Surah Al Imran Tafseer

رَبَّنَا وَاتِنَا مَا وَعَدتَّنَا عَلَى رُسُلِكَ

"Our Lord! Grant us what You promised unto us through Your Messengers,"

for our faith in Your Messengers, or,

and this explanation is better; grant us what You promised us by the words of Your Messengers.

وَلَا تُخْزِنَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

"and disgrace us not on the Day of Resurrection,"

before all creation.

إِنَّكَ لَا تُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ

"for You never break (Your) Promise."

for surely, the promise that You conveyed to Your Messengers, which includes us being resurrected before You, shall certainly come to pass.

It was the Prophet's tradition to recite the ten Ayat at the end of Surah Al Imran when he woke up at night for (voluntary) prayer.

Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn Abbas said,

"I slept one night at the house of my aunt, Maymunah. The Messenger of Allah spoke with his wife for a while and then went to sleep. When it was the third part of the night, he stood up, looked at the sky and recited,

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالَارْضِ وَاخْتِلَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِلايَاتٍ لاُِّوْلِي الالْبَابِ

Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding... (3:190)

The Prophet then stood up, performed ablution, used Siwak (to clean his teeth) and prayed eleven units of prayer.

When Bilal said the Adhan, the Prophet prayed two units of prayer, went out (to the Masjid) and led the people in the Dawn prayer."

This was also collected by Muslim.

Ibn Marduwyah recorded that Ata' said,

"I, Ibn Umar and Ubayd bin Umayr went to Aishah and entered her room, and there was a screen between us and her.

She said, `O Ubayd! What prevents you from visiting us?'

He said, `What the poet said, `Visit every once in a while, and you will be loved more.'

Ibn Umar said, `Tell us about the most unusual thing you witnessed from the Messenger of Allah.'

She cried and said, `All his matters were amazing. On night, he came close to me until his skin touched my skin and said, `Let me worship my Lord.'

I said, `By Allah I love your being close to me. I also love that you worship your Lord.'

He used the water-skin and performed ablution, but did not use too much water. He then stood up in prayer and cried until his beard became wet. He prostrated and cried until he made the ground wet. He then laid down on his side and cried.

When Bilal came to alert the Prophet for the Dawn prayer, he said, `O Messenger of Allah! What makes you cry, while Allah has forgiven you your previous and latter sins?'

He said,

وَيْحَكَ يَا بِلَلُ وَمَا يَمْنَعُنِي أَنْ أَبْكِيَ وَقَدْ أُنْزِلَ عَلَيَّ فِي هذِهِ اللَّيْلَة

O Bilal! What prevents me from crying, when this night, this Ayah was revealed to me,

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالَارْضِ وَاخْتِلَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِلايَاتٍ لاُِّوْلِي الالْبَابِ

Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding.

وَيْلٌ لِمَنْ قَرَأَهَا وَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرْ فِيهَا

Woe to he who recites it but does not contemplate it.