His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and on their sides, and they reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: Our Lord, You have not created this in vain; glorified are You! So protect us from the punishment of the Fire.﴾ ﴿Our Lord, indeed, whoever You admit to the Fire, You have disgraced him, and for the wrongdoers there are no helpers.﴾

"Those who" is in the genitive case, an attribute of "the people of understanding." This description appears to involve the use of praise, declaration of faith, and glorification, and similar forms of the remembrance of Allah. It means that the heart encompasses the tongue, and this is one of the greatest forms of worship. The hadiths regarding this are numerous. And the son of Adam transitions in these three states; he is rarely free from them, so it is as if they encompass his time. Likewise, 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, indicated the limitation of time in her saying: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, remembered Allah at all times," so this includes his being in a state of privacy and otherwise.

(p-446) A group of the commentators went to the view that His saying: ﴿Those who remember Allah﴾ is merely a reference to prayer, meaning: they do not neglect it. In a state of excuse, they pray sitting or on their sides. Some of them said: it is like His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So when you have completed the prayer, remember Allah﴾ [An-Nisa: 103]... the verse. This is based on the interpretation of those who interpreted there: "you have completed" to mean: "you have performed," because some people say: "you have completed" there to mean: "you have finished it."

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

If this verse is about prayer, then its understanding is that a person prays standing. If he cannot, then sitting. The apparent ruling is that he sits upright. It has been narrated from Malik and some of his companions that he prays as he sits between the two prostrations. If he cannot sit, he prays on his side or on his back, based on choice. This is the school of the recorded tradition.

Ibn Habib narrated from Ibn al-Qasim: he prays on his back, and if he cannot, then on his right side, then on his left side. In the book of Ibn al-Mawaz, he prays on his right side, or else on his left side, or else on his back. Sahnun said: he prays on the right side as he would be placed in his grave, or else on his back, or else on his left side.

And the conjunction of His saying: "and on their sides" with His saying: "standing and sitting" is good because it is in the meaning of lying down. Then he added to this act of worship, which is the remembrance of Allah with the tongue or the obligatory and recommended prayer, another great act of worship, which is reflection on the power of Allah, exalted is He, and His creations, and the lessons He has spread:

In everything, there is a sign that indicates that He is One.

And the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, passed by a people who were reflecting on Allah. He said: "Reflect on the creation and do not reflect on the Creator, for you cannot comprehend His greatness." This is the intent of the verse: "and they reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth." Some scholars said: The one who reflects on the essence of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is like the one looking at the sun, for He, glorified and exalted is He, is not like anything. Rather, reflection and the expansion of the mind should be on the created beings and on the fears of the Hereafter. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "There is no worship like reflection." Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan said: The reflection is the mirror of the believer; he looks into it to see his good deeds and his bad deeds.

Ibn Abbas and Abu Darda said: "A moment of reflection is better than standing in prayer all night." Sari al-Saqati said: "A moment of reflection is better than a year of worship," except that you set up the ropes of your tent and place it in the Hereafter. Abu Sulaiman al-Darani took a cup of water to perform ablution for the night prayer while he had a guest. He saw him when he inserted his finger into the ear of the cup, remaining in thought until dawn. He said to him: What is this, O Abu Sulaiman? He said: When I placed my finger in the ear of the cup, I remembered the saying of Allah, glorified and exalted is He: "When the shackles are around their necks and the chains" [Ghafir: 71]. I reflected on my state and how I would receive the shackles if they were placed around my neck on the Day of Resurrection. I kept thinking about that until I became morning.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is the end of fear, and the best of affairs is moderation. The scholars of the Ummah, who are the proof of this methodology, and the reading of the knowledge of the Book of Allah and the meanings of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, for those who understand and whose benefit is hoped for, is better than this. However, it is good that the lands do not lack such things.

My father, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated to me from some scholars of the East, saying: I was spending the night in the Mosque of the Feet in Egypt. I prayed the 'Isha prayer and saw a man lying under a garment, covered with his garment until morning. We prayed that night and stayed awake. When the Fajr prayer was established, that man stood facing the Qiblah and prayed with the people. I was astonished by his audacity in praying without ablution. When the prayer was finished, I followed him to advise him. When I got close to him, I heard him reciting:

The body is crushed, absent yet present, The heart is alert, silent yet remembering.

Concealed in the unseen, expanded, Thus is the one who is knowledgeable and remembering.

He spends his night as a thinker, So he is standing awake throughout the night.

I realized that he was one of those who worship with reflection, and I turned away from him.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Our Lord" means: they say: Our Lord in response to the call, "You did not create this in vain," meaning for no established purpose. Rather, You created it and You created mankind to be observed in it so that You may be singled out and worshipped. Whoever does that, We will grant him bliss, and whoever strays from that, We will punish him for his disbelief and for saying about You what is not befitting You. For this meaning, which the strength of the wording gives, their saying: "Glory be to You" is good, meaning a declaration of Your perfection from what the deniers say. And their saying: "So protect us from the punishment of the Fire" is good, as we are the ones who glorify You, declare Your perfection, and affirm Your oneness.

And their saying: "Our Lord, indeed, whoever You admit to the Fire, You have disgraced him," is a seeking refuge and a request for protection, meaning: do not do that to us, and do not make us among those who do its deeds. Disgrace is the shameful exposure that destroys a person's honor. A man is disgraced if he is exposed, and he feels shame if he is shy; the action is one, but the source is different.

Anas ibn Malik, Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan, Ibn Jurayj, and others said: This is a reference to those who will remain in the Fire, and whoever exits from it by intercession and faith is not disgraced. And Jabir ibn Abdullah and others said: Whoever enters the Fire is indeed disgraced, even if he exits from it, and there is disgrace before that.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Indeed, it is disgrace less than disgrace, and it is not disgrace for one who exits from it with a shameful exposure that destroys his honor. Rather, complete disgrace is for the disbelievers.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And there are no supporters for the wrongdoers" is from the words of the supplicants, and with that, it aligns with the description of the verse.