O ye enfolded in your shawl! stand [in prayer] by night, but not all night. Half the night, or even less or a little more and [in this prayer of yours] recite the Qur'an in a slow measured tone. Because soon We shall lay on you the burden of a heavy word [the burden of open warning]. Verily, this rising by night is very suitable for the mind's peace and the heart's resolve and for the speech's correctness."

(Surah Muzzamil, verses 1-3, trnsl. Shehzad Saleem of www.monthly-renaissance.com)

Allah, in this verse, has tied in the command to Muhammad (S) to pray at night in a manner where the Quran is recited in a slow, measured town. There are some points to note:

1. While most people understand prayer as recounting the praises of God as well as expressing one's humility before the Most High, the Quranic conception of prayer is more intimate than that. Prayer is tied to the recitation of the Quran, revealing that the Quran is to be engaged with dynamically. When a man stands before his Lord, requesting God for guidance in Surah Fatiha, he has been taught to recite some words of the Quran after the fact. This additional recitation symbolizes that God has responded to the request of every human being for guidance in the words of the Quran. Thus, the original request for guidance by man psychologically prepares the mind of a believer to be taught the reality of his religion. This is further intensified by the very posture adopted by the one praying. Qiyam is a position similar to that of subjects of a kingdom standing before their ruler with heads bowed and hands folded waiting for their ruler's command.

2. Allah has stated that the Quran should be recited in slow-measured tones by the Prophet (S). The Holy Book has emphasized the need of UNDERSTANDING the Quran through the slow manner in which the Prophet (S) has been told to read. Further, the rhythm is also emphasized, revealing the intimate nature one must have when reciting the Quran. Various hadeeth record the Prophet (S) reciting his late-night prayer in a beautiful, melodious slow-paced voice, sometimes falling into sujood after a particular verse. While the various books of fiqh differ over the phrases in which sujood is required upon reading the Quran, it seems that the differences are rooted in a misunderstanding regarding the nature of the Prophet's prayer. The Prophet (S), as recorded by the various hadeeth reports, would make prostration at various points in the Quran during his late-night prayers when over-whelmed by a particular verse. His responses were not necessarily fixed. It was as if Muhammad (S) was living the Quran in his prayers, and responding to it. When he (S) came upon verses of Paradise, he (S) would stop in the middle of his prayer and request Allah to beseech him with His Bounties. When he came across verses which directed him to bow down, he (S) would fall in sujood. It was a DIRECT COMMUNION with the UNSEEN Lord.
   
   This last point also shows the liberal attitude regarding what one says in prayer. Although prayer has some basic elements that are essential towards proper performance, the Prophet (S) taught the very individual nature of it all through his praises of certain phrases that were adopted by a particular person as revealed in countless narrations of hadeeth books. One Companion (S) was appointed to lead prayer at a masjid, and after every recitation of Fatiha, he (R) would than recite surah Ikhlas, followed by another surah. The people who ventured to that particular House of God were perturbed and complained to this man, asking why he was doing such a thing. He (R) told them that this is what he liked and he would continue to read it in very manner. If the people had objections to it, he would stop leading the prayer. The people than approached the Prophet (S) informing him (S) of what was happening. The Prophet (S) than called the man asking him why he was doing such a thing. The Companion (R), in a respectful tone, replied because he loved the surah. The Noble Prophet (S) told him that because he (R) loved the surah, God Almighty loved him. This is a far-cry from how Muslims are taught the nature of prayer today.

3. Engaging the Quran is a direct source of spiritual strength. The reason Allah commanded the Prophet (S) to rise up in the middle of the night and engage the Quran is prayer was:
   
   "Because soon We shall lay on you the burden of a heavy word [the burden of open warning]."
   
   The spiritual preparation of open da'waa by the Prophet was to be done through the the tahajjud prayer. As Javed Ghamidi (R) explains regarding this verse:
   
   "The verse states the reason for the directive of standing in the prayer of Tahajjud by night: to fulfil the heavy responsibility of the second phase of his mission (indhar-i-'am: the phase of open warning) in Makkah, the Prophet (sws) must prepare himself spiritually and mentally -- for in this phase, as mentioned in the coming surah, he will have to increase the extent and scope of his propagation, and it is this prayer which will give him the strength and courage to do so and to combat all the hardships and difficulties which may come his way."
   
   (www.monthly-renaissance.com)
   
   While most religions view acts of worship as means of self-negation, Islamic prayer leads to life-affirmance. By standing before God, one realizes to whom all power belongs as well as to whom one is responsible to.
   
   "Master of the Day of Judgement."
   
   The Quran was sent to warn men of a momentous day, and to create in him a realization that every claim to godhood is false, whether from a man or church.
   By pondering over this while in prayer, one begins to know that other men cannot prevent even a single small act without permission of God Almighty. As is clear, the Quranic philosophy of prayer is thoroughly inter-twined with the notion that one must perform one's responsibilities, without worrying about 'unjustified' fears. Those that do not realize God in their lives, EVEN IF MUSLIM, create false gods that they seek to appease, to save them from worldy misfortunes. The superstitions they indulge in, the idols they create with their own hands all testify to a lack of conviction which breeds fear. This attitude ultimately leads to cowardice and passivity in action for the truth. Muhammad Iqbal has said correctly that idolatry is rooted in fear.

4. "Verily, this rising by night is very suitable for the mind's peace and the heart's resolve and for the speech's correctness."
   
   The above verse reveals how essential the psychological attitude is to obtain the benefit's out of prayer. The middle of the night is calm and serene, and it allows a person to be in a state where he is receptive to the message of God. Though this description is regarding the late-night prayers, it is obvious that the purpose of calmness of mind should be fulfilled to some extent for every prayer. The first command of Allah regarding wine was to not approach prayer while in a state of intoxication. This latter command also reveals that the Quranic conception of prayer is not just one of emotion, but of REASON as well. Most religions, because they rely purely on faith, tend to adopt music as a means to induce states 'conducive' to worship. This is precisely why there faith is confined purely to the church. As soon as people leave the church, that state of 'godliness' vanishes and fails to impress the intellect of the person. Islam distinguishes itself in that the Quranic mode of worship adopts reason, emphasizing the engagement with the message as well as having an emotional attachment to it. Another additional element regarding preparing a person psychologically for prayer is wudhu. The ritual cleansing is meant to create in the sense of the believer the sacred nature of what he is about to engage in. When washing the limbs, a Muslim should realize whom He is about to stand before.
   
   The natural extension to the importance of coming to prayer with a single-minded devotion are all the hadeeth of the Prophet (S) commanding a person not to come to the prayer running, to satisfy the basic urges before praying if one has to, and even to sleep if one is extremely tired and cannot pray in a state of awareness. All of these directives are meant to prepare the believer mentally for prayer, and have little reality with how they are understood in the books of fiqh.

5. Although the above verse was given to the Prophet (S) regarding tahajud prayer, it can be universalized for everybody to some extent. This is clearly supported by the Quran later on in the surah, when Allah states:
   
   "Because during the daytime you will be hard-pressed with [this task; so pray at this time] and remember the name of your Lord and [in this loneliness of the night] devote yourself entirely to Him."
   
   No human being has been burdened with the responsibility akin to Muhammad (S), who devoted all his day-time hours to propagating his mission. With the amount of free-time everybody has, there is nothing to prevent each person from adopting a prayer during the day that is conducive towards understanding, even if this means one must recite short surahs. Most people confuse a good prayer as one where a person recites as many long surahs as possible, and various liturgical formulas without taking account of what they are saying as well as when they are saying it. One will get almost nothing out of prayer in this manner. The Quran is the direct speech of Allah, and it is the communion of God with man. Prayer should be realized in such a way that when reciting the various verses of the Quran during qiyam, the worshipper is feeling as if God Almighty is talking directly to Him. Further, every movement is initated by an "Allah-hu-Akbar", granting significance to each and every position. A Muslim must focus on UNDERSTANDING the meaning of what he/she is reciting, even if this means forsaking memorization for a time being, and devoting one's self to understanding the language. One may argue that it is against tradition, but in reality it is not. The Companions (R) would rarely move onto memorizing other verses, if they had not thoroughly engrossed themselves in implementing those verse already revealed.