Tafsir of As-Sajdah 32:16

تتجافى جنوبهم عن المضاجع

Their sides forsake their beds, meaning, they pray the voluntary night prayer and forego sleep and resting on a comfortable bed. Mujahid and Al-Hasan said that the Ayah

تتجافى جنوبهم عن المضاجع

(Their sides forsake their beds),refers to voluntary night prayer. Ad-Dahhak said, "It refers to Salat Al-`Isha' in congregation and Salat Al-Fajr in congregation."

يدعون ربهم خوفا وطمعا

to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, means, in fear of His punishment and in hope of His reward.

ومما رزقناهم ينفقون

and they spend out of what We have bestowed on them. means, they do both obligatory and supererogatory acts of worship. Their leader in this world and the Hereafter is the Messenger of Allah. Imam Ahmad recorded that Mu`adh bin Jabal said, "I was with the Messenger of Allah on a journey one morning, walking near him. I said, `O Prophet of Allah, tell me of a deed that will grant me admittance to Paradise and keep me away from Hell.' He said:

لقد سٲلت عن عظيم وإنه ليسير على من يسره الله عليه تعبد الله وﻻ تشرك به شييا وتقيم الصﻼة وتوتي الزكاة وتصوم رمضان وتحج البيت

You have asked about something great, and it is easy for the one for whom Allah makes it easy. - Worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him, - establish regular prayer, - pay Zakah, - fast Ramadan and - perform pilgrimage to the House. Then he said:

أﻻ أدلك على أبواب الخير

الصوم جنة والصدقة تطفء الخطيية وصﻼة الرجل في جوف الليل

Shall I not tell you of the gates of goodness? Fasting is a shield, charity wipes out sin, and the prayer of a man in the depths of the night. Then he recited:

تتجافى جنوبهم عن المضاجع

(Their sides forsake their beds), until he reached

جزاء بما كانوا يعملون

(as a reward for what they used to do). Then he said:

أﻻ أخبرك برأس اﻻمر وعموده وذروة سنامه

Shall I not tell you of the greatest of all things and its pillars and pinnacle? I said, `Of course, O Messenger of Allah.' He said:

رأس اﻻأمر اﻻأسﻼأم وعموده الصﻼأة وذروة سنامه الجهاد في سبيل الله

The greatest of all things is Islam, its pillars are the prayers and its pinnacle is Jihad for the sake of Allah. Then he said:

أﻻ أخبرك بمﻼك ذلك كله

Shall I not tell you the factor on which all of that depends? I said, `Of course, O Messenger of Allah.' He took hold of his tongue and said,

كف عليك هذا

Restrain this. I said, `O Messenger of Allah, will we be accountable for what we say?' He said,

ثكلتك أمك يا معاذ وهل يكب الناس في النار على وجوههم أو قال على مناخرهم إﻻ حصايد ألسنتهم

May your mother be bereft of you, O Mu`adh! Will the people be thrown into Hell -- (or he said) on their faces -- except because of what their tongues say. It was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah in their Sunans. At-Tirmidhi said, "It is Hasan Sahih.''