In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Concise Commentary,
by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nassif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah al-Muzzammil.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
*Concise Commentary on the Overview Cards*.
We have reached Surah al-Muzzammil,
and I wish to pause over three observations regarding it.
The first concerns the order of the Surah's revelation.
He stated that it is considered the third, revealed after al-Qalam and before al-Muddaththir,
as you know,
since the book relies on citing this well-known narration.
Thus, according to the famous narration, it is counted as the third,
coming after al-Qalam and before al-Muddaththir.
That is to say, after al-'Alaq, al-Qalam was revealed,
then al-Muzzammil, and then al-Muddaththir—
such is the well-known narration.
However, there are qualifications regarding this,
as authentic narrations refute the idea that al-Qalam preceded it,
just as the explicit texts in the *Sahih* indicate that al-Muddaththir directly followed al-'Alaq,
as will be discussed regarding the revelation of al-Muddaththir.
So the authentic view is the well-known, correct timeline
which you will find in the discussion on these surahs.
For al-'Alaq, naturally, is the first,
then al-Muddaththir, then al-Muzzammil, and then al-Qalam might be the fourth.
Of course, when we say it is the first, second, or third,
we do not mean that they were revealed entirely all at once.
Surah al-'Alaq is the first only in terms of its initial portion,
but it was not completed until a period during which several other surahs had been revealed.
Meaning, Surah al-'Alaq is not temporally continuous from its beginning to its end,
and it certainly was not revealed all at once.
Rather, other surahs intervened between its parts.
So if it is said that a certain surah is the third or fourth in revelation, it refers to its initial portion;
it does not require that the entire surah was revealed all at once,
nor does it mean it was revealed piecemeal until completion before another surah began.
The second observation is that he mentioned only a single cause of revelation for it,
which might draw one's attention,
as a person might assume that its opening was revealed for a specific cause.
In truth, this is a matter subject to scholarly disagreement.
Some scholars hold that its opening was revealed for a specific cause—
referring to Surah al-Muzzammil—
unlike al-Muddaththir, where the initial verse was undeniably revealed for a clear cause reported in the *Sahih*.
But as for whether the beginning of Surah al-Muzzammil was revealed
for a specific cause or not, that is the question here,
or rather, that is the point of discussion here.
Many books on the causes of revelation do not mention a cause for the beginning of the Surah;
instead, they mention a cause for the revelation of its ending,
and that is what the author confined himself to mentioning.
However, the possibility that its beginning was revealed for a specific cause remains plausible,
and you will also find this discussed in *Tafsir al-Tahrir*.
As for the third observation, it pertains to the primary theme of the Surah.
Contemplating its passages reveals that it serves as spiritual preparation for callers to Allah,
prior to the public call and warning that comes in Surah al-Muddaththir.
Surah al-Muzzammil was equipping the callers, led by their Master, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
with spiritual preparation
through the night prayer, remembrance, and devotion to Allah.
This is a matter that educators should pay attention to when preparing those who will advocate for the Truth,
just as they must cultivate it within themselves.
Glad tidings to whoever is blessed with such guidance from his early beginnings—
at the start of his commitment, his pursuit of knowledge,
and his desire to do good and rescue humanity from its plight.
Blessed is the one who is granted a mentor at that stage to guide him toward spiritual preparation
and toward these sublime meanings found in Surah al-Muzzammil.
Callers to Allah and educators ought to devote themselves to these verses,
pondering them and extracting from them a methodology to nurture the youth of the Ummah—the callers of the future.
And may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.