Tafseer of The Winnowing Winds · Adh-Dhaariyat · 51:17
They used to sleep but little of the night,
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night) (51:17).
The scholars of exegesis differed concerning the interpretation of His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night). Some of them said: its meaning is that for a small part of the night they did not sleep, and they said: "mā" here has the meaning of negation.
* The mention of who said that:
Ibn Bashshār and Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, both saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd and Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Abī ʿArūba, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, concerning كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: They kept vigil and prayed between these two prayers, between the maghrib and the ʿishāʾ.
Zurayq ibn al-Shaḥb related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAṭāʾ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Anas, with similar import.
Ibn Bashshār and Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, both saying: Abū Dāwūd related to us, saying: Bukayr ibn Abī al-Samṭ related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: They would not sleep until they had performed the ʿatama prayer (ʿishāʾ).
Both said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Muṭarrif, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: Seldom did a night pass over them in which they did not pray.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: Muṭarrif ibn ʿAbd Allāh said concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night): Seldom did a night pass over them in which they did not pray to Allah, whether at its beginning or in its middle.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Laylā related to us, on the authority of al-Minhāl, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: No night passed over them but they took something of it, even if it was little.
He said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya, who said: They obtained a portion in it.
ʿAlī ibn Saʿīd al-Kindī related to me, saying: Ḥafṣ ibn ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: They did not sleep between the maghrib and the ʿishāʾ.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām and Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: They obtained a portion of the night.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Abī ʿArūba, on the authority of Muṭarrif, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: Seldom did a night pass over them which they slept through entirely.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: They had a small part of the night in which they slept; they prayed the rest.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: I heard Ibn Abī Najīḥ saying concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: Seldom did they sleep a night until morning.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: Seldom did they sleep a night until morning without performing the night vigil (tahajjud).
And others said: Rather its meaning is: they slept for a small part of the night, and they took the "mā" in His saying مَا يَهْجَعُونَ as an expletive particle (ṣila, without semantic force).
* The mention of who said that:
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: al-Ḥasan said: They struggled with the night vigil.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: al-Ḥasan used to say: They slept but little of it.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of one of our companions, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: They slept of the night only the smallest part.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, saying: ʿAwf related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Abī al-Ḥasan, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: Seldom did a night pass over them in which they slept.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: al-Aḥnaf ibn Qays said concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: They slept but little.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū Dāwūd related to us, saying: al-Ḥakam ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: al-Aḥnaf ibn Qays said, while reciting this verse كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: I am not among the people of this verse.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: The night vigil.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, he said: They were diligent and prolonged it until the last part of the night (al-saḥar).
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Yūnus ibn ʿUbayd, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, he said: They prolonged the prayer and were diligent, until the seeking of forgiveness took place in the last part of the night.
He said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Abī ʿArūba, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, he said: They slept of the night but little.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: al-Ḥasan and al-Zuhrī used to say: They prayed during a large part of the night. And it is possible that "mā" according to this interpretation is in the nominative, in which case the interpretation of the saying would be: their sleep was a small part of the night. But whoever takes "mā" as an expletive particle (ṣila), for him it has no grammatical position; and the interpretation of the saying according to his approach would be: they slept a small part of the night, and when "mā" is an expletive particle, "qalīl" is in the accusative, governed by "yahjaʿūn".
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, concerning كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: What they slept.
And others said: Rather its meaning is: they performed the ʿatama prayer (ʿishāʾ), and according to this interpretation "mā" has the meaning of negation.
* The mention of who said that:
Ibn Bashshār and Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, both saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: A man from Mecca said — Qatāda named him — he said: The ʿatama prayer (ʿishāʾ).
And others said: Rather its meaning is: these doers of good, before the obligations were imposed upon them, were few among the people. They said: the statement is completed after His words إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ مُحْسِنِينَ (indeed, they were before that doers of good) — "kānū qalīlan" (they were few), and then a new statement begins with His words مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (of the night they did not sleep). It is thus necessary that "mā" according to this interpretation has the meaning of negation.
* The mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: ʿUbayd related to us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he says: Indeed, the doers of good were few; then it is begun anew and it is said مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ * وَبِالأَسْحَارِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ (of the night they did not sleep, and in the last parts of the night they sought forgiveness), just as He said: وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الصِّدِّيقُونَ (And those who believed in Allah and His messengers, they are the truthful), and then He said: وَالشُّهَدَاءُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ وَنُورُهُمْ (and the witnesses; with their Lord is their reward and their light).
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Zubayr, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim, concerning كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: They were few among the people.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Zubayr ibn ʿAdī, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim, concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: Those who did that were few among the people.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Zubayr ibn ʿAdī, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim, concerning كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: At that time they were few among the people.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night): Allah said إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ (Indeed, the God-fearing are amid gardens and springs) ... up to مُحْسِنِينَ (doers of good) — "kānū qalīlan" (they were few). He says: The doers of good were few; this is a separate sentence; then it is begun anew and it is said مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (of the night they did not sleep).
As for His saying يَهْجَعُونَ (they slept): it means: they slept, and "al-hujūʿ" is sleep.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of exegesis have spoken.
* The mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he says: they slept.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, concerning كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: they slept.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, with the same import.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His saying مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (of the night they slept): "al-hujūʿ" is sleep.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), he said: They slept but little of the night; that is "al-hajʿ". He said: And the Arabs say, when you travel: "Sleep (ihjaʿ) a while with us." He said: And a man of the Banū Tamīm said to my father: O Abū Usāma, a quality that I do not find among us; Allah, blessed and exalted is He, mentioned a people and said كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night), while we, by Allah, rise but little of the night. He said: Then my father said: Blessed is he who sleeps when he is drowsy, and who meets Allah when he awakes.
And the most correct of the statements in the interpretation of His words كَانُوا قَلِيلا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ (They used to sleep but little of the night) is the statement of the one who said: their sleep was a small part of the night. For Allah, blessed and exalted is He, described them with that by way of praise, and praised them for it. To describe them with abundance of works, keeping vigil through the night and exertion therein in what draws them near to Him and pleases Him concerning them, is more fitting and more in keeping than to describe them with few works and much sleep; all the more so since that which we have preferred herein is the most evident meaning according to the apparent form of the revelation.
