Commandments and Guidelines to Messenger Muhammad
Firm following of the teachings of Islam, seeking Allah’s help, constant performance of the prayers, and avoiding falsehood and its followers are signs, denoting the Muslims’ adherence to Islam. These fundamental factors make Muslims have strong belief. Thus, they must always pray to Allah to help and guide them to follow the teachings of Islam and make their belief firm.
(Perform the prayer from the sun’s decline until nightfall, and perform the dawn prayer. Indeed, recitation of the Quran at dawn is well- attended.
During the night, perform a voluntary prayer, reciting the Quran. Your Lord will raise you to a praised position.
Say, ‘O my Lord! Make me enter on all my affairs a truthful entrance, make me end them a truthful end, and grant me, from You, a supporting authority.’
Say, ‘The truth has come, and the falsehood has vanished. Indeed, falsehood is ever bound to vanish.’)[Quran Surah al-Isra: 78-81]
Relationship with the Previous Part
The previous part discussed establishing the creed of belief in the Oneness of Allah, the occurrence of the Day of Judgment, and the truthfulness of the Messengers of Allah.
Then Allah commanded Messenger Muhammad to perform righteous deeds, the greatest of which is performing the prayer. He commanded His Messenger to constantly worship Him alone, and not worry himself about the cunning and plots of the disbelievers. Allah would protect him from their evil plots and make him victorious.
Tafsir
(Perform the prayer from the sun’s decline until nightfall, and perform the dawn prayer. Indeed, recitation of the Quran at dawn is well- attended.) [78]
O Messenger! Perform the obligatory prayers at their appointed times from the time of the sun’s decline until nightfall.
These prayers include the noon prayer, mid-day prayer, evening prayer, and night prayer.
The ayah addressed Messenger Muhammad and his nation is included the addressing.
(And perform the dawn prayer. Indeed, recitation of the Quran at dawn is well- attended.)
O Messenger! Perform the dawn prayer. Verily, the angels of night and day witness the dawn prayer. At dawn time, the angels of day descend, and the angels of night ascend to the heaven.
Recitation of the Quran during the dawn prayer is specifically mentioned, and it is said that the angels of day and night witness it in order to motivate Muslims to perform it in congregation and to refer to the virtue of long recitation of the Quran therein.
Abu Hurarya, may Allah be pleased with him, said, I heard the Messenger of Allah saying, ‘The reward of a congregational prayer is twenty-five times greater than a prayer that a person affords alone. The angels of the night and day gather at the time of dawn prayer.’ Abu Hurarya said, ‘Recite if you wish: (Indeed, recitation of the Quran at dawn is well- attended.)’
Then Allah instructs the believers to practice another act of worship that purifies and elevates the soul, and helps it to overcome pains and worries.
(During the night, perform a voluntary prayer, reciting the Quran. Your Lord will raise you to a praised position.) [79]
O Messenger! Wake up at night, and perform the voluntary night prayer, reciting the Quran. This night prayer will elevate your status. Verily, Allah, your Lord, will resurrect you on the Day of Judgment. He will make you intercede for people asking Allah to have His mercy on them, as they will be suffering great horrors. The people will praise the status that you will have then.
Abu Hurarya, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that Messenger Muhammad said about, (Your Lord will raise you to a praised status.), ‘It is the praised status, in which I will intercede for my nation.’
Then Allah commanded Messenger Muhammad to constantly ask Allah’s help and invoke Him to guide him to what pleases Him.
(Say, ‘O my Lord! Make me enter on all my affairs a truthful entrance, make me end them a truthful end, and grant me, from You, a supporting authority.’) [80]
Al-Baghawy said, ‘The scholars of Tafsir differ about the interpretation of (Say, ‘O my Lord! Make me enter on all my affairs a truthful entrance, make me end them a truthful end, and grant me, from You, a supporting authority.’) Ibn Abbas, al-Hassan, and Qatãda said that it means ‘O Allah! Make me enter al-Madinah a truthful entrance, and make me leave Mecca a truthful departure.’ It was revealed when Messenger Muhammad was commanded to migrate to al-Madinah.’ Ad-Dahãk said, ‘O Allah! Make me leave Mecca a truthful departure, protect me from the danger of the disbelievers, and make me enter Mecca a truthful entrance, and grant me victory over the disbelievers.’ Mujãhid said, ‘O Allah! Make me enter on the message You sent me with a truthful entrance, and make me leave this world after fulfilling my obligations so that I leave it a truthful departure.’ Al-Hassan said, ‘O Allah! Make me enter a truthful entrance to Paradise, and make me leave Mecca a truthful departure.’ It was also said, ‘O Allah! Make me enter on Your obedience, and make me leave Your disobedience.’’
Ibn Attya said, ‘The best apparent meaning of the ayah is that it is invocation, in which Messenger Muhammad was instructed to ask Allah to facilitate all his affairs, travels, and whatever things he might encounter in this world and after dying. Thus, the meaning of the ayah is general.’
(…and grant me, from You, a supporting authority.)
O Allah! Grant me a supporting authority that will make me victorious over my enemies, and grant me strength that will help me to establish Islam, and eradicate worshipping other gods besides You.
Qatãda said, ‘Indeed, Messenger Muhammad knew that he could not manage the affairs of Islamic message unless he had authority. Thus, he asked Allah to grant him a supporting authority that upholds the Quran, penalties legislated by the Islamic law, and obligations Allah has ordained. Verily, authority is mercy that Allah grants His slaves; otherwise, they would attack one another and accordingly the strong would destroy the weak.’
Then Allah told Messenger Muhammad the good news that victory definitely would come.
(Say, ‘The truth has come, and the falsehood has vanished. Indeed, falsehood is ever bound to vanish.’) [81]
Truth in the ayah refers to the Islamic creed, rules, and teachings that Allah sent Messenger Muhammad to convey.
Falsehood in the ayah refers to disbelief, worshipping other gods besides Allah, and sins that Allah has prohibited.
O Messenger! Say, thanking Allah, and acknowledging His blessings, ‘The truth, i.e. Islam, has come, and will prevail over all false beliefs, and falsehood has vanished. Indeed, falsehood is ever bound to vanish as it is baseless.’
When commenting on this ayah, the commentators of the Quran mention the following hadith: Abudul-Allah bin Mas’ûd, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that when Messenger Muhammad entered Mecca, there were three hundred and sixty idols around the Ka’ba. Then he began to thrust them with a stick that was in his hand, saying, ‘The truth has come, and the falsehood has vanished. Indeed, falsehood is ever bound to vanish.).’
Learned Lessons
• (Perform the prayer from the sun’s decline…), the ayah is evidence, indicating that the five daily prayers are obligatory. It also generally refers to their appointed times, which the Sunnah of Messenger has given a detailed description thereof.
• (Indeed, recitation of the Quran at dawn is well- attended.), recitation of the Quran during the prayers is required. Moreover, the angels of the night and day witness the dawn prayer.
• It is recommended to pray a voluntary prayer at night.
• Messenger Muhammad will attain the praised status on the Day of Judgment, i.e. interceding for his nation.
• Messenger Muhammad had the best status in this world and will have best status in the Hereafter. It includes every entering on and ending of an affair, e.g. entering al-Madinah, and leaving Mecca.
• Messenger Muhammad had the strongest evidence and authority. Allah made him defeat his enemies and granted him victory.
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