(p-1) And when He, glorified and exalted is He, clarified the disbelief of the people of the Book who criticized the abrogation of the qiblah by denying the Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, and concealing the truth, and other than that until it was concluded with their disbelief in the disagreement in the Book and concealing what is in it of supports for Islam, He followed it with the indication that the matter of the branches is more deserving than the matter of the roots. This is because the branches are not intended for themselves. The reception that they made as part of their opposition is that they concealed what they had of the evidence for its truthfulness and excessively criticized the righteous with it. This is not intended for itself, but rather the intended purpose is faith. When it occurs, all acts of obedience follow it, including the prayer in which the reception is a condition, and others. So He, glorified and exalted is He, said: "Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east and the west" [2:177], meaning (p-2) in prayer "toward the east" which is the direction of the rising of the lights, "and the west" which is the direction of their setting, meaning and other than these from the spatial directions. For all of that is for Allah, glorified and exalted is He, as has been stated at the beginning of their objection, the explicit attribution of the whole to Him. "So wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah" [2:115].

And when it became clear to the righteous, as mentioned before, what goes beyond the straight path and they were warned against it to avoid it, He followed it with what is required of them to do. So He began from here with mentioning the rulings until His saying: "The Messenger has believed" [2:285]. And this began with what He began the Surah with, and He detailed for them much of what they were commanded with, which He had previously summarized. So He detailed faith in a way that had not been preceded. He said: "But righteousness is in one who" meaning the faith of one who, and perhaps (p-3) he expressed that to convey that the doer of that is himself righteous, meaning that he has purified himself until he has become the essence of purification. "He has believed in Allah" who the verse of Oneness calls to, so he affirmed for Him the attributes of perfection and exalted Him above any blemish of deficiency, from what is indicated by His actions.

And when one of the most important qualities of faith is the ability to believe in resurrection and to affirm it, because it necessitates adherence to good and distancing oneself from evil, He said: "and the Last Day" which many people have denied. Thus their system became disrupted by the oppression of some of them against others. The first is free from partners, and this one is distanced from the harm of the servants.

And when this is the faith of the complete ones, and most people are asleep in their minds, knowing nothing except by being alerted, and the blindness of insight causes them to diverge from guidance, He, glorified and exalted is He, mentioned the guides whom He made intermediaries between Him and His servants, beginning with the first of them. He said: ﴿and the angels﴾, meaning those whom He appointed between Him and the people, and they are pure unseen. ﴿and the Book﴾, which they descend with in a manner that there is no doubt in it, is more general than the Qur'an and others. ﴿and the prophets﴾, to whom the angels descend, due to their being the essence of creation. They have a royal aspect by which they are able to receive from the angels due to their similarity to them in this, and a human aspect by which the people can receive from them. They have from the noble and beautiful meanings that Allah has guided them to by perfecting their bodies and souls what only He knows. Upon them be prayer, peace, greetings, and honor.

Al-Harali said: So in it, meaning the faith in them and in those before them, is the subjugation of the soul to submit to one who is of its kind, and the faith in the unseen of one who is not of its kind, so that in this there is what restrains the soul from its desires - this is the end.

And likewise, glorified and exalted is He, preferred charity, and in the follow-up of faith in it is an indication that it is the affirming of it. So whoever is miserly with it is claiming faith without evidence, and it is guidance that in giving it there is safety from the trial of wealth. ﴿Indeed, your wealth and your children are a trial﴾ [At-Taghabun: 15], because whoever believes and gives charity has truly submitted to Allah with his soul and his wealth, which is equivalent to his soul, thus he has become a true servant of Allah. In this is an indication to encourage the separation from every beloved thing other than Allah, glorified and exalted is He, for the sake of Allah.

Al-Harali said: So whoever thinks that his need is fulfilled by wealth is not righteous. Rather, the righteousness is that which is certain that his need is fulfilled by his Lord with His hidden goodness - this is the end.

For this reason, He said: ﴿and gives wealth﴾, meaning that which He has permitted after making it a proof of Him, as a generous soul and an affirmation of faith, relying in the future on the One who guarantees sustenance, and He is capable of all things. And He indicated that the condition of faith in Him is to prefer Him, glorified and exalted is He, over all things by His saying: ﴿out of love for Him﴾, meaning giving in a high manner wherein the love of Allah is preferred over the love of wealth. This indicates charity in times of health and stinginess, with the fear of poverty. And He indicated that it is for His sake, not for what they used to do in ignorance of boasting. He said: ﴿to the relatives﴾, meaning that they are the most deserving of kindness because giving to them is charity and connection. ﴿and the orphans﴾, from the relatives and others, because they are the most helpless of people. ﴿and the needy﴾, because they are after them in helplessness, and the poor enter into them by agreement. ﴿and the traveler﴾, due to their helplessness in foreign lands. And if we make that more general in state and outcome, it includes the warrior. ﴿and those who ask﴾, because it is most likely that their asking is about a need, and the debtor enters into this.

Al-Harali said: The gathering of a neck is what slavery has attained from the children of Adam. The intended meaning is the enslaved necks that are sought to be freed by writing and the freeing of captives from it. He prioritized those because of their need to establish the evidence.

And when He, glorified and exalted is He, mentioned the support of creation and prioritized it, urging more attention to it, so that the soul may allow what love for wealth has adorned for it, He followed it with the truth of the truth (p-7) and said: ﴿And established the prayer﴾, which is the best of the bodily acts of worship. It cannot be except after fulfilling the needs of the body, and its establishment can only be with all of its limits and the preservation of it. And when He mentioned what purifies the soul by standing before Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and drawing closer with the supererogatory acts of charity, He mentioned what purifies wealth and causes it to grow, which is the right of creation. He said: ﴿And gave the zakat﴾. In the restriction of it to giving, there is an indication that the giving of wealth in this manner cannot be except from sincerity.

And when He completed faith and what confirms his claim in general, He began with the perfection of that. He connected to the beginning of the speech what indicated by his connection that it is intended for its own sake, for it encompasses his entry into all that has preceded it. He said: ﴿And those who fulfill their covenant﴾ (p-8).

Al-Harali said: From fulfilling, which is taking to fulfillment, we fulfill the promise in the matter of the covenant - it has ended.

And His saying: ﴿When they make a covenant﴾ clarifies that what is required is what they have obligated themselves to for the truth or creation, explicitly stating what was understood from what preceded it. And when He emphasized fulfillment, magnifying it for its inclusion in what has preceded, He did likewise in patience for that very reason. He said: ﴿And the patient﴾, and in it is a hint towards His dealing with what was due to Him if it were connected to 'those who have believed' if it were directed to the original.

Al-Harali said: And in it is an indication that whoever has truly realized patience in preference, and was grateful, has truly achieved patience in trials and striving, supported by Allah, glorified and exalted is He, for whoever is grateful to Him, beginning with His assistance in patience and perseverance, and ending with it. It is as if when He bestowed the goodness of this world upon His love, Allah afflicted him with its trials as an honor for him, so that he may fulfill his share of what is destined for him in this world, and he may be among those who find comfort at his death. And that if he strives, he will be steadfast with what occurs in the soul of the grateful and patient from longing for the meeting with Allah, glorified and exalted is He, distancing himself from the world and realizing the attainment of goodness from Allah - it has ended.

And he specified the most intense form of patience in it, saying: ﴿in adversity﴾ meaning at the time of hardship befalling them in their souls from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, without an intermediary or from Him through the intermediary of the servants. ﴿and in affliction﴾ by the occurrence of harm in their wealth and the remainder of their conditions from the contempt of people towards them and similar matters. He explained it in the dictionary as hardship and deficiency in wealth and souls, so it is then more general to be the more specific mentioned twice. Al-Harali said: Adversity is a noun derived from [bū's], which means a bad state, poverty, and the loss of grace from its rectification. Affliction refers to bodily illness and its calamities. Thus, adversity pertains to the state, and affliction pertains to the body - this is the end.

﴿And at the time of battle﴾ meaning the war that encompasses souls and wealth. Al-Harali said: The battle is the intensity in war. And since these qualities are the noblest of qualities, he indicated their nobility by the nobility of their people, saying, as a continuation, that the name of righteousness is not deserved except by one who possesses these qualities: ﴿Those﴾ meaning specifically those whose aspirations are elevated and whose morals and noble traits are great. ﴿Who are truthful﴾ meaning in what they claim of faith, thus indicating that whoever does not perform their actions is not believed in his claim. ﴿And those are﴾ specifically ﴿the righteous﴾ for the Day of Judgment. And in making this a description for them, there is an indication that they have strived to perform these actions due to their great fear.

Ibn al-Zubayr mentioned in his proof: Then he mentioned zakat, fasting, pilgrimage, and jihad, along with other rulings such as marriage, divorce, waiting periods, menstruation, breastfeeding, penalties, usury, and sales, to what has intervened in these verses from the details of rulings and their generalities. He prioritized among them the fulfillment of the covenant and patience, for that is needed in all actions. And what has intervened in these verses from the time of his saying ﴿Righteousness is not﴾ to his saying: ﴿The Messenger has believed﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 285] is from what is not of the nature of obligation and responsibility, due to a cause that necessitated its mention and a connection that called for it - this is the end.

The conclusion is that when He, glorified and exalted is He, purified them from the shackles of prohibitions with the reprimands of deterrence, He began to purify them by immersing them in the depths of commands to complete their worship by adorning them with His command after freeing them from His wrath with the clear reprimand. Thus, He mentioned in this surah all the pillars of this letter and its enclosure.

Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Harali said in Al-Urwah: The reason for the revelation of this word is to carry creation towards the sincerity of humility to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, following the purification from their filth, so that thereby the severed connection may return and the concealed may be revealed. It is the word of worship received with faith, persevering upon it with the previous fear that hastens towards it, yearning with the sincerity of love. The worshiper is one whom fear drives towards it, and the knower is one whom love leads to it. It is a structure with a column and foundations, and it has a courtyard that surrounds it. As for its column, it is the singularity of humility to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, in monotheism, and its forefront is the verse of what was said, glorified and exalted is He: "And worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him" [An-Nisa: 36]. The word of prohibition purified them from the filth of the worship of another god, and the word of command established for them the singularity so that they do not associate anything with Him in humility, whatever it may be. This is the first thing Allah established from the structure of religion, and He did not impose anything else for about ten years in the revelation of what was revealed in Mecca. And He legislated with its obligation the first pillar, which is prayer, and it began with ablution, as an act following the purification of the heart and soul with the word of prohibition. And it was followed by prayer, as an act following the purity of the heart with monotheism before the Lord, glorified and exalted is He. So, ablution is the aspect of the act of the word of prohibition, and prayer is the aspect of the act of the word of command. And He legislated upon the foundation of the abode of love, so that the strength of faith may appear in the witnessed proximity of the service of the bodies.

So the strongest among them in faith is the one who prays the most and is the longest in prayer and supplication. Whoever loves a king serves him and remains close to him. Kings are not served by laziness and negligence; rather, they are served by effort and humility. Prayer is the knowledge of faith; it increases with its strength and decreases with its weakness. If it were obligatory, there would be no difference in the strength of faith and the truthfulness of it, just as there is no difference after it is made obligatory except in the supererogatory prayers. Due to the Prophet's ﷺ exertion of himself and his body in that, Allah revealed to him: "We did not send down the Qur'an upon you to cause you distress" [Taha: 2] "Except as a reminder for those who fear" [Taha: 3] "A revelation from Him who created the earth and the highest heavens" [Taha: 4] "The Most Merciful, upon the Throne, He established" [Taha: 5] - until His saying: "Allah, there is no deity except Him; to Him belong the best names" [Taha: 8]. This oneness and its manifestation was the primary objective at that time, and this was before the Islam of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, when Umar was among forty of the believers. When Islam entered those who were not motivated by love and comfort in prayer after ten or so, prayer was made obligatory, and in its obligation, the lover and the fearful were equal. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ established the supererogatory prayers based on what was originally prescribed, and that was on the morning of the night of Isra. The first of this verse, and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, knows best about the obligation of this pillar or from the first of its verses, is His saying: "Establish prayer from the decline of the sun until the darkness of the night and the Qur'an of dawn" [Al-Isra: 78]. He specified for them the times of mercy and kept them away from the times of trial, and from it is all the verses regarding the establishment of prayer and its completion. The other pillar is fasting, which is the humbling of the soul before Allah, glorified and exalted is He, by restraining it from everything it desires of its specific matters during the day for the one who is limited and continuously for the one who is in seclusion. It is a connection between the servant and his soul and a unification of his scattered self. The first of this pillar was revealed in Medina after a period of migration, and the first of its verses is: "O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you" [Al-Baqarah: 183]. It was made obligatory, and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, knows best in Medina because when they believed in the enmity of their counterparts and the trials of Medina, the trials returned specifically to the souls by indulging in desires, and that is not befitting for the believers who prefer religion over the world. Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, completed it with His saying: "The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an" [Al-Baqarah: 185] until what is specific from the verses regarding the rulings of fasting.

The other pillar is zakat, which is the breaking of the self of the wealthy by what is taken from him of the rights of its categories. This is to show that those who engage in religion are preferred by Allah, glorified and exalted is He, over those who remain upon wealth. And to distinguish thereby those who have believed from the hypocrites, so that they may be enabled to show off in the pillar and the two pillars. And Allah, glorified and exalted is He, did not witness hypocrisy more openly than His testimony against the one who withholds zakat. And whoever withholds the zakat of wealth from the creation is like one who withholds the zakat of his powers by prayer from the truth. Therefore, there is no prayer for one who has no zakat. And just as zakat was love before it was made obligatory, so too was spending from what exceeds the surplus a well-known resolve among them, which they do not know other than it and do not feel in Islam except for it. So when Islam included mixed groups and souls became stingy, zakat was made obligatory and its categories were specified. This was in Medina when their wealth expanded and the goodness of Allah increased among them, and there was a sign of the hypocrisy of a people there, a disdain for the humiliation of Islam before Allah and the fairness among the creation of Allah. And it became clear in it the address once for the owners of wealth by His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'And give zakat' so that it may be a means of drawing near to them when they give it willingly. And once for the one in charge of the matter by His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'Take from their wealth a charity' [At-Tawbah: 103] when it is sensed from their souls that there is stinginess. And Allah, glorified and exalted is He, has intensified the warning in it in the Quran, compensating for the weakness of its categories. And He has organized all that He revealed in explaining expenditures and charities, whether it is out of love or out of fear.

The other pillar is Hajj, which is the gathering of the creation from the corners of the earth to stand before their Lord at the end of their lives and the nearing of their death, so that it may be for them a security from the gathering after their death. Thus, He completed the structure of the religion with it, and this was in the last years of the Hijrah and from the last revealed in Medina. And the first address is: 'And Hajj to the House is a duty upon the people' [Aali 'Imran: 97] by His alerting them to the call of Ibrahim, blessings and peace be upon him: 'And proclaim to the people the Hajj; they will come to you on foot' [Al-Hajj: 27] to what was revealed regarding Hajj and its rulings, which is the obligatory jihad. And the companionship of all the pillars has remained either with weakness, as in Mecca, or with strength, as in Medina, and from the first declaration of its place.

﴿Permission has been granted to those who are being fought because they have been wronged﴾ [Al-Hajj: 39] to His saying ﴿And fight the polytheists altogether as they fight you altogether﴾ [At-Tawbah: 36] ﴿Fight those who are near to you of the disbelievers﴾ [At-Tawbah: 123] to His saying: ﴿Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites﴾ [At-Tawbah: 73] until the end of fighting the people of the Book in His saying, the Most High: ﴿Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day﴾ [At-Tawbah: 29] the verse to the completion of what has been revealed concerning it in His saying, the Most High: ﴿And fight them until there is no fitnah and the religion is all for Allah﴾ [Al-Anfal: 39] and this is the completion of the command. For everyone in this, the apparent in Islam has a position of its limits in faith and a position in righteousness among its three, which is the perfection of the entire religion. This is from the descent of the Qur'an, which contains clarity and understanding in this command, and it is the fulfillment of the religion and the worship of Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

Then he said regarding what is achieved by reading the command: Know that fulfilling the reading of the command of prohibition completely empties for the reading of the command of obligation. Because the one who is content in the life of this world finds it easy to expand in the work of the Hereafter, and the one who expands in the pleasures of this world cannot expand in the work of the Hereafter due to the conflict and opposition between them. And what is achieved by reading this command, as for the heart, is the oneness and sincerity. The broadest of that is the disavowal from the great polytheism so that he does not take with Allah (p-17) another god. Because the polytheist in divinity cannot have his worship accepted. ﴿The example of those who disbelieve in their Lord is that their deeds are like ashes upon which the wind blows on a stormy day; they are unable to gain anything from what they earned﴾ [Ibrahim: 18] and more specifically, sincerity with disavowal from clear polytheism is that he does not see for Allah, glorified and exalted is He, a partner in any of His apparent names. Because the polytheist in all of His apparent names cannot have acceptance, and the one who swears by it is Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: If one of them had like Uhud in gold and spent it, Allah would not accept from him until he believes in predestination.

And for every action of the commanded, there is a specific name in sincerity, like the sincerity of the spender, that the favor is from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, not from the spending servant. And like the sincerity of the struggler, that victory is from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, not from the struggling servant. "And victory is only from Allah" [Al-Imran: 126]. Likewise, all actions are specified by sincerity in a name of the names that is most deserving of that action. As for the state of the soul, its first and fundamental aspect is the tranquility of the soul with its Lord, without tranquility for anything else. Whenever the soul is assured by what it can do, or by what it has of favor, or by what it relies upon from others, all its acts of worship are returned to what it is assured of, and its name is written on its face, and it was His servant, not the servant of its Lord. "Cursed is the servant of the dinar, and the servant of the dirham, and the servant of the fine garment." This is what has nullified the work of the workers without them realizing it. As for what pertains to each one of the commands regarding the states of the soul, it is what suits it from its states and morals, like its gathering in prayer by not listening to the whispers of Satan and not speaking in its temptation. And like its generosity and liberality in spending and giving zakat. And like its patience in fasting, and fasting is all patience. All of this accompanies it in Hajj with an increase in certainty. And all of this accompanies it in jihad with the instinct of courage. This is from the perspective of the state of the soul. As for the perspective of action and the states of the limbs, the etiquette of the one who speaks the word of testimony is to gather his senses to his heart and to bring to his heart every limb in it, and to speak with his tongue about all of his self, the states of his soul and the limbs of his body, until every member of him and every limb in it and every state of his soul takes its due share from it, as indicated by the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. And know that by this.

'The sins fall away from him just as the leaves fall from the tree.' He has not read the declaration of the Qur'an who does not have this state in it. Likewise, in the testimony of the adhan, with this the declaration demolishes his sins in Islam just as it demolished the crimes of disbelief. 'The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, heard a man (p-19) making the adhan, and when he said: Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, he said: You are upon the fitrah. When he said: There is no deity but Allah, he said: You have exited from the Fire.' As for the etiquette of prayer, it is the humility of the limbs and tranquility in the positions, and the completion of each position with its specific remembrances, and gathering the senses to the heart as is the case in the testimony, so that the perceiver does not achieve a state of heedlessness. As for the etiquette of spending, it is the good handing over. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, would hand the beggar with his own hand and would not delegate him to another. The secret is complete: 'And if you conceal it and give it to the poor, it is better for you' [Al-Baqarah: 271]. And he spends from everything according to what he has been provided, whether daily or monthly or occasionally: 'And from what We have provided them, they spend' [Al-Baqarah: 3]. As for the etiquette of fasting, it is to delay the suhoor and hasten the iftar, and the fasting of all the limbs from injustice, and it is more appropriate to refrain from oppression, and to leave concern for what breaks the fast until after noon, and to take it for the desire of the family. As for the etiquette of Hajj, it is the good provision and reliance on what is in the hands of Allah, not on what is in the hands of the servant. It is the provision of piety, raising with the companion, gentleness with the back, improving morals, and spending on the sacrificial offering, which is the blood and the declaration of the talbiyah, which is the crying out. Following its pillars according to what its rulings necessitate, and establishing its rituals according to the known Sunnah, not according to the customary (p-20) habit. As for the etiquette of jihad, it is the good provision, the preparation of the equipment, being easy with companions, and good standing on the horse, and making its fodder pure through purification and piety, and taking it with his own hand. 'The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, would take the fodder of his horse with his own hand and wipe it with his cloak.' And adhering to what he finds with him of the favor, whether he is a horseman, a foot soldier, a shooter, or a thrower. From the burden of what he does not find, he has wasted the truth and acted with burden. Silence at the encounter and lowering the gaze from looking at the enemies. And he said, blessings and peace be upon him: 'If they overwhelm you, then throw at them and do not draw the swords until they cover you.' And to refrain from what belongs to others in which there is a right, which is betrayal. And not to call for a duel, and to respond if called. And he said, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, says: My servant, every servant of Mine who remembers Allah while he is meeting his foe.' And for every matter and involvement in a command, there is an etiquette that is specific to it according to what is derived from the prophetic traditions and the actions of the caliphs and the righteous leaders (p-21). With these matters of sincerity of the heart, purity of the soul, and the etiquette of the limbs, the reading of the command is correct, and there is no power nor strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great - ended.