His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth. Indeed, in that is a sign for the believers.﴾ ﴿Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing. And the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows what you do.﴾

He pointed out in mentioning the creation of the heavens and the earth to a matter that makes the mind focus on the smallness of the worth of idols (p-648) and every object of worship besides Allah, glorified and exalted is He. His saying, glorified is He: "in truth" means: with the necessary light, not for play and amusement, but to indicate His authority, establish His laws, provide evidence for its people, and encompass benefits among other things that cannot be counted.

Then Allah, blessed and exalted is He, commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to submit to His command, to recite the Quran that has been revealed to him, and to establish prayer, meaning: to maintain it and fulfill its limits. Then He informed - as a ruling from Him - that indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is to me that the one who prays, if he is upon the obligation of humility, submission, and remembrance of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and imagining standing before Him, and that his heart and sincerity are aware of him and are watched over, his soul is thus rectified and humbled, and he is filled with the anticipation of Allah, blessed and exalted is He. Therefore, he is consistent in his words and actions and refrains from immorality and wrongdoing. He hardly ceases from that until another prayer overshadows him, by which he returns to a better state. This is the meaning of this report; for the prayer of the believer should be like this. It has been narrated from some of the predecessors that when he would stand for prayer, he would tremble and his color would change. He spoke about this and said: I stand before Allah, blessed and exalted is He, and it is rightful for me to do this with the kings of the world, so how about with the King of kings?

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

So this prayer prohibits - and it is necessary - from indecency and wrongdoing. Whoever's prayer revolves around mere acts without humility, remembrance, or virtues, that person will leave their status wherever they were. If they are on a path of disobedience that distances them from Allah, the Exalted, they will persist in their distance. This is supported by the narration from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas'ud, Al-Hasan, and Al-A'mash, which states: Whoever's prayer does not prohibit them from indecency and wrongdoing will only increase their distance from Allah. It has been narrated that Al-Hasan sent this from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, but this is not supported by a reliable chain. I heard Ubayy, may Allah be pleased with him, say: If we consider it and reflect on its meaning, it is not permissible to say that the very prayer of the sinner distances them from Allah, the Exalted, to the extent that it is like a sin. Rather, it can be understood that it does not affect their closeness to Allah, the Exalted, but leaves them in their state and sins of indecency and wrongdoing and distance. Thus, the prayer does not increase them except in confirming that distance which was their path. It is as if it distanced them when it did not stop their distance from Allah, the Exalted. It was said to Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him: So-and-so prays a lot. He said: It does not benefit except for the one who obeys it. Al-Rabi' ibn Anas recited: "Indeed, prayer commands what is right and prohibits indecency and wrongdoing." Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said: The prayer here is the Qur'an. Hamad ibn Abi Sulayman, Ibn Jurayj, and Al-Kalbi said: The prayer prohibits as long as you are in it.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is a foreign matter. Where is this from what Anas ibn Malik narrated? He said: "There was a young man from the Ansar who prayed with the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and did not refrain from any of the immoral acts and theft except that he committed it. This was mentioned to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, who said: 'Indeed, his prayer will prohibit him.' He did not take long before he repented and his condition improved. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Did I not tell you?'"

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And the remembrance of Allah is greater﴾. Ibn Abbas, Abu Darda, Salman, Ibn Mas'ud, and Abu Qura, may Allah be pleased with all the companions, said: Its meaning is: And the remembrance of Allah is greater than your remembrance of Him. It was said: Its meaning is: And the remembrance of Allah is greater with the persistence in prayer in prohibiting indecency and wrongdoing. Ibn Zayd and Qatadah said: And the remembrance of Allah is greater than everything. It was asked of Salman: Which deeds are best? He said: Do you not read the Qur'an: ﴿And the remembrance of Allah is greater﴾? As if it encourages it in these last two interpretations.

And I have that the meaning is: And the remembrance of Allah is greater absolutely. That is: He is the One who forbids immorality and wrongdoing. The part of it in prayer does that, and likewise it does in other than prayer. This is because stopping can only be from a rememberer who is watchful of it. The reward of that remembrance is that Allah, the Exalted, remembers him, as in the hadith: "Whoever remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself, and whoever remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than it." The movements in prayer have no effect in forbidding, and the beneficial remembrance is with knowledge, the heart's attentiveness, and its focus solely on Allah, the Exalted. As for what does not go beyond the tongue, it is in another rank. And the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted, for the servant is the pouring forth of guidance and the light of knowledge upon him. And that is the fruit of the servant's remembrance of his Lord. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said: "So remember Me, I will remember you" [Al-Baqarah: 152], and the rest of the verse is a type of warning and encouragement towards vigilance.