Tafsir for verse: 5:58
وَإِذَا نَادَيۡتُمۡ إِلَى ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ٱتَّخَذُوهَا هُزُوٗا وَلَعِبٗاۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمۡ قَوۡمٞ لَّا يَعۡقِلُونَ ٥٨ ﴿58
58When you call for Salāh, they take it in jest and fun. That is because they are a people who do not understand
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Commentary

And when it became widespread in the explanation of their mockery of the entire religion; he specified his spirit; and his essence; and his secret; so he said: ﴿And when you call﴾; meaning: some of you called the remaining ones to come to the gathering; which is the assembly; and the remaining ones responded with utmost eagerness; and among them is the House of the Assembly; or it may mean that the caller spoke to the Muslims; by raising his voice; as the words of one who is with them in the gathering; so they responded to him with action; and that was a calling - this is its origin; and he expressed the ultimate goal by which the gathering occurs; and he said - implying its conclusion -: ﴿to prayer﴾; meaning: which is the greatest pillar of the religion; and a means to the Great King; and a refuge by His strong rope; ﴿Take it﴾; for what it has of greatness; and seriousness; and distance from mockery; with the utmost of their aspirations; and their determinations; ﴿mockery and play﴾; so they deliberately engage in laughter; and ridicule; and they say: they shouted like the braying of donkeys - and similar to this -; and He clarified - glorified and exalted is He - that the cause of that is their lack of benefit from their minds; so it is as if they have no minds; and that is because contemplating it - in purifying it for them; and the good state of its doer when they engage in it; from completely abandoning the world; and turning towards the Divine Presence; and adorning themselves (p-197) with the recitation of the greatest words; and humility and submission to the King of kings; whose greatness is not hidden from anyone; nor has there ever been a dispute in His majesty and power - a mere acknowledgment is sufficient in believing in its goodness; and its grandeur; and its awe; and its perfection; so he said: ﴿That﴾; meaning: the great and shameful matter; ﴿is because they are a people﴾; and even if they are strong; they have the ability to stand in matters; ﴿who do not understand﴾; meaning: they do not possess this reality; and if they had any intellect, they would have known that calling with the mouth is better than clapping; and striking the bell with something that cannot be compared; and that humility before Allah in prayer is something that nothing is better than it in any way; and for the call to prayer there are secrets that thoughts cannot comprehend; among them is that He made nineteen words; so that Allah may protect the one who says it from the nineteen guardians of the Fire; and the establishment of prayer was made eleven words; hoping that its believer would be a companion to one of the eleven; the ten who are witnessed to be in Paradise; and their pole; and the pole of all existence; the Prophet ﷺ; and suffice it to say that among its secrets is that it encompasses the entire religion; both its foundations and branches - as I have explained in my book: 'The Announcement of Opening the Secrets of the Testimony and the Call to Prayer'.

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