Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:239

(If you fear, then [pray] on foot or riding...)

(If you fear) an enemy or otherwise, (then [pray] on foot or riding) — these are two circumstantial qualifiers (hal) for the pronoun in the response to the conditional clause. That is, pray while walking or riding.

The first term is the plural of rajil, which means one who walks on his feet. Rajul—with the ra opened and the jim dammah, or with the ra opened and the jim kasrah—has the same meaning. It is said that rajil refers to one who is on his feet, whether standing or walking.

Al-Shafi'i (may Allah be pleased with him) inferred from the manifest meaning of the verse the obligation of prayer while engaging in combat (musaifa), even if one is not standing still. Our Imam, however, held that walking—and similarly, fighting—invalidates the prayer. If the situation reaches that point, one should delay it and then pray it when safe. Indeed, Al-Shafi'i recorded with a sound chain of narration from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "We were restrained on the Day of the Trench (al-Khandaq) until a portion of the night had passed, until we were spared the fighting." This is the meaning of His saying: "And Allah spared the believers the battle." Then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah be peace and blessings be upon him) called Bilal, who gave the iqamah for Dhuhr, and he prayed it as he used to pray it. Then he gave the iqamah for 'Asr, and he prayed it likewise. Then he gave the iqamah for Maghrib, and he prayed it likewise. Then he gave the iqamah for 'Isha, and he prayed it likewise. In one wording: "He prayed every prayer as he used to pray it at its proper time."

The prayer of fear (salat al-khawf) had been legislated before that, as it was revealed regarding [the battle of] Dhat al-Riqa', which occurred before the Trench, as stated by Ibn Ishaq and others among the historians.

The answer given to this is to deny that the prayer of fear—absolutely, even in intense circumstances—was legislated before the Trench, such that the incident of delay [at the Trench] could be used as evidence to abrogate what is in this verse, as has been claimed. What was legislated at Dhat al-Riqa' was the prayer of less-than-intense fear, concerning which was revealed: "And when you are among them and lead them in prayer..." This is not the prayer of intense fear described in this verse. The dispute is specifically regarding the latter, which was not legislated before the Trench, but after it. At the Trench, the fear was intense, so the delay did not cause harm.

Some Hanafis have answered by saying: We concede all of that, yet this verse is not a definitive text (nass) for the permissibility of praying while walking or fighting. It is possible that the word rajil here means one who is standing on his feet, and it is contrasted with the one who is riding. It is known from outside the text that one must not compromise the integrity of the prayer, and this [walking/fighting] is a total compromise that is not permissible in prayer because it removes it from its essential reality entirely.

If you are fair-minded, you will know that the manifest meaning of the verse is explicitly in favor of the Shafi'is, due to the preceding command to "stand" and because "the religion is ease, not hardship." Situations differ, and what is easily attainable is not dropped because of what is difficult to attain, and what cannot be achieved in full is not abandoned entirely.

It is recited as rujalan with the ra dammah and the lam light, and with the ra dammah and the lam heavy. It is also recited as farijlan.

(And when you are secure) and your fear has vanished—and Mujahid said: When you depart from the abode of travel to the abode of residence, and perhaps this is by way of example—(then remember Allah) that is, perform the prayer of security, as Ibn Zayd said. He referred to it as "remembrance" (dhikr) because it is the most significant of its pillars. It is also said that it means: "Thank Him for the security." Some have made the repetition of the prayer obligatory and interpreted this as "repeat the prayer," which is far from the truth.

(Just as He taught you) i.e., [teaching you] a remembrance like what He (taught you) of the laws and the manner of prayer in the states of security and fear, or [thanking Him] in a manner commensurate with that. And "ma" (what) is a noun meaning "that which" (masdariyyah), though some permit it to be a relative pronoun (mawsolah), which is far-fetched.

(That which you did not know) is the object of "taught you." The addition of "(you) were" (takunu) is for the sake of the rhetorical structure. It appears in another place without it, such as His saying: "He taught man that which he did not know." It is said that the benefit in mentioning the object, even though man cannot know anything except what he did not know, is to explicitly state the state of ignorance from which he transitioned, for it is clearer in expressing gratitude.

In presenting the first conditional clause (fear) with "in" (in), it indicates the dubiousness and rarity of the occurrence of fear. In beginning the second with "idha" (idha), it indicates the certainty of the occurrence of security and its frequency, while being concise in the response to the first and elaborate in the response to the second. Both are based on treating the position of the occurrence of the commanded act in each as equivalent to the position of the command itself—a treatment that requires the application of the demands of the first context to both, in terms of eloquence and profundity, as has been said: "Therein is a lesson for those with vision."