Surah Taa-Haa (20) — Ayah 130

(Ayah 130) ➊ { فَاصْبِرْ عَلٰى مَا يَقُوْلُوْنَ:} That is, when Allah Almighty has decided to grant them respite, then no matter how painful their words may be—whether they call you a sorcerer, a poet, a soothsayer, or insane, whether they mock or say even more hurtful things—you have no choice but to be patient and seek help from Allah, because in every calamity only two things prove helpful: one is patience and the other is the remembrance of Allah, glorification and praise, whose comprehensive form is prayer. That is why it is said elsewhere: «{ وَاسْتَعِیْنُوْا بِالصَّبْرِ وَ الصَّلٰوۃِ }» [ البقرۃ : ۱۵ ] “And seek help through patience and prayer.”

➋ {وَ سَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ:} Although its literal meaning is “glorify your Lord with praise,” what is meant is prayer, just as sometimes a part is mentioned but the whole is intended, like mentioning a rak‘ah or a prostration but meaning the entire prayer. Similarly, by mentioning glorification and praise, the whole prayer is meant, because like bowing and prostration, glorification and praise are also parts of prayer. The evidence for this is the hadith of Jarir bin Abdullah al-Bajali (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he looked at the moon on the night of the fourteenth and said: [ إِنَّكُمْ سَتَرَوْنَ رَبَّكُمْ كَمَا تَرَوْنَ هٰذَا لَا تُضَامُّوْنَ فِيْ رُؤْيَتِهٖ فَإِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَنْ لَّا تُغْلَبُوْا عَلٰی صَلاَةٍ قَبْلَ طُلُوْعِ الشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ غُرُوْبِهَا فَافْعَلُوْا ثُمَّ قَرَأَ: «{ وَ سَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوْعِ الشَّمْسِ وَ قَبْلَ الْغُرُوْبِ }» ] [ قٓ : ۳۹ ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، باب قولہ «وسبح بحمد ربک…» :۴۸۵۱ ] “You will see your Lord as you see this moon, and you will have no difficulty in seeing Him. So if you can avoid being overpowered (prevented) from offering the prayers before sunrise and before sunset, then do so.” Then he recited this verse: «{ وَ سَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوْعِ الشَّمْسِ وَ قَبْلَ الْغُرُوْبِ }» The words of this verse in Surah Qaf and the verse under discussion are the same, so here too {’’ وَ سَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ ‘‘} refers to prayer. It should be clear that the obligatory prayers are five; the determination of their beginning and end times, their rak‘ahs, and the method of performing them—all this is known from hadith. Denying hadith is, in fact, denying the Qur’an. It is not possible to act on any of these matters from the Qur’an alone; in fact, it is not possible to fully act on any command, whether it is prayer, zakat, fasting, or hajj, without hadith. Therefore, no Muslim has any choice but to accept that the Qur’an has also made these five prayers obligatory, which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has declared obligatory day and night and has presented their example through his words and actions. That is why the righteous predecessors have always interpreted all such verses that indicate the times of prayer in light of hadith.

How is the command of five prayers established from this verse? The statements of the commentators differ on this. I find the explanation of Baqa‘i (may Allah have mercy on him) better; he says that {’’ قَبْلَ طُلُوْعِ الشَّمْسِ ‘‘} refers to the Fajr prayer. {’’ قَبْلَ الْغُرُوْبِ ‘‘} refers to the Zuhr and Asr prayers. {’’ وَ مِنْ اٰنَآئِ الَّيْلِ ‘‘} refers to Maghrib and Isha, and {’’ وَ اَطْرَافَ النَّهَارِ ‘‘} (the edges of the day) refers to Fajr and Asr, because Fajr is at the first edge of the day and Asr at the last edge; as for Maghrib, it is included in the night. The question arises that the mention of these two prayers (Fajr and Asr) has already occurred in {’’ قَبْلَ طُلُوْعِ الشَّمْسِ وَ قَبْلَ غُرُوْبِهَا ‘‘}; according to this explanation, this results in them being mentioned again. The answer is that they are mentioned again for further emphasis, just as it is said: «{ حٰفِظُوْا عَلَى الصَّلَوٰتِ وَ الصَّلٰوةِ الْوُسْطٰى وَ قُوْمُوْا لِلّٰهِ قٰنِتِيْنَ }» [ البقرۃ : ۲۳۸ ] (Guard all the prayers and the middle prayer, and stand before Allah devoutly) in which the mention of “the middle prayer” is repeated due to its virtue and importance. Due to the virtues of Fajr and Asr, they are emphasized again, because according to hadith, the angels of the night and day are present in these two prayers, and as mentioned above, these two prayers have a special role in attaining the vision of Allah Almighty. For more on the times of prayer, see Surah Bani Isra’il (78).

➌ { لَعَلَّكَ تَرْضٰى :} This is an indication that through the blessing of patience and prayer, you will attain the Praiseworthy Station. See Surah Bani Isra’il (79). In Surah Duha it is said: «{ وَ لَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيْكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضٰى }» [ الضحٰی : ۵ ] “And surely your Lord will soon give you, so you will be pleased.” In the hadith it is mentioned that the people of Paradise will also be made pleased. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَقُوْلُ لِأَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ يَا أَهْلَ الْجَنَّةِ ! فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ لَبَّيْكَ رَبَّنَا وَسَعْدَيْكَ وَالْخَيْرُ فِيْ يَدَيْكَ، فَيَقُوْلُ هَلْ رَضِيْتُمْ؟ فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ وَمَا لَنَا لاَ نَرْضَی يَا رَبِّ ! فَقَدْ أَعْطَيْتَنَا مَا لَمْ تُعْطِ أَحَدًا مِنْ خَلْقِكَ؟ فَيَقُوْلُ أَلاَ أُعْطِيْكُمْ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ ؟ فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ يَا رَبِّ ! وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ؟ فَيَقُوْلُ : أُحِلُّ عَلَيْكُمْ رِضْوَانِيْ فَلاَ أَسْخَطُ عَلَيْكُمْ بَعْدَهُ أَبَدًا ] [ بخاري، التوحید، باب کلام الرب مع أہل الجنۃ : ۷۵۱۸، عن أبی سعید الخدری رضی اللہ عنہ ] “Allah Almighty will say to the people of Paradise: O people of Paradise! They will say: We are present before You, our Lord, and ever ready! He will say: Are you pleased? They will say: Why should we not be pleased when You have given us what You have not given to any of Your creation? He will say: Shall I give you something even better than that? They will say: O Lord! And what is better than that? He will say: I bestow My pleasure upon you, so after this I will never be displeased with you.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِذَا دَخَلَ أَهْلُ الْجَنَّةِ الْجَنَّةَ، قَالَ يَقُوْلُ اللّٰهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالٰی تُرِيْدُوْنَ شَيْئًا أَزِيْدُكُمْ؟ فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ أَلَمْ تُبَيِّضْ وُجُوْهَنَا؟ أَلَمْ تُدْخِلْنَا الْجَنَّةَ وَ تُنَجِّنَا مِنَ النَّارِ؟ قَالَ فَيَكْشِفُ الْحِجَابَ، فَمَا أُعْطُوْا شَيْئًا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّظَرِ إِلٰی رَبِّهِمْ ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب إثبات رؤیۃ المؤمنین… : ۱۸۱، عن صہیب رضی اللہ عنہ ] “When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, will say: ‘Do you wish for anything more that I may give you?’ They will say: ‘Have You not made our faces bright? Have You not admitted us to Paradise and saved us from the Fire?’ He will then remove the veil, and they will not have been given anything more beloved to them than the sight of their Lord, the Mighty and Majestic.””

130. 1. According to some commentators, "tasbih" refers to prayer, and they interpret it as referring to the five daily prayers: before sunrise is Fajr, before sunset is Asr, the hours of the night are Maghrib and Isha, and "at the two ends of the day" refers to the Zuhr prayer, because the time of Zuhr is at the end of the first part and the beginning of the last part of the day. And according to some, at these times, it means to glorify and declare the oneness of Allah in such a way that includes prayer, recitation, remembrance, supplication, intimate conversation, and voluntary prayers—all are included. The meaning is that you should not be disheartened by the denial of these polytheists. Continue to glorify and praise Allah. Whenever Allah wills, He will seize them.

So be patient over what they say, and glorify your Lord with praise [94] before the rising of the sun and before its setting, and glorify Him during some hours of the night and at the ends of the day [95], so that you may be content [96].

[94]
The Benefits of Patience and Prayer:

To face hardships and difficulties with steadfastness, the Quran has emphasized two things at several places: one is patience and the other is prayer. Patience means to continue fulfilling the commands of Allah with complete perseverance, and also to endure the difficulties encountered in this path with cheerfulness. Through prayer, a servant establishes a connection with Allah and learns to rely on Allah, and as this connection grows, reliance on Allah also increases. And it is through this reliance that one gains the courage and strength to endure hardships.

[95]
The Timings of the Five Prayers:

By praise with glorification and mere glorification, what is meant here is prayer, as it is a common practice in Arabic to mention a specific part of something and intend the whole by it, and there are many examples of this. By "before the rising of the sun" is meant the Fajr prayer, and the prayer before sunset is Asr. By "some hours of the night" is meant the Isha prayer, and also the Tahajjud prayer, which was obligatory for youﷺ but for others is a confirmed Sunnah. And its edges can only be three: morning, evening, and the decline of the sun. By morning is meant the Fajr prayer, which has already been mentioned; by evening is meant the Maghrib prayer, and by the decline of the sun is meant the Zuhr prayer. Thus, from this one verse, all five obligatory prayers and their timings are established, and another meaning of this verse could be that you should never be heedless of the remembrance of Allah and glorification and declaration of His oneness at any time.

[96] That is, the results of patience and establishing the prayers will be so magnificent that youﷺ will be pleased with them, and indeed such magnificent results did emerge, which the whole world witnessed, and mention of such results is found in many other verses of the Quran. And its second meaning could also be that after this world, such a lofty status will be granted in the Hereafter that you will be pleased with it, such as your intercession for all people, including the prophets, before Allah on the Day of Judgment, and your being granted the Maqam-e-Mahmood, etc.