Surah 2. Al-Baqara, Ayah 238
| حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَىٰ وَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ قَانِتِينَ |
| Asad | : | BE EVER mindful of prayers, and of praying in the most excellent way;227 and stand before God in devout obedience. |
| Malik | : | Guard your Salah (obligatory regular prayers) especially the middle Salah and stand up with true devotion to Allah. |
| Pickthall | : | Be guardians of your prayers, and of the midmost prayer, and stand up with devotion to Allah. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers especially the middle prayer and stand before Allah in a devout (frame of mind). 271 |
| Transliteration | : | Hafithoo AAala alssalawati waalssalati alwusta waqoomoo lillahi qaniteena |
Note - 227Lit., "the midmost [or "the most excellent"] prayer". It
is generally assumed that this refers to the
mid-afternoon ('asr) prayer, although some authorities
believe that it denotes the prayer at dawn (fajr).
Muhammad 'Abduh, however, advances the view that it may
mean "the noblest kind of prayer - that is, a prayer from
the fullness of the heart, with the whole mind turned
towards God, inspired by awe of Him, and reflecting upon
His word" (Manar II, 438). - In accordance with the
system prevailing throughout the Qur'an, any lengthy
section dealing with social laws is almost invariably
followed by a call to God-consciousness: and since
God-consciousness comes most fully to its own in prayer,
this and the next verse are interpolated here between
injunctions relating to marital life and divorce.
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Note - 271The Middle Prayer: Salutul-wusta: may be translated "the
best or the most excellent prayer." Authorities differ
as to the exact meaning of this phrase. The weight of
authorities seems to be in favour of interpreting this as
the 'Asr prayer in the middle of the afternoon. This is
apt to be most neglected, and yet this is the most
necessary, to remind us of God in the midst of our
worldly affairs. There is special Sura, entitled 'Asr,
of which the mystic meaning is appropriately dealt with
under that Sura.
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Lit., "the midmost [or "the most excellent"] prayer". It is generally assumed that this refers to the mid-afternoon ('asr) prayer, although some authorities believe that it denotes the prayer at dawn (fajr). Muhammad 'Abduh, however, advances the view that it may mean "the noblest kind of prayer - that is, a prayer from the fullness of the heart, with the whole mind turned towards God, inspired by awe of Him, and reflecting upon His word" (Manar II, 438). - In accordance with the system prevailing throughout the Qur'an, any lengthy section dealing with social laws is almost invariably followed by a call to God-consciousness: and since God-consciousness comes most fully to its own in prayer, this and the next verse are interpolated here between injunctions relating to marital life and divorce. |
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The Middle Prayer: Salutul-wusta: may be translated "the best or the most excellent prayer." Authorities differ as to the exact meaning of this phrase. The weight of authorities seems to be in favour of interpreting this as the 'Asr prayer in the middle of the afternoon. This is apt to be most neglected, and yet this is the most necessary, to remind us of God in the midst of our worldly affairs. There is special Sura, entitled 'Asr, of which the mystic meaning is appropriately dealt with under that Sura. |
