through patience and prayer in seeking God's pleasure, and know that they are part of obedience to God.

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And Ibn Jurayj said according to what:

854- Al-Qāsim narrated to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn narrated to us, he said: Ḥajjāj narrated to me, he said: Ibn Jurayj said regarding His statement: "(And seek help through patience and prayer)", he said: They are two means of assistance toward God's mercy. (1)

855- And Yūnus narrated to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said regarding His statement: "(And seek help through patience and prayer)" the verse, he said: The polytheists said: By God, O Muḥammad, you are calling us to a great matter! He said: To prayer and faith in God, majestic is His praise.

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The discourse regarding the interpretation of the statement of the Exalted: {And indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive (45)}

Abū Jaʿfar said: He means by His statement, majestic is His praise, "(And indeed, it is)": indeed prayer [is difficult]; for the pronoun "it" in "and indeed it is" refers back to "prayer." Some of them have said: indeed His statement "(And indeed, it is)" means: indeed responding to Muḥammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him; but there was no explicit mention of the word "response" for the pronoun to refer back to it, and it is impermissible to abandon the apparent, understood meaning of speech for an implicit meaning with no evidence for its correctness. (2)

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And He means by His statement: "(is difficult)": is severe and heavy. As:

856- Yaḥyā ibn Abī Ṭālib narrated to me, he said: Ibn Yazīd informed us, he said: Juwaybir informed us, from al-Ḍaḥḥāk, regarding His statement: "(And indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive)": He said: Indeed it is heavy. (3)

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