Surah Taa-Haa (20) — Ayah 14

(Ayah 14) ➊ { اِنَّنِيْۤ اَنَا اللّٰهُ :} Allah Almighty first informed Musa (peace be upon him) about the relationship that existed between Allah and Musa (peace be upon him), that indeed I am your Lord who is addressing you, meaning I am the one who created you, nurtured you, and fulfills all your needs. Then, after the command to remove the shoes, He emphasized listening attentively to the revelation, because the purpose of being chosen was to assign the responsibilities of prophethood through revelation. Now, after the first-person pronoun — {’’ اَنَا ‘‘} — He mentioned His personal name, because the first thing in a meeting is to know each other's name. Allah Almighty indicated that I already know the name of My interlocutor, My name is Allah. Remember that all other names of Allah Almighty are attributive, which include His ninety-nine names and also countless names with which He has not yet informed anyone. The word "Allah" in the Arabic language is the name of that Pure Being. When "Allah" is said, it includes all His names and all His attributes. The emphasis with {’’ إِنَّ‘‘} is to remove any possibility of doubt from Musa (peace be upon him), because hearing something extraordinary is not easily believed.

➋ The first predicate of { لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّاۤ اَنَا:’’ اِنَّنِيْۤ ‘‘ } is {’’ اَنَا اللّٰهُ ‘‘}, {’’ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّاۤ اَنَا ‘‘} is the second predicate. This is the very first thing that every jinn and human must know, believe in, and act upon. For the teaching of this very thing, all the prophets were sent. See Surah Al-Anbiya (25) {’’ فَاعْبُدْنِيْ ‘‘} This is the purpose for which jinn and humans were created, as He said: «{ وَ مَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَ الْاِنْسَ اِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوْنِ }» [ الذاریات : ۵۶ ] "And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me." That is, when no one except Me is worthy of worship, then worship Me. Worship includes every act that indicates the utmost love along with the highest degree of humility and reverence; it includes speech, action, and sincerity of the heart.

➌ Although every kind of physical and financial worship was mentioned in { وَ اَقِمِ الصَّلٰوةَ لِذِكْرِيْ : ’’ فَاعْبُدْنِيْ ‘‘}, since prayer is the most comprehensive and most important of all acts of worship, and after accepting Islam, it is the very first condition and sign of faith by which a Muslim is recognized and his blood and wealth become protected (see At-Tawbah: 5, 11), therefore, it was mentioned separately and specifically. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: "In the first revelation to Musa (peace be upon him), the command of prayer was given, and to our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also {’’وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ ‘‘} was said." (Mawdhih)

There are two interpretations of {’’ لِذِكْرِيْ ‘‘} and both are correct. The first is that the purpose of prayer is that the servant should not be heedless of the remembrance of Allah; when he finishes one prayer, he should remain engaged in waiting for the next, as is mentioned in the blessed hadith: [ وَ رَجُلٌ قَلْبُهُ مُعَلَّقٌ بِالْمَسْجِدِ ] [ بخاری : ۶۸۰۶] In this way, all his time will be counted as being in prayer, which is the best way of remembering Allah. See the commentary of Surah Bani Isra'il, verse (78). The result of remembering at all times will be abstaining from disobedience to Allah, as He said: «{ اِنَّ الصَّلٰوةَ تَنْهٰى عَنِ الْفَحْشَآءِ وَ الْمُنْكَرِ }» [ العنکبوت : ۴۵ ] "Indeed, prayer restrains from indecency and wrongdoing." The second interpretation is that if one forgets, then upon remembering, he should perform the prayer. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَنْ نَسِيَ صَلَاةً فَلْيُصَلِّ إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا لاَ كَفَّارَةَ لَهَا إِلاَّ ذٰلِكَ «{ وَ اَقِمِ الصَّلٰوةَ لِذِكْرِيْ }» ] [ بخاری، مواقیت الصلاۃ، باب من نسي صلاۃ فلیصل إذا ذکر… : ۵۹۷، عن أنس رضی اللہ عنہ ] "Whoever forgets a prayer, let him pray it when he remembers, there is no expiation for it except that." And then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: «{ وَ اَقِمِ الصَّلٰوةَ لِذِكْرِيْ }» "And establish prayer at the time of remembering Me." In one narration, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَنْ نَسِيَ صَلَاةً أَوْ نَامَ عَنْهَا فَكَفَّارَتُهَا اَنْ يُصَلِّيَهَا إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا ] [ مسلم، المساجد، باب قضاء الصلاۃ الفائتۃ… : 684/315، عن أنس رضی اللہ عنہ ] "Whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps through it, its expiation is that he should pray it when he remembers." Allah Almighty said: «{ وَ اذْكُرْ رَّبَّكَ اِذَا نَسِيْتَ }» [ الکہف : ۲۴ ] "And remember your Lord when you forget."

14. 1. That is, among all obligations, the very first and most important command is the one that is obligatory upon every human being. Moreover, since only He is worthy of divinity, worship is also His exclusive right.

14. 2. After worship, the specific command of prayer is given. Although prayer is included in worship, this is to clarify its special importance, as it truly has. One meaning of لِذِکْرِیْ is that you remember Me; therefore, the way to remember is worship, and among acts of worship, prayer holds special importance and virtue. The second meaning is that whenever you remember Me, perform prayer—that is, if at any time you are overcome by heedlessness or sleep, then as soon as you come out of that state and remember Me, perform prayer. Just as the Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it, its expiation is that he should perform it whenever he remembers" (Sahih Bukhari).

The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).