Tafseer of The Mount · At-Tur · 52:49
And in a part of the night exalt Him and after [the setting of] the stars.
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.
His statement: وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْهُ "And in a part of the night, glorify Him then." He says: And in a part of the night, glorify your Lord then, O Muḥammad, through prayer and worship; and that is the maghrib prayer and the ʿishāʾ prayer.
Ibn Zayd used to say concerning this what Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْهُ "And in a part of the night, glorify Him then" — he said: and a part of the night is the ʿishāʾ prayer. وَإِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ "and at the receding of the stars" — that is to say: when the stars recede to disappear at the breaking of day.
And it was said: By this were meant the two rakʿas of the dawn (al-fajr).
* The mention of some who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: My father related to me, saying: My uncle related to me, saying: My father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: فَسَبِّحْهُ وَإِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ "glorify Him then, and at the receding of the stars" — he said: those are the two prostrations (rakʿas) before the morning prayer.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْهُ وَإِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ "And in a part of the night, glorify Him then, and at the receding of the stars" — we used to relate that these are the two rakʿas at the breaking of the dawn. He said: And it has been transmitted to us that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say: Those two are dearer to me than red camels.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Zurāra ibn Awfā, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Hishām, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said concerning the two rakʿas of the dawn: "Those two are better than the entire world."
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: وَإِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ "and at the receding of the stars" — he said: two rakʿas before the morning prayer.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī and Ḥammād ibn Masʿada related to us, both saying: Ḥumayd related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, on the authority of ʿAlī, concerning His statement: وَإِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ "and at the receding of the stars" — he said: the two rakʿas before the morning prayer.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, saying: ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, said: إِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ "the receding of the stars" — the two rakʿas before the dawn.
Others said: By the glorification at إِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ "the receding of the stars" was meant: the obligatory morning prayer.
* The mention of who said that:
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement: وَإِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ "and at the receding of the stars" — he said: the morning prayer.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: وَإِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ "and at the receding of the stars" — he said: the morning prayer.
And the correct of the two statements concerning this, in my opinion, is the statement of the one who said: by this is meant the prescribed prayer, the fajr prayer. For Allah commanded it and said: وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْهُ وَإِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ "And in a part of the night, glorify Him then, and at the receding of the stars." The two rakʿas before the obligatory prayer are not obligatory, and no proof to which one must submit has come forth that His statement "glorify Him then" indicates recommendation (nadb). And we have demonstrated in more than one place in our books that the command of Allah indicates obligation (farḍ), until a proof comes forth that by it recommendation, or something other than obligation, is meant — in a manner that makes it unnecessary to repeat that here.
End of the tafsīr of Sūrat al-Ṭūr.
