اَقِمِ Establish الصَّلٰوةَ the prayer لِدُلُوْكِ at the decline الشَّمْسِ (of) the sun اِلٰی till غَسَقِ (the) darkness الَّیْلِ (of) the night وَ قُرْاٰنَ and Quran الْفَجْرِ ؕ at dawn اِنَّ indeed قُرْاٰنَ the Quran الْفَجْرِ (at) the dawn كَانَ is مَشْهُوْدًا ever witnessed وَ مِنَ And from الَّیْلِ the night فَتَهَجَّدْ arise from sleep for prayer بِهٖ with it نَافِلَةً (as) additional لَّكَ ۖۗ for you عَسٰۤی it may be اَنْ that یَّبْعَثَكَ will raise you رَبُّكَ your Lord مَقَامًا (to) a station مَّحْمُوْدًا praiseworthy
(17:78) Establish Prayer91 from the declining of the sun92 to the darkness of the night;93 and hold fast to the recitation of the Qur'an at dawn,94 for the recitation of the Qur'an at dawn is witnessed.95
(17:79) And rise from sleep during the night96 as well- this is an additional Prayer for you.97 Possibly your Lord will raise you to an honoured position.98
91. Reference to these difficulties and hardships is followed by the command to establish Prayer. In a subtle way, this draws our attention to the fact that the patience and steadfastness required of a believer in times of such adversity can only be obtained by establishing Prayer.
92. We have taken duluk al-shams to mean ‘decline of the sun’, and have - done so even though we are aware that som. Companions and Successors have interpreted it to mean sunset as well. The majority opinion, however, is that the expression signifies decline of the sun after reaching the meridian. ‘Umar, _ .*Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar, Anas ibn Malik, Abi Barzah al-Aslami, Hasan al-Basri, Sha‘bi, ‘Ata’, Mujahid, and according to one of the reports, Ibn - ‘Abbas, are of the same view. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq are also reported to be in favor of this interpretation. In fact, even some traditions from the Prophet (peace be on him) — albeit traditions which "are not especially sound in terms of their chain of narration — also explain duluk to mean the same. (Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, comments on Bani Isra’ il 17, verse 78 — Ed.)
93. Ghasaq al-layl is considered by some to mean the ‘thickening of the night’, or ‘the spread of total darkness’, and by others simply to mean midnight. According to the first sense, it suggests the earliest time for the ‘Isha’ Prayer and according to the second, the time limit for performing this.
94. ‘Fajr’ literally means ‘dawn’ — the time when the light of the morning makes its first appearance after piercing the veil of night’s darkness. Qur’an al-fajr here signifies the Fajr Prayer. On certain occasions the Qur’4n uses the expression salah for Prayer; but on other occasions any one of several acts of salah has been mentioned, for example, tasbih (glorifying God), hamd (praise), dhikr (remembrance), qiyam (standing), ruku’ (bowing) and sujud (prostration), any one of these acts standing for salah as a whole. This verse refers to the recitation of the Qur’an in the Fajr Prayer rather than to merely reciting it during the hours of the morning. The Qur’an, thus, indirectly suggests the different acts which comprise Prayer. Guided by these allusions, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) laid down the component parts of Prayer, and which the Muslims continue to follow to this day.
95. The statement that ‘Qur’ an al-fajr — the Morning Prayer — is witnessed’ means that it is witnessed by angels, a fact that has also been clearly stated in the traditions. (Al-Bukhari, K. Tafsir al-Qur’an; Surah Bani Isra’il; al-Tirmidhi, al-Sunan, K. al-Tafsir, ‘Bab wa min Surah Bani Isra’il’ — Ed.) Although angels witness all Prayers, as they indeed witness all good deeds, the recitation of the Qur’4n in Morning Prayer has an importance all of its own.
The reason being that in this Prayer the Prophet (peace be on him) used to prolong his recitation of the Qur’anic verses. The Companions followed the same practice and Muslim jurists subsequently declared lengthy recitation in Fajr Prayer to be a ‘recommended’ or ‘preferable’ (mustahabb) act.
Incidentally, this verse also hints at the times for the five obligatory Prayers which were prescribed on the occasion of the Prophet’s Ascension. According to this verse, the first Prayer — Fajr — should be offered before sunrise and the remaining four Prayers should be offered between the time beginning with the ‘decline of the sun’ through to the ‘thickening of the night’. This directive was further elaborated by Gabriel who provided the Prophet (peace be on him) with information concerning the time of each Prayer. We find a tradition from Ibn ‘Abbas in both Abu Da’ud and al-Tirmidhi which sheds light on the question.
On the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, the Prophet (peace be on him) said: Gabriel was twice leader of the Prayer which I offered near the Ka‘bah. On the first occasion he offered the Zuhr Prayer when the sun had just passed the meridian no more than the thong of a shoe. Then he led the ‘Asr Prayer when the shadow of everything was equal-to its size. Then he led the Maghrib Prayer at the time when the sun had just set and a man breaks his fast. Then he led the ‘Isha’ Prayer as soon as the red glow of twilight (shafaq) disappeared. Then he offered the Fajr Prayer when the morning light had just appeared, at the time when eating becomes forbidden for him who fasts. On the second occasion he led the Zuhr Prayer when the shadow of everything was equal to its size and ‘Asr Prayer when the shadow of everything became double its size, and Maghrib Prayer at its previous time; and offered the ‘Isha’ Prayer when a third of the night had passed; ‘and he offered the Fajr Prayer when there was a fair amount of light to make the earth visible. Gabriel turned to me aid said: ‘Muhammad, these are the times of the Prayers as observed by the Prophets before you; the right time of each Prayer is between the two time-limits.” (Al-Tirmidhi, al-Sunan, Abwab al-Salah, ‘Bab ma ja’ min Mawaqit al-Salah’ — Ed.)
There are allusions to the times of Prayer in the Qur’an itself. For example, in Surah Hud it is said: ‘And establish the Prayer at the two ends of the day and in the first hours of the night’ (Had 11:1 14). A similar point is made in Surah Ta Ha: ‘And Glorify Allah, praising Him before sunrise and before sunset, and ‘glorify Him in the watches of the night and at the end of the day’ (Ta Ha 20: 130). We also learn from Surah al-Rum: ‘So give glory to Allah when you reach eventide and when you rise in the morning: to Him be praise in the _ heavens and the earth; and in the late afternoon and when the day begins to decline’ (al-Rum 30: 17-18).
One of the major considerations underlying the regulations concerning the times of Prayer is to ensure that any and all resemblance to rituals of sun-worship is excluded.
It should be borne in mind that the sun was always one of the greatest deities and that its worshippers were especially wont to offer their thanks and prayers at sunrise and sunset. Hence, to offer Prayer precisely at the time when the sun was rising or setting was prohibited. Likewise, worship of the sun was especially performed when the sun reached the meridian. It was, therefore, enjoined upon Muslims to offer the Morning Prayer before the sun had risen, _and that the Prayers of the daytime be offered after the sun was past the meridian. This consideration is clearly stated by the Prophet (peace be on him) - in several traditions. ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah relates that when he asked the Prophet (peace be on ‘him) about the time when Prayers should be offered, he ‘replied: Offer the Morning Prayer [until the time of sunrise], then refrain from offering Prayer until the sun goes well up, for at the time when it is rising, it rises between the two homs of the Devil. This is the moment when the ‘unbelievers prostrate themselves before it. (Muslim, K. Salat al- Musafirin wa Qasriha, ‘Bab Islam ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah' — Ed.)
After mentioning the ‘Asr Prayer, the Prophet (peace be on him) said: Offer the ‘Asr Prayer and then refrain from praying until the sun sets, for when the sun sets it sets between the two horns of the Devil; this is the time when the unbelievers prostrate themselves before it. (Loc. cit.)
The statement that the sun rises and sets between the horns of the Devil made in this tradition is a metaphor. The underlying reason behind the metaphor is that the Devil has made the time of sunrise and sunset a means by which he can mislead many people. In other words, when people prostrate themselves at the sight of the rising or setting sun, it seems as if Satan has brought the sun on his head and that he -is carrying it away on his head. The equivocation in the statement is removed by the Prophet’s own statement, viz. that the unbelievers prostrate themselves before it at that moment. This clearly explains the reason to the interdiction of Prayer at sunrise, sunset and mid-day.
96. The word tahajjud means to rouse oneself from sleep. To perform tahajjud at night signifies the act of rising from sleep during the night and then praying.
97. The word nafl signifies supererogation, something over and above that which is obligatory. The use of this word suggests that whereas the five Prayers mentioned earlier are obligatory, the sixth referred to here is in addition.
98. Here, it is proclaimed that God will bestow upon the Prophet (peace be on him) an exalted position in both the present world and the Now It will be 4 position of eminence, and one which will evoke universal appreciation and praise. It will be in sharp contrast to the situation that was obtaining at that time when the Prophet’s opponents heaped every kind of derogation, abuse and slander upon him. For the time was not far off when the whole world would reverberate with tributes paid to the Prophet (peace be on him), and these by all and sundry. This will be the exalted position of the Prophet (peace be on him) in the present world. As for the Next World, there too the Prophet (peace be on him) will be the object of everyone’s praise. There he will enjoy a position of unique privilege in that God will accept his intercession. This forms an integral part of the ‘exalted station’ mentioned in this verse.