Surah Hud (11) — Ayah 114

(Ayah 114) ➊ In this verse and the following verses, the method of steadfastness and avoiding inclination towards rebellion and the oppressors is explained, which is a special connection with Allah, attained through prayer, and to be patient and to keep forbidding evil and corruption in the land.

➋ The meaning of {وَ اَقِمِ الصَّلٰوةَ:} is to make straight, meaning to perform the prayer at its appointed times, according to the Sunnah, with all its pillars and with humility and sincerity, as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to Malik bin Huwairith (may Allah be pleased with him): [ صَلُّوْا كَمَا رَأَيْتُمُوْنِيْ أُصَلِّيْ ] [ بخاری، الأذان، باب الأذان للمسافرین إذا کانوا… : ۶۳۱ ] "Pray as you have seen me praying." Qurtubi said that there is no difference among the commentators that what is meant here is the obligatory prayer.

➌ After faith, the greatest emphasis is on the establishment of prayer, and it has been declared the distinction between disbelief and faith, because by going to the mosque five times a day and standing before Allah, some part of the pillars of Islam is included. The testimony of Islam is present in the tashahhud, abstaining from eating and drinking and all worldly affairs during the entire prayer is a reflection of fasting, leaving one's business and coming is not possible for one who cannot give zakat, and facing the qiblah reminds of Hajj.

➍ {طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ :} means the two ends of the day. From the rising of dawn to sunset is the day, in which three prayers are included. In the end before noon is Fajr, and after noon are Dhuhr and Asr. {’’ زُلَفًا ‘‘ ’’ زُلْفَةٌ ‘‘} is the plural, just as {’’غُرْفَةٌ ‘‘} is the plural of {’’غُرَفٌ‘‘}, and by this is meant the times near the last part of the day, because {’’اِزْلَافٌ‘‘} means nearness, as He said: «{ وَ اُزْلِفَتِ الْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِيْنَ }» [ الشعراء : ۹۰ ] "And Paradise will be brought near to the righteous." And He said: «{ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ اِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُوْنَاۤ اِلَى اللّٰهِ زُلْفٰى }» [ الزمر : ۳ ] "We do not worship them except that they may bring us nearer to Allah." By this is meant Maghrib and Isha, because they are near the end of the day. In this way, all five prayers are included in this verse. The scholars have written that if these verses were revealed after the Mi'raj, then all five prayers are included in them in a general way, but since this surah is Makki, it is possible that these verses were revealed before the five prayers were made obligatory in the Mi'raj, and from these verses, the prayers at the two ends of the day, before sunrise (Fajr) and before sunset (Asr), were obligatory, and by the hours of the night is meant Tahajjud, which was obligatory on the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the entire Ummah at first, then its obligation was abrogated, but its emphasis and virtue remained. The reality is that the detailed determination and explanation of the times of the five daily prayers is found only in the hadith, and it is not possible to act upon the Qur'an without hadith. Among the deniers of hadith, some first accepted three prayers in the Qur'an, then two, then later one, and Parwez completely denied the method of prayer that has come through continuous hadith and continuous practice from the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) until now, and the truth is that from the Qur'an alone, neither the complete times of prayer can be known, nor its pillars, nor the order of the pillars, nor the number of rak'ahs, nor the method of starting or ending it. In short, the inevitable result of abandoning hadith is that one is freed from acting upon the Qur'an, and this is the heartfelt desire of these unfortunate people, which, insha'Allah, will never be fulfilled. May Allah guide everyone.

➎ { اِنَّ الْحَسَنٰتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّاٰتِ:} In the previous sentence, the strongest thing that helps in steadfastness upon Allah's command and in being protected from inclination towards the oppressors was mentioned, that is, establish prayer at such and such times. Now the reason for this is given. Generally, {’’ اِنَّ ‘‘} comes for reasoning, i.e., to give the reason. The reason is that good deeds erase sins. Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ وَأَتْبِعِ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا ] [ مسند أحمد : 153/5، ح : ۲۱۴۱۲۔ ترمذی : ۱۹۸۷۔ صحیح الجامع : ۹۷، وحسنہ الألبانی ] "Do a good deed immediately after a bad deed, it will erase it." Prayer is also such a good deed by which sins are forgiven. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that a man kissed a strange woman, then (out of remorse) came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and began to ask, upon which this verse was revealed, «{ اِنَّ الْحَسَنٰتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّاٰتِ }» so the man said: "O Messenger of Allah! Is this only for me?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: [ لِجَمِيْعِ أُمَّتِيْ كُلِّهِمْ ] "This is for my entire Ummah." [ بخاری، مواقیت الصلٰوۃ، باب الصلاۃ کفارۃ : ۵۲۶ ]

Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "Good deeds remove bad deeds in three ways: (1) The one who does good deeds, his bad deeds are forgiven. (2) And the one who holds on to good deeds, from him the habit of evil is removed. (3) And in the land where good deeds become common, guidance comes and misguidance is removed, but in all three cases, the weight must be predominant, as much dirt, that much soap." (Mawduh) Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: [ أَرَأَيْتُمْ لَوْ أَنَّ نَهْرًا بِبَابِ أَحَدِكُمْ يَغْتَسِلُ فِيْهِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ خَمْسًا، مَا تَقُوْلُ ذٰلِكَ يُبْقِيْ مِنْ دَرَنِهِ؟ قَالُوْا لاَ يُبْقِيْ مِنْ دَرَنِهِ شَيْئًا، قَالَ فَذٰلِكَ مَثَلُ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ يَمْحُو اللّٰهُ بِهِ الْخَطَايَا ] [ بخاری، مواقیت الصلٰوۃ، باب الصلوات الخمس کفارۃ : ۵۲۸ ] "If there were a river at the door of one of you in which he bathed five times a day, what do you say, would any dirt remain on him?" They said: "No dirt would remain on him." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "That is the example of the five prayers, Allah erases sins with them."

114. 1 By "both ends," some have meant morning and Maghrib, and others have taken it to mean the times of Isha and Maghrib. Imam Ibn Kathir states that it is possible that this verse was revealed before the Mi'raj, in which five prayers were made obligatory. Because before that, only two prayers were necessary: one before sunrise and one before sunset, and the Tahajjud prayer in the last part of the night. Then the obligation of Tahajjud was lifted from the Ummah, and according to some, its obligation was also lifted from you. (Ibn Kathir) And Allah knows best.

114. 2 Just as it has been explicitly stated in the hadiths as well. For example, the five prayers, from one Friday to the next Friday, and from one Ramadan to the next Ramadan, are expiators for the sins committed between them, provided that major sins are avoided. In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Tell me! If there were a large river at the door of one of you, and he bathed in it five times a day, would any dirt remain on his body after that?" The companions replied, "No." He said, "That is how the five prayers are; through them Allah removes sins and mistakes." (Muslim, Bukhari)

And establish prayer at the two ends of the day [126] and in some hours of the night. Surely, good deeds remove evil deeds. This is a reminder [127] for those who remember Allah.

[126]
The Removal of Sins Through Good Deeds:

By "the edges of the day" is meant the Fajr and Maghrib prayers, and by "some part of the night" is meant the Isha prayer. Thus, from this verse, these three prayers are established, and if the prayer is performed with complete etiquette, a person's minor sins are automatically forgiven, as is made clear by the following hadiths:
1. Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud ؓ says that a man kissed an (Ansari) woman. Then he came to the Prophet ﷺ and confessed his sin. At that time, this verse was revealed. (After hearing this verse) the man asked the Prophet ﷺ: "Is this matter (the forgiveness of minor sins through prayer) specific to me?" The Prophet ﷺ replied: "No, rather, whoever from my Ummah does so." In [ بخاري، كتاب التفسير مسلم، كتاب التوبه، باب ﴿اِنَّ الْحَسَنٰتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّاٰتِ﴾] this incident is mentioned in more detail.
2. Sayyiduna Hudhaifah رضي اللہ عنہ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "A man's trial is in his wife, his wealth, his children, and his neighbor, and prayer, fasting, charity, enjoining good, and forbidding evil become their expiation." [ بخاري، كتاب مواقيت الصلوة۔ باب الصلوة كفارة]
3. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "The five prayers, from one Jumu'ah to the next, and from one Ramadan to the next, are expiation for the sins committed in between, as long as major sins are avoided." [مسلم، کتاب الطھارۃ، باب فضل الوضوء والصلوۃ عقبہ]
4. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Tell me, if there were a river at the door of one of you and he bathed in it five times a day, would any dirt remain on his body?" The people replied, "No, not a trace would remain." The Prophet ﷺ said: "That is the example of the five prayers; Allah wipes away sins through them." [بخاری، کتاب مواقیت الصلوۃ باب فضل الصلوۃ لوقتھا]

Three Ways Good Deeds Remove Sins:

And there are three ways in which good deeds remove sins: one is that whoever does many good deeds, his sins are forgiven; the second is that he loses the habit of evil; and the third is that in a society where good deeds are abundant, evils automatically begin to depart from there and cannot raise their heads.
[127] That is, the best means to make you righteous and to protect you from evil is prayer, through which the remembrance of Allah is kept alive. With its strength, you can confront the individual and collective forces of evil.