Reconciling the Two Verses on Night Prayer in Surat al-Najm
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Question:
The questioner, Umm Ahmad, says: In the noble verse, and in Surat al-Najm,[Al-Muzzammil 73:1-2] here Allah obligated the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to stand in night prayer, and in the last verse [Al-Isra 17:79] how do we reconcile the two verses?
Answer:
Which verse contradicted the verse? It is the command to his Prophet to stand in night prayer and to perform the tahajjud prayer as a voluntary act for him. However, the discussion concerns Surat al-Najm; at its beginning,[Al-Muzzammil 73:2] this is a command, and the command is one of obligation. Standing in night prayer was obligatory for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as a voluntary act for him. And at the end of the surah, Sunan ad-Daraqutni 3:347 [Al-Muzzammil 73:20] [Al-Muzzammil 73:20] Thus, the end of the surah abrogated its beginning, and Allah lightened the burden for His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and for the believers, so that they stand in prayer for what is easy of the night and recite what is easy of the Qur'an.
The questioner, Umm Ahmad, says: In the noble verse, and in Surat al-Najm,
(1) O you who wraps himself [in clothing], (2) Arise [to pray] the night, except for a little -
يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًاAnd from [part of] the night, pray with it as additional [worship] for you
وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَّكَAnswer:
Which verse contradicted the verse? It is the command to his Prophet to stand in night prayer and to perform the tahajjud prayer as a voluntary act for him. However, the discussion concerns Surat al-Najm; at its beginning,
Arise [to pray] the night, except for a little -
قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًاIt says: Recite what is easy for you of it.
يَقُولُ فَاقْرَءُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُIndeed, your Lord knows, [O Muhammad], that you stand [in prayer] almost two thirds of the night or half of it or a third of it, and [so do] a group of those with you. And Allah determines [the extent of] the night and the day. He has known that you [Muslims] will not be able to do it and has turned to you in forgiveness, so recite what is easy [for you] of the Qur'an. He has known that there will be among you those who are ill and others traveling throughout the land
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَقُومُ أَدْنَىٰ مِن ثُلُثَيِ اللَّيْلِ وَنِصْفَهُ وَثُلُثَهُ وَطَائِفَةٌ مِّنَ الَّذِينَ مَعَكَ وَاللَّهُ يُقَدِّرُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ عَلِمَ أَن لَّن تُحْصُوهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْرَءُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ عَلِمَ أَن سَيَكُونُ مِنكُم مَّرْضَىٰ وَآخَرُونَ يَضْرِبُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِseeking [something] of the bounty of Allah and others fighting for the cause of Allah. So recite what is easy from it
يَبْتَغُونَ مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَآخَرُونَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَاقْرَءُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُ
Source
مراحل تشريع قيام الليل — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.