"Whatever you call upon," he says: whichever of the two names you call upon, "to Him belong the best names," meaning: He is Allah and He is the Most Merciful. "And do not recite your prayer aloud, nor be quiet in it, but seek between that a way." Ibn Abbas's interpretation is: He says, this concerns the obligatory prayer; do not make it all silent, nor make it all aloud, but seek a way between that.

Yahya said: In the interpretation of al-Kalbi: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was in Mecca, his companions would gather around him. If he prayed with them and raised his voice, the polytheists would hear his voice and harm him, and if...