Quote:
{73:20} Indeed, your Lord knows, [O Muhammad], that you stand [in prayer] almost two thirds of the night or half of it or a third of it, and [so do] a group of those with you. And God determines [the extent of] the night and the day. He has known that you [Muslims] will not be able to do it and has turned to you in forgiveness, so recite what is easy [for you] of the Quran. He has known that there will be among you those who are ill and others traveling throughout the land seeking [something] of the bounty of God and others fighting for the cause of God. So recite what is easy from it and establish prayer and give zakah and loan God a goodly loan. And whatever good you put forward for yourselves - you will find it with God. It is better and greater in reward. And seek forgiveness of God. Indeed, God is Forgiving and Merciful.
Good translation, except for two comments:
- I do not like to include transliterations unless they cannot be translated, and even then I always want to add an explanatory note for the English speaker. Thus, I'd translate الزكاة as "alms".
- The italicized sentence is broken into two sentences in this translation when the Arabic is one sentence. I guess the translators understood هو to start a new sentence when it is simply an emphasis. As an emphasis, I'd translate it, "And whatever you put forward for yourselves of good, you [will] find it with God, indeed better and greater rewarding."
So, I suggest,
{73:20} Verily, your Lord knows [, O Muhammad,] that you stand [in prayer] a bit less than two thirds of the night, half of it and a third of it, and [so do] a bevy of those with you. And God measures precisely the night and the day. He has known that you [all] will not [be able to] span it (recite all of it), so He relieved you, so recite what is easy [for you] of the Quran. He has known that there will be among you those who are ill and others striking in the land reaching for [something] of the bounty of God and others fighting for the cause of God, so recite what is easy from it and establish prayer and give alms and loan God a goodly loan. And whatever you put forward for yourselves of good, you [will] find it with God, indeed better and greater rewarding. And seek forgiveness of God. Verily, God is much Forgiving, Merciful.