Night Prayer: Command, Not Extremism
Surah Al-Muzzammil: Night Prayer, The Nature of Commands, and Avoiding Religious Extremism
Summary
This lecture discusses Surah Al-Muzzammil (Chapter 73) and its command to the Prophet Muhammad to stand in prayer during the night. The speaker explains the nature of Quranic commands, clarifying that the default ruling of any command in the Quran and Sunnah is obligation (wajib), unless otherwise qualified. The lecture covers how this command was specific to the Prophet in terms of obligatory status, while being preferred for the general Muslim community. The speaker details the stages through which Salah (prayer) was legislated in Islam, culminating in the five daily obligatory prayers instituted on the night of Isra and Mi'raj in the tenth year of prophethood.
The lecture emphasizes that the Prophet never prayed the entire night despite what some might assume from the verse, citing the example of three young men who attempted extremism in worship by making excessive vows, which the Prophet rejected. The speaker warns against extremism in religion, illustrating how even beneficial things like water can become harmful in excess. The lecture concludes by discussing proper Quranic recitation (tajweed), explaining that recitation should be measured and deliberate rather than rushed, and mentions that the exact methodology and pace of the Prophet's recitation will be detailed in the following lesson.
Note: This transcript was generated using YouTube's automatic captioning, with AI-assisted cleanup for readability. It may contain inaccuracies due to background noise, audio quality, or limitations of the transcription software — particularly during Arabic recitation. Listener discretion is advised; please refer to the original video for precise wording.
Alhamdulillah.
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Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the opening verses of which is chapter number 73 in the order of the mus He says that which translates to addressing the prophet Sam saying and calling out to meaning the one who is wrapped up in his bedding in his blankets at night in his bed. stand in prayer for the duration of the night save a portion. So meaning stand in prayer for the night except a portion of it which at its face value would mean to stand in prayer for the majority of the night. He then qualifies this subhanahu wa ta'ala saying half of the night or a little less than half or a little more than half and recite the Quran in your prayer meaning in said prayer. melodically and with a reasonable pace which we will get into the details of inshallah. So here he begins with for.
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When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commands something, when the prophet sallall.aii wasallam commands something, this is an important point that we have to know and that is what is the essential nature of a command. When we have something in the Quran, do this or in the sunnah the prophet sallall.aii wasallam says do something x y and z. Do the following. This is a command. Is it obligatory? What's its ruling? Is its ruling and it's essential in in you know for all intents of and purposes. Is it obligatory? Is it something which is highly encouraged? Is it preferable? The correct opinion is that every command in the Quran and Sunnah unless qualified and unless otherwise stated is articulating obligation. It's binding. So the essential nature of a command is not that it is something which is which is optional. Any command in the Quran is obligatory. Any command from the prophet sallall.aii wasallam and it's you know the the default of a command is that it is binding. It is something which is binding. What does binding mean? binding or obligatory. What is the ruling of that? The ruling is that if a person does it, they are rewarded. If they fail to do it, then they are held accountable. That is the meaning of something being obligatory. It's something you'll be asked about. It is something that you do not have the option of foregoing and not fulfilling. And the same thing goes for prohibitions in the in the Quran when Allah says do not do something or the prophet sallall.aii wasallam says do not do something the essence and default nature of a prohibition is that it is haram. What is the ruling of haram? What does that mean? It means that if you do it, you will be held accountable and if you refrain from doing it, you will be rewarded. The exact opposite and contrast of obligation. Now this has been directed to the prophet sallall.aii wasallam. This command it was not directed to us and he was not commanded to instruct us with the same command. rather he was the one who received this command. The scholars all agree that the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam when he is commanded to do something in this verse that this is specific to him meaning that it is obligatory for him and it is preferred for us it's highly encouraged that's in this verse but in general when a command is directed to the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam It is for him and for us. It is for him and for us. We know that this commandment here of standing in prayer at night is the exception. How do we know it's an exception to the rule? Because we have other verses, other narrations that articulate that we are not obligated beyond the five daily prayers as a daily or nightly prayer. It is only five. When the prophet sallallah.aii alaihi wasallam was asked about Islam. He says, "Sallam, this narration is in Sah Albkari and Sah Muslim, a desert man came to the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam and said, "What has Allah commanded me to do?" He said, , asking him about Islam, what is it? What am I expected to do? What is expected of me? because he had heard of Islam from the various companions that the prophet would send to call people to Islam. So he came to ask for himself exactly what is required of him. And so he said our prophet responded saying five prayers in every d day and night. He said He said, "And am I obligated beyond those five daily prayers?" The prophet responded saying, "No, unless you wish to do more from yourself optionally." And there are many many narrations like this. So the obligatory repeating daily and nightly prayers are five. This doesn't mean that there are no other prayers that are obligatory. There are however repeating in every day and night it is only these five. So this here is a command to the prophet sallall.aii wasallam. It was obligatory upon him at the beginning of Islam and in the correct opinion it was always obligatory upon him until he passed away sui this was something that was specific to him with respect to obligation as for it being something preferred it's preferred for everyone but when Allah commands the prophet with something in the Quran That is for him and for us by default.
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The commandments that are directed to him by default include us because we are his followers saiam and what he is commanded with we are commanded with unless there's some verse or narration elsewhere where that qualifies this and proves it to be an exception to that rule. And we mentioned the stages that Salah went through. Who can tell us when the five daily prayers were obligated? Huh? On the night of correct. And the night of Isra was in which year after be which year after prophethood? 10 the 10th year after he was appointed a prophet sallallah.aii wasallam. That's not when salah first began. Because a person may read this and say, "Well, if salah was obligated on the night of, then how do we understand these verses?" We understand these verses as being that is on that night he was obligated the five daily prayers but before that salah went through stages. Number one was this stage here standing in prayer at night which is what this chapter revolves around the second. Who remembers the second stage? Huh? Right. So what what is the verse? Let's let's hear it. Huh?
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So here he says.
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That's the second stage. And then the third stage was the five daily prayers. Now when he is commanded with the five daily prayers, everything else became what? Everything else was abregated. And so now what is obligatory is the five daily prayers and remains as something preferable and you know two or four before or two after etc. These sunnen they became something that are preferred as well. But tells us that when salah was obligated it was to and that remains the case for the traveler but for the resident it is for as she said and and we went in in great detail with this. So here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says half of the night or a little less or a little more than half of the night not the entire night. There is not a single narration even herself has said and there is not a single instance when the prophet sallall.aii Wasam spent the entire night in salah. This did not occur. Never. Not during Ramadan and not outside of Ramadan. He may have spent the entire night in right where he would pray a large portion and then the remainder time be in or recitation or in dua etc. But standing in salah for the entirety of the night that is not something that the prophet did slay. Do we know the story in the narration of Annis of the three young men that came to Isa asking her about the prophets worship sallallahu alaihi wasallam. We remember this narration. , three young men came. One of them when they asked her about his fasting, asked her about his salah at night, asked her these questions. And so she told them that he would pray a portion of the night and sleep a portion and that he would fast some days and break his fast others. And so it's as if they found that to be too little. Now their thinking, their reasoning is that you know that's the prophet sallall.aii wasallam and as they said Say.
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And so one of them said vowed to stand in prayer every night all night. What does all night mean? Meaning as soon as the is completed from that point until the break of dawn. That's the entirety of the night. And the second vowed to fast every single day. And the third vowed to not marry to remain celibate. And so the prophet sallall.aii Wasam heard of this and he said,.
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He said, "I fast some days and break my fast others and I pray a portion of the night and I sleep a portion and I merry. I am not celibate." And so whoever desires a sunnah other than mine, whoever whoever desires other than my sunnah, then he is not one of me. He's not of me. He is not of me. And so here the prophet sallall.aii wasallam we understand from this that he was never commanded to pray all night. This is a type of extremism and extremism is always what is always denounced by Islam. tells us that the prophet sallall.aii wasallam said anyone who is extreme this person is upon misguidance extremism. How can a person extreme in the teachings of the Quran? Allah says, Allah says, "Stand stand in prayer for a portion of the night." They say, "No, I'll stand all of the night." Allah commands fasting the month of Ramadan. They say, "No, I'll fast every single month, every day." Right? The prophet sallall.aii wasallam commands that we say 100 times in the morning, 100 times in the evening. They say, "No, I'll do it a thousand. I'll do it 10,000 times. That's not enough for me. That's too little. I'm I'm stronger than that. I'm better than that. I am special." And this is what is dangerous. when a person becomes extreme in the teachings of the Quran because extremism is always denounced in anything. What if what if a person were to become extreme in drinking water? Is there anything better for your body than water? I can't hardly think of anything better for your body than water. Or even the water of Zam. Let's say instead of drinking a gallon of water a day, you say, "Well, Zam, I'm going to drink 10 gallons, 15 gallons of Zam every day." What's going to happen to this person? He's going to die because there is something there is such a thing as water poisoning. Water po. Yes, water poisoning. And it's fatal 99.9% of the time. Why? Because this is extremism. We are taught that extremism destroys. And so Allah then commands him, recite the Quran with with what is tart?
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What is a tal is that a person recite with an even pace and that they not be rushing in their recitation. ation. A man came to and we will end with this inshallah and he said I recited tonight in my prayer all of anyone know where starts and ends of the Quran. Let's see if we have some Quran. Yes. What? That's not very impressive. I recited four pages of the Quran tonight. No, because the Quran's divided into four four parts. The first part which is the seven longest, then a second part, then a third part and then aluas. Al- Muas is specific to the prophet sallall.aii. Mufas starts at some scholars say Mu starts at which is the next chapter over this portion of the Quran is roughly the last fourth of the Quran in that categorization. So from to the end which is about four roughly give or take. That's actually not a little bit, that's a lot for a person to recite in salah at night. And so he said, he said, "This recitation is fast, too fast the recitation of poetry." He said, "Do not recite the Quran that quickly." And so tomorrow night inshallah ta we will discuss the exact method that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam used to recite the Quran. How much he would recite every day and night. What he would recite. How much he would recite at night and how the speed of his recitation was. Because the speed of his recitation has been preserved by the scholars by the companions and exactly how the speed was of his recitation subala and.
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