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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