المزمل
al-Muzzammil
Topic
A name of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), “the one enwrapped”, used by God in the Quran (73:1).
What it means
Al-Muzzammil means the one wrapped in a cloak. God addresses Muhammad (peace be upon him) with it at the start of the seventy-third chapter of the Quran (73:1), which is named after it. The same chapter tells him to rise for much of the night and to recite the Quran slowly and clearly (73:2-4). Because God addressed him by a name drawn from his own situation, Muslims count it among the titles of the Prophet. The chapter is among the early revelations, and it is read for its teaching on night prayer and on patience.
Often misunderstood as
That it is a mere description of his dress, when it is a form of address from God that opens a chapter.
What the sources say
The chapter that follows begins with a similar address, al-Muddaththir, the one covered (74:1). Muslims commonly pair the two as titles that God gave the Prophet at the opening of his mission.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 34, listed as AL MUZZAMMIL. The definition is restated here.