so it was revealed: {Guard strictly the prayers, especially the middle prayer} (8). Narrated by Abū Dāwūd (9). ʿĀʾishah narrated from the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, that he recited: {Guard strictly the prayers, especially the middle prayer [the ʿAṣr prayer]} (10). Narrated by Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī (11), who said: A Sahih hadith. Ṭāwūs, ʿAṭāʾ, ʿIkrimah, Mujāhid, and al-Shāfiʿī said: It is the morning prayer, due to the saying of God Almighty: {And the middle prayer, and stand before God in devout obedience}. Qunūt is long standing, which is specific to the morning prayer, and because it is among the most difficult prayers for the hypocrites, and for that reason (12) it was singled out with the injunction to guard (13) it. God Almighty said: {And glorify the praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting} (14), meaning the dawn and ʿAṣr prayers. Jarīr ibn ʿAbd Allāh narrated, saying: We were sitting with the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, when he looked at the moon on the night of the full moon and said: "You will surely see your Lord as you see this moon; you will not be crowded in seeing Him. So if you are able not to be overcome regarding a prayer before the rising of the sun and before its setting, [do so]." Agreed upon (15). In al-Bukhārī: "Then do it." Then Jarīr recited: {And glorify the praise of your Lord before the rising of
Notes
- (8) Surah al-Baqarah 238.
- (9) In: Chapter on the Time of the Afternoon Prayer (Ṣalāt al-ʿAṣr), from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 1/98.
- (10) Thus it appeared in the hadith as being part of the verse, and after it appeared: {And stand before God, devoutly obedient}.
- (11) Recorded by Abū Dāwūd, in: Chapter on the Time of the Afternoon Prayer, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 1/98. And al-Tirmidhī, in: Chapter on the Exegesis (Tafsīr) of Surah al-Baqarah, from the Chapters of Exegesis. ʿĀriḍat al-Aḥwadhī 11/105.
- (12) In M: "And for this".
- (13) In M: "And by maintaining".
- (14) Surah Qāf 39.
- (15) Recorded by al-Bukhārī, in: Chapter on the Excellence of the Afternoon Prayer, and Chapter on the Excellence of the Dawn Prayer, from the Book of Times, and in: Exegesis of Surah Qāf, from the Book of Exegesis, and in: Chapter on the Saying of God Almighty {Faces that day will be radiant, looking at their Lord}, from the Book of Tawḥīd. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1/145, 150, 6/173, 9/156. And Muslim, in: Chapter on the Excellence of the Dawn and Afternoon Prayers and Maintaining Them, from the Book of Mosques. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1/439. It was also recorded by al-Tirmidhī, in: Chapter on What Has Been Said Regarding Seeing the Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, from the Chapters of Paradise. ʿĀriḍat al-Aḥwadhī 10/18. And Ibn Mājah, in: Chapter on What the Jahmiyyah Denied, from the Introduction. Sunan Ibn Mājah 1/63. And Imām Aḥmad, in: al-Musnad 4/360, 362, 365.
