'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "So be steadfast as you have been commanded, and those who repent with you, and do not transgress. Indeed, He is All-Seer of what you do." "And do not lean towards those who have wronged, lest the Fire should touch you, and you have no protectors other than Allah. Then you will not be helped." "And establish prayer at both ends of the day and at the approach of night. Indeed, good deeds erase bad deeds. That is a reminder for those who remember." "And be patient, for indeed Allah does not waste the reward of the doers of good." The command to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to be steadfast is indeed a command for continuity and stability. This is like telling a person to walk and eat while he is already engaged in it. The address in this verse is to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and his companions who repented from disbelief, and to the rest of his nation in meaning. It has been narrated that some scholars saw the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in a dream and said to him: O Messenger of Allah, it has reached us from you that you said: "Hud and its sisters have made me gray." What is it that made you gray from Hud? He said to him: His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "So be steadfast as you have been commanded." Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The well-known interpretation of his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Hud and its sisters have made me gray" is that it refers to what has befallen previous nations. Thus, his caution for this nation is similar to that which made him gray, blessings and peace be upon him. And His saying: "You have been commanded" is an address of glorification. And His saying: "and whoever" is connected to the pronoun in His saying: "So be steadfast." And this is good without needing to be emphasized due to the length of the speech with His saying: "as you have been commanded." And "And do not transgress" means: do not exceed the limits of Allah, exalted and glorified is He. Transgression is exceeding the limit, as in His saying: "The water exceeded" [Al-Haaqqa: 11], and His saying regarding Pharaoh: "Indeed, he transgressed." And it is said in this context: do not let the blessings lead you to transgress, and this is like the first. The majority read: "what you do" with a ت (taa), while Al-Hasan and Al-A'mash read: "what they do" with a ي (yaa) from below. The majority read: "And do not lean" with a fatha on the ك (kaf), while Talhah ibn Musarif, Qatadah, Al-Ashhab Al-Uqayli, and Abu Amr, in what was narrated from Harun, read it with a damma, and this is a dialect. It is said: رَكَنَ يَرْكَنُ and رَكَنَ يَرْكُنُ, and its meaning is to be at rest with something and to be pleased with it. Abu Al-Aliya said: Rukoon means acceptance, and Ibn Zayd said: Rukoon means submission. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Rukoon can refer to a little of this meaning or a lot of it. The prohibition here is derived from the meaning of rukoon towards them with polytheism along with them, to the least degree of abandoning change towards them with the ability to do so. And "those who have wronged" here refers to the disbelievers, and this is the text for the interpreters, and by meaning, it includes the people of sins. The majority read: "then the Fire should touch you," while Yahya ibn Wathab, Al-A'mash, Ibn Musarif, and Hamzah, in what was narrated from him, read: "then it should touch you" with a kasra on the ت (taa). This is a dialect in breaking the three signs without the ي (yaa) that is for the absent. It has come in the ي (yaa) as "yijalu" and "yibaa," and this has been explained by the fact that the ي (yaa) that preceded the first returned it to the kasra.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Establish prayer" is the verse. There is no disagreement among anyone that the prayer in this verse refers to the obligatory prayers. There is a difference regarding "the two ends of the day and the near approaches of the night" - it has been said: the first end is the morning, and the second is the noon and the afternoon, and the near approaches are the sunset and the night prayer. This was said by Mujahid and Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi. It has been narrated that "the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said regarding the sunset and the night prayer: 'They are the near approaches of the night.'" It has also been said: the first end is the morning, and the second is the afternoon, as stated by al-Hasan, Qatadah, and al-Dahhak. The near approaches are the sunset and the night prayer, and the noon is not included in this verse according to this saying, but it is in another context. It has been said: the two ends are the morning and the sunset, as stated by Ibn Abbas and al-Hasan as well, and the near approaches is the night prayer, and the noon and afternoon are not in the verse. It has also been said: the two ends are the noon and the afternoon, and the near approaches are the sunset and the night prayer and the morning.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It seems that this speaker considered the loud recitation. The first opinion is the best of these sayings to me, and al-Tabari preferred that the two ends are the morning and the sunset, and that it is the apparent meaning, except that the generality of the five prayers in the verse is more appropriate.

The majority read: "near approaches" with a فتح on the ل, and Talhah ibn Musarif, Ibn Muhaisn, 'Isa, Ibn Ishaq, and Abu Ja'far read: "near approaches" with a ضم on the ل as if it were a singular noun. Mujahid read "near approaches" with a سكون on the ل, and he also read: "near approaches" on the pattern of "فُعْلى," which is the reading of Ibn Muhaisn. The near approaches are the hours that are close to each other, and from this is the saying of al-Ajaj:

"A survivor concealed by the eye from what has turned away, The nights folded in near approaches, so near approaches. The heights of the crescent until it has reached its peak."

And His saying, exalted is He: "Indeed, good deeds remove bad deeds" - the majority of the interpreters from the Companions and the Followers have stated that "good deeds" refers to the five prayers. To this verse, Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, referred when he was performing ablution at the seating places, and this is the interpretation of Malik. Mujahid said: The good deeds are the words of a man: "Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illallah, Allahu Akbar."

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And all of this is merely an example regarding good deeds, and because the five prayers are the greatest of deeds. What appears is that the wording of the verse is general regarding good deeds and specific regarding sins by His saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "What is avoided are the major sins." It has been narrated that this verse was revealed concerning a man from the Ansar, it was said he is Abu al-Yusr ibn Amr, and it was said his name is Abbad. He was alone with a woman and kissed her and enjoyed her in what is less than intercourse. Then he came to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and complained to him. Umar said: Allah has concealed your sin, so conceal it for yourself. The man was anxious, so he came to Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and complained to him, and he said to him similar to what Umar said. The man was anxious, so he came to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and prayed with him, then informed him and said: Judge in my case as you wish. The Messenger said: Perhaps she is the wife of a warrior in the cause of Allah. He said: Yes. So the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, reprimanded him and said: I do not know. Then this verse was revealed, and the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, called him and recited it to him. Muadh ibn Jabal said: O Messenger of Allah, is it specific? He said: No, it is for the people in general.

It has been narrated that the verse was revealed before that and the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, applied it to that man. It has been narrated that Umar ibn al-Khattab said what was reported from Muadh.

It has been narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The Friday to the Friday, and the five prayers, and Ramadan to Ramadan are expiations for what is between them if the major sins are avoided." The people of Sunnah disagreed in interpreting this condition in His saying: (if the major sins are avoided) - the majority of them said: It is a condition in the meaning of the entire promise, meaning: if the major sins are avoided, the mentioned acts of worship are expiations for the sins. If they are not avoided, the acts of worship do not expiate anything from the minor sins. A group said: The meaning of His saying: "if they are avoided" is that they do not expiate the acts of worship. He stipulated this so that the generality of His saying: "what is between them" is valid. If they are not avoided, the acts of worship do not expiate them and they expiate the minor sins.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And with this I say: It is what is necessitated by the hadith of the removal of sins with the falling of water, and others. All of this is conditioned upon repentance from those minor sins and not persisting upon them. This is the text of the skilled jurists. And according to the first interpretation, this comes specifically for those who avoid the major sins only.

And His saying: "That" refers to the prayers, and He described them as "remembrance," meaning: they are a cause of remembrance and a place of remembrance. It is possible that "that" refers to the news that the good deeds remove the bad deeds, so this remembrance encourages good deeds. It is also possible that the reference is to all that has preceded of commands and prohibitions in this surah, and this is the interpretation of al-Tabari.

Then He commanded him, exalted is He, to be patient.

These verses came in a single pattern: Allah, the Most High, informed him that He will fulfill all the creatures' deeds, both the wrongdoer and the doer of good. Then He commanded him to be steadfast and the believers with him. Then He commanded him to establish the prayers and promised regarding that. Then He commanded him to be patient in conveying the message and in facing hardships for the sake of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. Then He promised with His saying: 'Indeed, Allah does not waste the reward of the doers of good.'