An Atheist Explores the Qur'an Part 79: The Pray As Much As You Like Scheme (Enwrapped (al-Muzzammil))

Enwrapped (al-Muzzammil)
The Pray As Much As You Like Scheme.

Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version).
In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.

For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0
For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com

Enwrapped (al-Muzzammil) 1-20
“O you wrapped up in your mantle! Stand vigil through the night, except a little, a half, or reduce a little from that”

This is a really early surah, given as being number three in the order of revelation. It’s largely written as an address by God to the Prophet, giving him instructions and encouragement.

The Prophet prays in the night, because as it is given here the night is “firmer in tread and more upright in respect to speech” whereas in the day there are “drawn-out engagements”, other duties that take away from prayer. It doesn’t seem to matter how much time is spent praying, as outlined in the slightly confusing quote at the top, and also later on where it is told that “you stand vigil nearly two thirds of the night —or [at times] a half or a third of it—“.

This kind of implies that if you could get away with half as much night-time praying as you’re doing, then cut back and get some sleep, but I suppose Allah sees all that you do (as we are frequently told) and would know if you were cheating on purpose.

What else? The Prophet is told “Leave Me [to deal] with the deniers, the opulent, and give them a little respite”, so it’s not the place of the Prophet to “deal with” the deniers and opulent. By “deal with” does this mean punish, or to try to convince in the first place? I’d opt for the former.

Later we are warned of “the day which will make children white-headed”, although not given any more details. I’m guessing the Judgement Day here. And then the chapter ends on one really lengthy verse. If this was the same length as previous verses then this surah would be listed as having around 30 verses rather than 20; it’s a strange choice on how it’s divided.

The long verse even declares some of what is needed to be a good Muslim - “maintain the prayer and pay the zakāt and lend Allah a good loan”. This notion of a “loan” to Allah has been given before and seems to refer to faithful behaviour rather than a monetary loan. I note, however, that paying your church tithe is one of three listed criteria. The cynic in me would suggest some kind of money-making scheme going on here (“Oh, yes, God said it’s really really important that you give me your money. I promise I’ll pass it all onto the poor”), but maybe it’s in good faith. Not every religious person is like Jim Bakker.

Finally there’s also one of those magnanimous bits found in the Qur’an, where we are told to “recite as much of the Qurʾān as is feasible. He knows that some of you will be sick, while others will travel in the land”. I do like it that it’s recognised that devotional acts can’t always be fit into daily life, much like sometimes one stays up two thirds of the night praying and sometimes only one third of the night. It adds a bit of flexibility to the whole idea.

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