A little less than that, or a little more.

meaning, `We have commanded you to stand in prayer for half of the night, either a little more than it or a little less. There is no hardship on you concerning that (slight increase or decrease).

The Way of reciting the Qur'an

Concerning Allah's statement,

... وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا ﴿٤﴾

And Rattil the Qur'an Tartil.

meaning, recite it slowly, for that will help in understanding the Qur'an and contemplating it. This is how the Prophet used to recite.

A'ishah said,

"He (the Prophet) used to recite the chapter slowly, so much so that it would be longer than chapters that were actually longer than it.''

In Sahih Al-Bukhari, it is recorded from Anas that he was asked about the recitation of the Messenger of Allah , so he replied,

"He used to elongate the letters.''

Then he (Anas) recited,

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. (1:1)

and he elongated "In the Name of Allah,''

and he elongated "The Most Gracious,''

and he elongated "The Most Merciful.''

Ibn Jurayj reported from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, who narrated from Umm Salamah that she was asked about the recitation of the Messenger of Allah , so she said,

"He used to pause in his recitation, verse by verse.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ - الْحَمْدُ للَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ - الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ - مَـلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is Allah's, the Lord of all that exists. The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Only Owner of the Day of Recompense. (1:1-4)

This was recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi.

We have already mentioned the Hadiths which prove the recommendation of slow rhythmic recitation and beautification of the voice while reciting at the beginning of this Tafsir. For example, the Hadith which states,

زَيِّنُوا الْقُرْآنَ بِأَصْوَاتِكُم

Beautify the Qur'an with your voices.

and the Hadith,

لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ لَمْ يَتَغَنَّ بِالْقُرْآن

He is not of us who does not chant nicely with the recitation of the Qur'an.

and the Hadith,

لَقَدْ أُوتِيَ هَذَا مِزْمَارًا مِنْ مَزَامِيرِ آلِ دَاوُد

Verily, he has been given this windpipe from the windpipes of the family of Dawud. Referring to Abu Musa.

Abu Musa replied,

"If I knew that you had been listening to my recitation, I would have truly beautified it for you.''

It has been narrated from Ibn Mas`ud that he said,

"Do not scatter the (recitation of) Qur'an out like the scattering of sand, and do not rush through it like the hasty recitation of poetry. Stop at its amazing parts and make your heart move with it. None of you should let his concern be to reach the end of the chapter.''

This has been recorded by Al-Baghawi.

Al-Bukhari recorded from Abi Wa'il that he said,

"A man came to Ibn Mas`ud and said, `I read the Mufassal chapters (from Qaf to An-Nas) last night in one unit of prayer.'

Ibn Mas`ud said,

`This is rushing like the haste of reciting poetry.'