Tafsir of Al-A'la 87:15

“And mentioned the name of his Lord.”

That is, mentioning the name of his Lord with his tongue and his heart, not with his tongue while his heart is heedless, for there is no reward in such an act, and it is not fitting that one should enter into that upon which salvation depends through it. Remembrance of the heart—by summoning the presence of His name, the Exalted, within the heart—even if it is praiseworthy without doubt, to intend that specifically by what has been mentioned is contrary to the apparent meaning. This has been cited in Majma‘ al-Bayan from some. What is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, that it means he remembered his return and his standing before his Lord—Mighty and Majestic is He—is apparent in the context, as is the interpolation of the word "name."

Some of the Hanafis went so far as to say that what is intended by this "remembrance" is the Opening Takbir (Takbirat al-Iftitah); as if it were said: "And he performed the Takbir for the opening, then prayed," meaning the five daily prayers, as Ibn al-Mundhir and others narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, and it is narrated in a marfu‘ (elevated) hadith. It has also been said that it means the obligatory prayer and whatever voluntary prayers are possible. They used this as an argument for the obligation of the Takbir, as salvation is contingent upon it, and it occurs between two obligations—or rather, two pillars—the purification from polytheism and the prayer. Furthermore, precaution is obligatory in acts of worship, so probability causes no harm. They also argued that the opening is valid with any of His names—Exalted is He—which is apparent, and that the Takbir is a condition, not a pillar, because of the conjunction with the fa (implying sequence), and the conjunction of the whole to the part is like the conjunction of the general to the specific. Even if this were permissible, it would not be established by it. Moreover, if its correctness were granted through difficulty, it would require a subtle point to claim its occurrence in the Inimitable Speech (the Quran), and since none has appeared, the claim and the building of pillar-status upon it are not valid. In fairness, together with what you have heard, the argument is not strong.

It has also been said that it refers specifically to the Basmala (saying Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim) before the prayer, but this is baseless. It is narrated from ‘Ali—may Allah honor his countenance—regarding “tazakka” (purified himself) that it means he paid the Zakat al-Fitr, and regarding “wa dhakara isma rabbihi” that he performed the Takbir on the day of ‘Eid, then performed the ‘Eid prayer. A group of the predecessors narrated something the apparent meaning of which suggests this, but it was countered by the fact that prayer is mentioned before Zakat in the Quran, and that the Surah is Meccan, at which time there was neither ‘Eid nor Fitr. It was refuted by the fact that this applies when [the two] are mentioned by their names; however, when they are mentioned by their acts, the precedence [in the text] is not consistent, and from this, [it is not implied] that he neither gave charity nor prayed. Furthermore, it is possible that the violation of the usual order here is to provide guidance that this Zakat, which is mentioned first in words, should be performed first in deeds before the prayer; this is why they used to pay it before performing the ‘Eid prayer, as has come down in the traditions. The fact that the Surah is Meccan is not unanimously agreed upon, and according to the view of its Meccan origin, which is the most correct, this would be among the matters whose ruling was delayed after its revelation.

I say: It may be said that “tazakka” means he purified himself from polytheism by believing in his heart; “wa dhakara isma rabbihi” means he said "There is no god but Allah"; and “fa-salla” means he performed the obligatory prayer. Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas what supports this. Thus, “tazakka” refers to belief with the heart, “dhakara isma rabbihi” to the utterance with the tongue, and “salla” to the actions with the limbs, because prayer is the pillar of the religion, the best of bodily acts, and a deterrent against indecency and wrongdoing. Therefore, it is no wonder that it is mentioned, for it is intended to encompass the totality of physical works and acts of worship.

It may be said that it was limited to the mention of prayer because the obligatory acts and physical duties were not yet complete on the day the Surah was revealed, and prayer was the most important of what had been revealed—if anything else had been revealed at all. It is narrated from ‘Ata’ from Ibn ‘Abbas, and Yazid al-Nahwi from ‘Ikrimah and al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan, that the first of the Quran revealed in Mecca was “Read in the name of your Lord,” then “Nun,” then “al-Muzzammil,” then “al-Muddaththir,” then “Tabbat,” then “If the sun is wrapped up,” then “Glorify the name of your Lord,” then indeed, from the pillars is "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." The required remembrance of Allah, the Exalted, was the sum of these two sentences. Thus, there is no impossibility in intending the remembrance of Him—the Exalted—in the verse. If one considers the bringing of His name—the Mighty and Majestic—in the second sentence in the manner in which it was brought as a remembrance of Him, the Exalted, then the intent becomes closer. This view is not devoid of beauty.

The word “qad” (in qad aflaha—he has certainly succeeded) is used because, upon reporting the wretched state of those who turn away from remembrance in the Hereafter, the listener expects news of the good state of those who do remember. It is not unlikely that the sentence is a new beginning, a response to a question arising from the description of the state of those who turn away, while being silent about the state of those who remember, who are the ones that fear. It is as if it were said, "What is the state of those who remember?" and the reply was, "He has succeeded..." and so on. The apparent meaning would be "He has succeeded who remembered," but the phrase “man tazakka...” (who purified himself...) was placed in the position of "who remembered" to point toward the description of the one who remembers by his attributes. And His, the Exalted’s, saying...