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20
۞ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَقومُ أَدنىٰ مِن ثُلُثَيِ اللَّيلِ وَنِصفَهُ وَثُلُثَهُ وَطائِفَةٌ مِنَ الَّذينَ مَعَكَ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يُقَدِّرُ اللَّيلَ وَالنَّهارَ ۚ عَلِمَ أَن لَن تُحصوهُ فَتابَ عَلَيكُم ۖ فَاقرَءوا ما تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ القُرآنِ ۚ عَلِمَ أَن سَيَكونُ مِنكُم مَرضىٰ ۙ وَآخَرونَ يَضرِبونَ فِي الأَرضِ يَبتَغونَ مِن فَضلِ اللَّهِ ۙ وَآخَرونَ يُقاتِلونَ في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ ۖ فَاقرَءوا ما تَيَسَّرَ مِنهُ ۚ وَأَقيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكاةَ وَأَقرِضُوا اللَّهَ قَرضًا حَسَنًا ۚ وَما تُقَدِّموا لِأَنفُسِكُم مِن خَيرٍ تَجِدوهُ عِندَ اللَّهِ هُوَ خَيرًا وَأَعظَمَ أَجرًا ۚ وَاستَغفِرُوا اللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفورٌ رَحيمٌ

Yusuf Ali

Thy Lord doth know that thou standest forth (to prayer) nigh two-thirds of the night, or half the night, or a third1 of the night, and so doth a party of those with thee. But God doth appoint night and day in due measure He knoweth that ye are unable to keep count thereof.2 So He hath turned to you (in mercy): read ye, therefore, of the Qur-ān3 as much as may be easy for you. He knoweth that there may be (some) among you in ill-health; others travelling through the land, seeking of God’s bounty; yet others fighting4 in God’s Cause, read ye, therefore, as much of the Qur-ān as may be easy (for you); and establish regular Prayer and give regular Charity; and loan to God a Beautiful Loan.5 And whatever good ye send forth for your souls,6 ye shall find it in God’s Presence,- yea, better and greater, in Reward and seek ye the Grace of God: for God is7 Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
  • Cf., above, 73:2-4. The Prophet, and a zealous band of his disciples, were often up, two-thirds of the night, or a half, or a third, rejecting sleep and giving themselves up to Prayer and Praise and the reading of the Qur-ān. They are told that this was too severe a tax on them, especially if their health was affected, or they were on a journey, or they were striving, with might and main, in other ways, for the cause of God. See the lines following.
  • The usual meaning taken is that the counting of the exact hours of night and day may not be possible for ordinary people, in order to determine exactly the half, or the third, or the two-thirds of a night. The length of the night and day varies everyday of the solar year, and the precise hour of midnight can only be determined by exact observation in clear skies or by chronometers, which is not possible for everyone. But I understand it in a wider meaning. God fixes night and day in due proportions; for rest and work, and according to seasonal variations. For prayer and praise no meticulous observations of that kind are necessary or possible. God’s service can be done in many ways as detailed below. But we must give some time to devotion, as may be most easy and convenient to us, in various circumstances of health, travel, and the performance of various duties.
  • The reading of the Qur-ān here is a part of Prayer and religious devotion.
    This is not to be made into an obsession or a burden. Cf. 20:2: “We have not sent down the Qur-ān to thee to be an occasion for thy distress.” We must do it wholemindedly, but not by formal mechanical computations.
  • This refers to Jihad. The better opinion is that this particular verse was revealed in Medīna, long after the greater part of the Sūra. The reference, further on, to canonical Prayers and regular Charity (Zakah), points to the same conclusion.
  • Cf. 2:245, and n. 276, where the meaning of “a Beautiful Loan” is explained.
    See also 57:18. The “Beautiful Loan” should be that of our own souls. We should expect no returns in kind, for that is not possible. But the reward we shall find with God will be infinitely greater and nobler. Cf. the biblical phrase, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matt. vi. 20).
  • Any good that we do raises our own spiritual status and dignity. We must not think that when we speak of God’s service or God’s Cause, we are doing anything for His benefit: He is independent of all needs whatsoever.
  • This emphasises the need of God’s Grace. Whatever good we do, our own merits are comparatively small. God’s Grace must lift us up and blot out our shortcomings. Even in piety there may be an arrogance which may become a sin. We should always seek God’s Mercy in all humility.