Blessed is it, with many benefits and advantages, and a warning, which is connected to what the description of the Book indicates. It is as if it were said: Or We have sent it down for blessings, and to affirm what preceded it of the Books and the warnings. And it has been recited with 'yā' and 'tā'. Mecca is called the Mother of Cities because it is the place of the first house established for people, and because it is the qiblah of all the people of the cities and their pilgrimage, and because it is the greatest of the cities in status for some of the neighbors:

'Whoever lays down his tent in some of the small towns... then the Mother of Cities is where I lay my tent and my place of return.' [[This is al-Zamakhshari boasting about Mecca and its inhabitants. The term 'al-qurayyat' - with emphasis - is a diminutive form. A person lays down his tent as a place of residence, even if it is made of hair, meaning: whoever lays down his tent in some of the small towns. There is no pride for him over Mecca, for it is the place where I lay my tent and my place of return, meaning my place of entry into it repeatedly, and laying down the tent is a metaphor for residing, as it is customarily required. 'Malqā' is in the form of a passive participle, a name for the place of laying down, just as 'matāb' is a name for the place of returning.]]

And those who believe in the Hereafter affirm the outcome and fear it; they believe in this Book. This is because the essence of religion is the fear of the outcome. Whoever fears it will continue to be in fear until he believes. And prayer is specified because it is the pillar of religion. Whoever preserves it will find it easier to preserve its sisters.