Tafsir of As-Saffat 37:165

[Referring to] ourselves or our feet in prayer. Nasir al-Din said: That is, in the performance of obedience and the stations of service. It has been said: We are the ones who range ourselves around the Throne, awaiting the divine command. It is mentioned in al-Bahr that we are supplicating for the believers. It is also said: We are those who spread our wings in the air, awaiting what we are commanded.

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded, through the path of Ibn Jurayj from al-Walid ibn Abd Allah ibn Mughith, that he said: "They did not used to form ranks in prayer until [the verse] 'And indeed, we are the ones who range ourselves in ranks' was revealed."

Muslim recorded from Hudhayfah that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah Almighty bless him and grant him peace) said: "We have been favored over the people with three things: our rows have been made like the rows of the angels, the earth has been made a place of prayer for us, and its soil has been made a means of purification for us when we cannot find water."

He—as well as Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah—also recorded from Jabir ibn Samurah that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Will you not range yourselves in rows as the angels range themselves in rows before their Lord?" These reports and their likes refer back to the first interpretation.