nearest family members and friends; those who displayed a clear inclination towards his messages and teachings. When a considerable number from among the Quraysh and non-Quraysh had converted to Islam, the Prophet was commanded by God to invite his near kinsmen: Warn the nearest of your kinsfolk, and lower your wing to the faithful who follow you, but if they disobey you, say: ‘I am absolved of what you do’ (26:214-216).
Soon thereafter the public call was made with the revelation of 15:94-95, after which it may be obvious that the opposition and various forms of harassment increased dramatically requiring support from God in the form of rebuttals, warnings, as well as responses to queries and challenges. This last phase which was heralded by the revelation of 15:94-95 is said to have occurred three years after the commencement of the prophetic mission.
Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘The Prophet remained in Mecca for thirteen years after the revelation came to him from God. Of these, three years were spent in a state of hiding, concealment, and fear during which he did not make his affair public, till God commanded him to declare openly that which he was commanded. Consequently, he declared his call openly.’
Verses 9-19, in terms of their content, indicate that they were revealed at a time when the Prophet’s call had been made public and he had begun to experience opposition and verbal accusations of all kinds, but was counselled to behave with restraint, pacifism, and patience. Therefore, if one inclines to the idea that this surah is the third to be revealed in Mecca then it is unlikely that the entire surah descended at the beginning of the Prophet’s mission; rather, this may be maintained for the first few verses which would probably include verses 1-8. This position may seem to gain further corroboration in verse 5, Indeed soon We shall cast on you a weighty word, which seems to indicate that at the time of its descent those verses which contain onerous directives such as public preaching had not yet been revealed, but that the Prophet was being informed that such responsibilities would soon be laid on his shoulders. Therefore, on this basis, verses 1-8 may be considered early Meccan, while the rest descended later.
However, verses 2-4 of this surah ask the Prophet to recite the Quran for a maximum of well-nigh the entire night and for a minimum of just a little less than half the night. Therefore, those who incline to the above position regarding the historical point in time when the first few verses are presumed to have descended would need to respond to the critical inquiry as to what of the Quran was the Prophet being asked to recite during more than half the night if the verses containing this directive truly belong to the earliest Meccan period. This is because the chronological lists of surahs, which mention that Sūrat al-Muzzammil was the third surah to be revealed in Mecca, also mention that this surah was preceded only by Sūrat al-ʿAlaq (and this refers to the first five verses of this surah as the rest descended later) and the fifty-two verses of Sūrat al-Qalam. This would raise the question: would the recitation of around sixty verses really require a great portion of the night? The matter becomes even more desperate when one realises on the basis of a cursory reading of Sūrat al-Qalam that it displays a clearly acrimonious style, which would cause it to belong to the time period when the Prophet’s mission had entered the phase of public preaching and had begun to attract negative attention. The verses of Sūrat al-Qalam bear a similarity both in terms of tone and content to verses 9-19 of Sūrat al-Muzzammil. This observation has the potential to further reduce the available number of verses that the Prophet could recite at night during the earliest Meccan period. In that case, what of the Quran was the Prophet supposed to recite for well over half the night when very little had been revealed till then according to the chronological lists? Verses 2-4 would make sense when there was a considerable amount of the Quran available for recitation.
Hence the above considerations may require a major rethink of the authenticity of the claim that this surah or the first few verses of it really did descend at such an early date. It may seem sounder to suggest on the basis of the greater part of the contents of this surah that this surah is a Meccan surah and its descent very probably belongs to the period when the phase of public preaching had begun and when the Prophet had begun to experience various unfounded accusations to which this surah responds. Furthermore, verses 2-4 of this surah may seem to allude to a considerable portion of the Quran having already been revealed prior to the descent of this surah. Finally, verse 20 seems definitely to be Medinan in light of the specific factors mentioned earlier.
Several reports exist that mention the duration during which this surah was revealed. Ṭūsī records that ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Abbas (born several years before the Prophet’s migration and died in 67 ah), Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, and Qatādah were of the opinion that the time gap between the revelation of the first verse and the last verse, which contains an attenuation of the earlier difficult command to stand vigil for specific portions of the night, was a year. Ṭabrisī also records a report where ʿĀʾishah (born some nine years before the Prophet’s migration and died in 58 ah) is attributed to mention the period of one year between the revelation of the beginning and end of this surah.
However, Suyūṭī records a report from ʿĀʾishah that gives a different duration. In this report she is attributed to have said: ‘The effect of the verses O you wrapped up in your mantle! Stand vigil through the night … was such that a person would bind himself with a rope and suspend himself by it. This trend continued for eight months till God saw how extremely desirous the believers were in obtaining His pleasure and was merciful to them and removed this obligation, and the night vigil was abandoned.’
And finally, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr (44-95 ah) opined that the intervening gap between the first and last verses was ten years.
Thus there are three figures which the sources give for the duration during which this entire surah was revealed: a year, eight months, and ten years.
But Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Qatādah, and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr belonged to the generation of the Successors (tābiʿūn) and did not witness the events under discussion, however erstwhile they may have been as scholars. Their opinions would therefore require an authoritative source that goes back to the time of these events in order to be credible, and these are not available in the records for these opinions. ʿĀʾishah and ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Abbas were famous but junior companions of the Prophet and mere children when the events under discussion took place, and thus even their opinions would require authoritative sources which are unavailable for these opinions.
Nevertheless, the figures of one year, and also that of eight months, seem a little incredible for the duration of the revelation of this surah. This is because the last verse which mentions warfare could only be placed after the second year after migration, and, at the earliest, around the second year after migration when the Battle of Badr took place, and just a little prior to which the permission to engage in armed struggle was given. Hence the period of a year or eight months would place the beginning of this surah to occur very soon after the migration, i.e. in the earliest Medinan phase of the Prophet’s life, while this surah is Meccan in descent on the basis of its contents. The duration of ten years seems a little more probable. Ṭabrisī records the following tradition, which is in the form of a dialogue between Imam Ali (a) and a Jew who had asked him a question, comparing Prophet David (a) with Prophet Muhammad (s). In the course of the response the Imam said: ‘The Prophet had stood [vigil] on the tips of his toes for ten years, till they became swollen and his face became pale yellow. He used to stand vigil the entire night until he was gently advised for that and God said: Ṭā Hā. We did not send down to you the Quran that you should be miserable [20:1-2] but to make you happy. He used to weep till he would faint due to it. So he was asked: “O Messenger of God, has God not pardoned you your past and future sins?” He replied: “Indeed, but should I not be a grateful servant?”’
This tradition seems to suggest that the Prophet stood the night vigil as an obligation for ten years after which the attenuation was revealed in verse 20 of this surah. It also indicates that he preferred to stand vigil well-nigh the entire night rather than take advantage of the other easier alternatives of half the night and a little less than half the night, whereupon God urged him to take some respite (in 20:1-3).
Notwithstanding all the above, and in light of the lack of sufficient convincing evidence, it would perhaps be better to content ourselves with the general conclusion that this surah is Meccan with the bulk of its verses having been revealed in Mecca, while the last verse, due to its length and contents, is Medinan.
The contents of this surah may be summarised into five sections. The first section consists of the first few verses of this surah (1-8) which command the Prophet to rise up at night for worship so that he may prepare himself for conveying the weighty speech which would be cast on his shoulders.
The second section consists of verses (9-11) that command the Prophet to patience, resistance, and tolerance with his opponents.
The third section mentions the resurrection, the mission of Prophet Moses (a) to Pharaoh, and the mention of God’s great punishment (verses 12-19).
The fourth section mentions a lightening or attenuation of the onerous command given in the first verses regarding getting up at night for worship and that was because of the ordeals and adversities suffered by the Muslims (the first part of verse 20).
The fifth section reiterates the recitation of the Quran, the establishment of prayers, the giving of zakat, giving in charity (in the name of God), and repentance (the latter part of verse 20).
[1] Qur’anic Sciences, pp. 102-104.
[2] Mizan, 20/74.
[3] The chronological list of Meccan surahs given by Zanjānī in his book, The History of the Quran (pp. 37-38), places this surah as the third one to be revealed in Mecca. This list is as transmitted by Ibn al-Nadīm. Zanjānī also gives the list of chronological surahs attributed to Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) citing Muhammad ibn ʿAbd-al-Karīm Shahrastānī’s exegesis, Mafātīḥ al-Asrār wa Maṣābīḥ al-Abrār, which also makes this surah to be the third to be revealed in Mecca (see pp. 50-51). Suyūṭī in his al-Itqān also counts this surah to be the third one to be revealed in Mecca; see Makkan and Medinan Revelations: A Comparative Study, p. 163 (unpublished doctoral dissertation). The list of Meccan surahs in Qur’anic Sciences, p. 280 also identifies this surah as the third to be revealed in Mecca.
[4] Qur’anic Sciences, p. 94.
[5] Qur’anic Sciences, p. 77.
[6] Muhammad at Mecca, p. 58.
[7] Amali.T, p. 28; Bihar, 18/189, cited in Talkhīṣ al-Tamhīd, 1/61.
[8] Kafi, 4/149, cited in Talkhīṣ al-Tamhīd, 1/61.
[9] Sīrat al-Ḥalabiyyah, 1/238, cited in Talkhīṣ al-Tamhīd, 1/62.
[10] Muntakhab Kanz al-ʿUmmāl, 3/362, cited in Talkhīṣ al-Tamhīd, 1/62.
[11] Manaqib, 1/150; Bihar, 18/204, cited in Talkhīṣ al-Tamhīd, 1/62.
[12] Mafahim, 7/126.
[13] Qummī, Yaʿqūbī, and Ibn Isḥāq write that 15:94-95 were revealed three years after the commissioning of the Prophet to the office of prophethood, during which time he concealed his mission. See Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, 2/19 and Sīrah Ibn Hishām, 1/280; Manaqib, 1/40; Bihar, 18/194, cited in Talkhīṣ al-Tamhīd, 1/65-66.
[14] An allusion to 15:94-95.
[15] Ṭūsī, al-Ghaybah, p. 217; Kamal, p. 197; Bihar, 18/177, cited in Talkhīṣ al-Tamhīd, 1/65-66. It should be noted that some of the traditions in these sources give the number of years of hiding, fear, and concealment as five years.
[16] It would be pertinent to point out here that the interpretation of the phrase weighty word may not be limited to the directive for public preaching only, as it can validly mean a whole host of things such as the legal ordinances and prohibitions – especially those related to physical struggle – allusions to complicated ontological teachings and realities, details of the unseen which are particularly difficult for humans to understand and accept, and it could also refer to the direct revelation of divine messages without the intermediary of an angel, a phenomenon that was especially trying for the Prophet.
[17] S. V. Mir Ahmad Ali holds this opinion. He writes that verses 1-9 pertain to the earliest period of the Prophet’s prophethood. See The Holy Qur’an: Text, Translation and Commentary, pp. 1766-1767.
[18] S. V. Mir Ahmad Ali writes that verses 10-19 indicates that they belong to the period when the opposition to the Prophet’s message had started (which means after the three year period of private preaching and calling). See The Holy Qur’an: Text, Translation and Commentary, pp. 1766-1767.
[19] Tibyan, 10/162.
[20] Tabrisi, 10/569; Suyuti, 4/276.
[21] Suyuti, 4/276.
[22] Tibyan, 10/162; Tabari, 29/80; Tabrisi.J, 4/382.
[23] Burhan, 3/748-749.
[24] Amthal, 19/124-125.