Al-Insan · Madani · ayah 26 of 31

Al-Insan 76:26

وَمِنَ ٱلَّيْلِ فَٱسْجُدْ لَهُۥ وَسَبِّحْهُ لَيْلًا طَوِيلًا

“And during the night prostrate to Him and exalt [i.e., praise] Him a long [part of the] night.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Give your Lord part of the night, forehead on the ground, and let your glorifying run long, a tether let out to full length.

A reflection

Of the night: a portion, not a marathon

Many people hear 'night prayer' and picture something heroic. Hours on end, feet swelling, the preserve of saints. So they never begin.

Look at the first words: wa mina al-layl, and of the night. The min means part of it. The commentaries say so plainly: some of the night, a portion. One reads this first command as covering the sunset and night prayers. Another notes that the time phrase is placed first for emphasis. Prayer at night, it explains, carries more effort, and more sincerity.

The history the commentaries record is gentle too. One early authority says long night prayer was the first thing made obligatory, as in 'Stand the night, except a little' (73:2). Then it was lifted from the Prophet ﷺ and from the people, and made voluntary. 'And in part of the night, pray with it, as an extra for you' (17:79). Even al-Muzzammil ends by easing: 'so recite what is easy of it' (73:20).

A man who runs a late-night takeaway locks up at two in the morning. For years he assumed night prayer meant an alarm he could never obey. Then it struck him that he was already awake in the night. Now he makes wudu in the shop's back kitchen and prays two quiet units before driving home. Some nights that is all.

That is mina al-layl. Not the whole night, but a piece of it, given on purpose.

The ayah's second half does widen: laylan ṭawīlā, a long night. But the door it opens through is small enough for anyone. Some of the night, and a forehead on the ground.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.