Surah Al-Muddaththir is among the very first revelations: its opening came down when the Prophet ﷺ, back home after seeing the angel, said: “Cover me, cover me!” He used to recite it with Al-Muzzammil in a single rak’ah of the night prayer, and it belongs to the Mufassal by which he was favoured over the other prophets.
Jabir ibn Abdullah reported that the Prophet ﷺ, after seeing the angel, went home saying “Cover me”, and then was revealed: “O you wrapped in a cloak! Arise and warn.” Scholars reconcile this with ’A’ishah’s hadith that “Iqra’” was revealed first: Al-Muddaththir was the first revealed after the pause in revelation, or the first surah revealed in full.
It belongs to the Mufassal, given to the Prophet ﷺ as an extra gift by which he was favoured over the other prophets, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’: “… and I was favoured with the Mufassal.”
A tender call
It opens with an affectionate call: “O you wrapped in a cloak!” Al-Qurtubi saw in it the gentleness of the Generous towards His beloved, whom He called by his state without saying “O Muhammad”.
When to recite it
In the night prayer, together with Surah Al-Muzzammil in a single rak’ah, as the Prophet ﷺ did (hadith of Ibn Mas’ud, Muslim)
Hadiths on its virtues
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
جاورت بحراء، فلما قضيت جواري: هبطت الوادي، فنوديت عن يميني فلم أر شيئا، ونظرت عن شمالي فلم أر شيئا… فرفعت رأسي، فإذا الملك الذي جاءني بحراء جالس على كرسي بين السماء والأرض، فرجعت على أهلي فقلت: دثروني، دثروني، فنزلت ﴿يأيها المدثر، قم فأنذر﴾
I stayed in retreat at Hira. When I had completed my retreat I went down into the valley; I was called, I looked to my right and saw nothing, I looked to my left and saw nothing… I raised my head, and there was the angel who had come to me at Hira, sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I went back to my family and said: “Cover me, cover me!” Then was revealed: “O you wrapped in a cloak! Arise and warn.”
أتاه رجل فقال: إني أقرأ المفصل في ركعة. فقال: هذًّا كهذ الشعر، ونثرًا كنثر الدقل. ولكن رسول الله ﷺ كان يقرأ النظائر في كل ركعة … ﴿يَاأَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ﴾ و ﴿يَاأَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ﴾ في ركعة…
A man came to him and said: “I recite the Mufassal in a single rak’ah.” He replied: “Rushing through it like poetry and scattering it like dry dates! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite the similar surahs in each rak’ah … Al-Muzzammil and Al-Muddaththir in one rak’ah…”
What the surah is about
Honouring the Prophet ﷺ and commanding him to convey the message and warn people
The command to purify oneself outwardly and inwardly, reject idols, give charity and be patient
Consoling the Prophet ﷺ and threatening the one who claimed the Qur’an is human speech
Describing the terrors of Hell and answering those who mocked the number of its keepers
Warning the idolaters of the horror of the resurrection
The good end of the believers who pray and give zakat, and the fate of the deniers
Main purpose: To command striving in calling the deniers and warning them of the Hereafter through the Qur’an.
About Surah Al-Muddaththir
Al-Muddaththir is one of the first surahs revealed to the Prophet ﷺ, most likely after the opening of Surah “Iqra’” (Al-’Alaq). It has fifty-six verses in the Kufan count and fifty-five in the Basran count. “Al-Muddaththir” means the one wrapped in a dithar, the garment worn over the one that touches the body.
