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Draft:Verse 238 of Sura al-Baqara

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Verse 238 of Sura al-Baqara
Verse's Information
Suraal-Baqara (2)
Verse238
Juz'2
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation		Lack of commitment of Muslims to participate in the Zuhr congregational prayer
Place of
Revelation		Medina
TopicJurisprudential
AboutObservance of the prayer
Related VersesQur'an 23:9


Qur'an 2:238 underscores the necessity of observing prayer, placing particular emphasis on the "Middle Prayer" (*al-ṣalāt al-wusṭā*).[1] Exegetes have offered diverse interpretations regarding the precise identity of *al-ṣalāt al-wusṭā*.[2] In Majma' al-bayan, al-Tabrisi cites six distinct viewpoints along with their supporting arguments, concluding that each of the Daily Prayers could potentially be the Middle Prayer.[3] He posits that the identity of the Middle Prayer remains concealed within the daily prayers—much like Laylat al-Qadr is hidden within the nights of Ramadan—to encourage the diligent observance of all prayers.[4]

Sayyid 'Abd al-Husayn Tayyib (d. 1991) characterized these varying interpretations as instances of ijtihad contrary to explicit text (naṣṣ). Citing narrations, he definitively identified the Middle Prayer as the Zuhr Prayer.[5] Tafsir-i nimuna attributes the specific emphasis on the Zuhr prayer to the tendency among some Muslims to neglect it, often due to midday heat or the demands of daily work.[6]

Several other Quranic verses also mandate the safeguarding of prayer, including Qur'an 23:9, Qur'an 70:34, and Qur'an 6:92. A narration attributed to Imam al-Sadiq (a) interprets the "protection of prayer" as performing it at the onset of its designated time.[7] Additionally, the term "qunūt" in the phrase "and stand before Allah in devout obedience" (*wa qūmū li-llāhi qānitīn*) is interpreted as referring to the supplication of Qunut.[8]

Regarding the occasion of revelation, reports indicate that a group of hypocrites avoided the Zuhr congregational prayer, citing the intense heat as an excuse. This behavior influenced some believers, causing attendance at the congregation to dwindle,[9] sometimes leaving only one or two rows of worshippers behind Prophet Muhammad (s). Distressed by this situation, the Prophet (s) received this revelation,[10] which served to reinforce the critical importance of establishing the Zuhr prayer.[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 206.
  2. ↑ Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, 1415 AH, vol. 1, p. 548.
  3. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 2, pp. 599-600.
  4. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 2, p. 600.
  5. ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, 1378 Sh, vol. 2, p. 486.
  6. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 207.
  7. ↑ ʿAyyāshī, al-Tafsīr, 1380 AH, vol. 1, p. 127.
  8. ↑ Rāwandī, Fiqh al-Qurʾān, 1405 AH, vol. 1, p. 115.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 205.
  10. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 2, p. 598; Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, 1404 AH, vol. 1, p. 301.
  11. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 205.

References

  • Ālūsī, Maḥmūd b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Rūḥ al-maʿānī fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm wa al-sabʿ al-mathānī. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1415 AH.
  • ʿAyyāshī, Muḥammad b. Masʿūd al-. al-Tafsīr. Edited by Hāshim Rasūlī Maḥallātī. Tehran: al-Maṭbaʿat al-ʿIlmiyya, 1380 AH.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. al-Kāfī. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī and Muḥammad Ākhūndī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 4th ed., 1407 AH.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1st ed., 1374 Sh.
  • Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad al-. al-Mufradāt fī gharīb al-Qurʾān. Edited by Ṣafwān ʿAdnān Dāwūdī. Damascus & Beirut: Dār al-Qalam, 1st ed., 1412 AH.
  • Rāwandī, Quṭb al-Dīn al-. Fiqh al-Qurʾān. Edited by Sayyid Aḥmad Ḥusaynī. Qom: Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi Library, 2nd ed., 1405 AH.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom: Jāmiʿat al-Mudarrisīn, 2nd ed., 1413 AH.
  • Suyūṭī, Jalāl al-Dīn al-. al-Durr al-manthūr fī l-tafsīr al-maʾthūr. Qom: Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi Library, 1404 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Jāmiʿat al-Mudarrisīn, 5th ed., 1417 AH.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Nasir Khosrow, 3rd ed., 1382 Sh.
  • Ṭayyib, Sayyid ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn. Aṭyab al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Islam Publications, 2nd ed., 1378 Sh.
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