He purifies himself from polytheism and sins. Or he purifies himself for prayer. Or he increases in piety, from zakā, which is growth. Or he acts from zakā, like giving charity. And he prayed, meaning the five prayers, as in His saying, 'and established prayer and gave zakā.' And from Ibn Mas'ud: May Allah have mercy on a man who gives charity and prays. And from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, that he gave the charity of al-Fitr and said: I do not mind if I do not find anything else in my record. [Mahrūm said: 'And from Ali that he said it is the charity of al-Fitr and said I do not mind if I do not find anything else in my record... etc.' Ahmad said: In receiving these last two rulings from the verse, there is a difficulty: As for the first, it is because conjunction implies difference, and it can be said accordingly: If we say that the Takbirat al-Ihram is a part of the prayer, then the part is different from the whole, so it is no wonder that it is conjoined with it, and the difference with the part is established in this case. As for the second, it is because the name is defined by addition, and the definition by addition is known among the experts, to the extent that if someone says: A boy of Zayd came to me, and Zayd has two boys, then it is understood from his saying a specific one of them by a prior knowledge between you and him. This is the way of defining by addition, and what is known in the opening of prayer is what the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, continued to practice in word and action: which is the known Takbir, and even if we assume that it is unrestricted in the verse, the restriction in his saying: 'Its prohibition is the Takbir' limits its unrestricted nature.] And by His saying: 'Certainly, he has succeeded who purifies himself,' meaning he gave the charity of al-Fitr, then he went to the place of prayer, prayed the Eid prayer, and mentioned the name of his Lord and made the opening Takbir. This is used as evidence for the obligation of the opening Takbir, and that it is not part of the prayer because the prayer is conjoined with it, and that the opening is permissible with any of His names, glorified and exalted is He. And from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him: He mentioned his return and his standing before his Lord, so he prayed to Him. And from al-Duhak: He mentioned the name of his Lord on the way to the place of prayer, so he prayed the Eid prayer. 'Rather, you prefer the worldly life,' so you do not do what will lead to your success. And it was read: 'they prefer,' in the third person. The first reading is supported by Ibn Mas'ud's reading: 'Rather, you prefer.' 'Better and everlasting' is better in itself and more pleasant and lasting. And from Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: What is this world compared to the Hereafter except like the blink of a rabbit.