His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿So if you fear [an enemy], then [pray] standing or riding. But when you have secured [your safety], remember Allah as He has taught you that which you did not know.﴾

Allah, the Exalted, has commanded to stand for Him in prayer, in a state of tranquility, which is calmness, stillness, and the quietness of the limbs. This is in the predominant state of safety and reassurance. Then He mentioned the state of fear that may occur at times, and He permitted His servants in prayer to be standing on their feet, or

Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan, Qatadah, and others said: He prays one rak'ah by gesture. Mujahid narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: Allah obligated prayer upon your Prophet's tongue in the presence four rak'ahs, in travel two rak'ahs, and in fear one rak'ah. Al-Dahhak ibn Muzahim said: The one in fear of death prays one rak'ah in battle and otherwise. If he cannot, let him say two takbirs. Ishaq ibn Rahawayh said: If he can only say one takbir, it suffices for him, as mentioned by Ibn al-Mundhir.

The interpreters differed regarding His saying: "So when you are safe, remember Allah". One group said: The meaning is: When your fear that brought you to this prayer has passed, remember Allah with gratitude for this blessing in teaching you this prayer, which suffices, and you have not missed any of the prayers. This is what they did not know. Another group said: The meaning is: If you were safe before or after, as if He said: Whenever you are in safety, remember Allah, meaning perform the prayer that you have learned, that is: pray as He taught you a complete prayer. This was narrated by al-Naqqash and others.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And His saying on this interpretation: "What you were not" is a substitute for "what" in His saying, "as", otherwise the wording of the verse would not be consistent. And on the first interpretation, "what" is the object of "He taught you".

Mujahid said: The meaning of His saying: "So when you are safe" is when you return from the land of travel to the land of residence. Al-Tabari refuted this saying, and that involves much ambiguity regarding the meaning. The 'kaf' in His saying "as" is for comparison between a person's remembrance of Allah and Allah's blessing upon him, so that they are equal. The remembrance is similar to the blessing in worth and sufficiency for it. And whoever interprets "remember" as meaning pray as we have mentioned, then the 'kaf' is for comparison between the servant's prayer and the manner that Allah taught him.