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Tafsir Thursday — Surah Al-Muzammil: Stand Up, Pray, and Let Allah Handle the Rest

8th of Ramadan Reflections

We’re one week into Ramadan. If you started slow — that’s okay. Ramadan is a marathon. You start steady and sprint towards the end. What we don’t want is the opposite: starting strong and slowly fading — attending Taraweeh in the first few nights then drifting away, stopping the extra prayers, and then preparing more for Eid than seeking out the blessings of the last ten nights. The goal is for the last night of Ramadan to be the best night of our Ramadan.

The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever stands up and prays at night in the nights of Ramadan, expecting reward only from Allah — with sincerity, purely for His sake — Allah will forgive all their past sins. So no matter how tired we are, no matter how early Suhoor is or how hot the day gets at 38 or 39 degrees, we should make sure we stand some extra rakat after Isha. Even just two, four, or six — whatever we can manage. Don’t make Ramadan nights just like the nights of other months. This is our worship festival. Make it special.

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The Command to Stand at Night

Surah Al-Muzammil opens with Allah commanding the Prophet ﷺ to stand and pray through most of the night — except for a little. And what was he doing in those long hours of prayer? Reading Quran.

This is the best thing we can do at night: read Quran in our prayers. If we’ve memorised, this is where we test and revise our memorisation. If we haven’t memorised much but can read fluently, it is permitted to read from a mushaf — Sayyidatuna Aisha had one of her servants lead prayer while reading from one. The key is to have everything ready and in place, and to be careful with excessive movement.

But why this command? Because Allah says: We are going to send down upon you heavy ayat. A serious, challenging mission. The Prophet ﷺ was being prepared to change the world. And the preparation wasn’t political strategy — it was night prayer, Quran, and dhikr.

This is the prophetic formula: to face a difficult day, strengthen the ruh the night before.

Dhikr: The Only Command Allah Tells Us to Do Abundantly

Allah then says: Wadhkur isma Rabbik — and make mention of the name of your Lord. SubhanAllah, walhamdulillah, wa la ilaha illAllah, wallahu Akbar.

Dhikr holds a unique place among all the acts of worship in the Quran. Allah commands prayer, and prayer is essential — Aqimi as-salata li dhikri, establish the prayer to remember Me. But when it comes to dhikr, Allah says to remember Him katheeran — abundantly. It is the only act of worship in the Quran that Allah commands us to do in abundance.

And then: Wa tabattal ilayhi tabteela — devote yourself solely for Him. Who is He? Rabbul mashriqi wal maghrib — the Lord of the East and the West.