Sūrat As-Sajdah (The Prostration): Verse 16

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تتجافى جنوبهم عن . . . . . يعني بالليل قليلا ما يهجعون وقوله : { يدعون ربهم } أي يصلون ، فإن الدعاء والصلاة من باب واحد في المعنى أو يطلبونه وهذا لا ينافي الأول لأن الطلب قد يكون بالصلاة ، والحمل على الأول أولى / لأنه قال بعده : { ومما رزقناهم ينفقون } وفي أكثر المواضع التي ذكر فيها الزكاة ذكر الصلاة قبلها كقوله تعالى : { ويقيمون الصلواة ومما رزقناهم ينفقون } ( البقرة : 3 ) وقوله : { خوفا وطمعا } يحتمل أن يكون مفعولا له ويحتمل أن يكون حالا ، أي خائفين طامعين كقولك جاؤني زورا أي زائرين ، وكأن في الآية الأولى إشارة إلى المرتبة العالية وهي العبادة لوجه الله تعالى مع الذهول عن الخوف والطمع بدليل قوله تعالى : { إذا ذكروا بها خروا } ( السجدة : 15 ) فإنه يدل على أن عند مجرد الذكر يوجد منهم السجود وإن لم يكن خوف وطمع . وفي الآية الثانية إشارة إلى المرتبتين الأخيرتين وهي العبادة خوفا كمن يخدم الملك الجبار مخافة سطوته أو يخدم الملك الجواد طمعا في بره ، ثم بين ما يكون لهم جزاء فعلهم .

Translation:

Their sides forsake their beds... meaning, they pray little during the night.

And His saying: {They call upon their Lord} means they perform Ṣalāh (prayer), as Duʿāʾ (supplication) and Ṣalāh are conceptually linked, or it means they seek Him. This latter interpretation does not contradict the first, because seeking Him can be done through prayer. However, interpreting it as Ṣalāh is preferable because it is followed by: {and of what We have provided for them, they spend}. In most instances where Zakāh (charity) is mentioned, Ṣalāh is mentioned before it, such as in His saying: {And they establish prayer and of what We have provided for them, they spend} (Al-Baqarah: 3).

And His saying: {out of fear and hope} (khawfan wa ṭamaʿan) can be interpreted as the mafʿūl li-ajlih (object of cause), or as a ḥāl (circumstantial adverb), meaning "fearful and hopeful," similar to saying jāʾūnī zūran (they came to me as visitors).

It is as if the first part of the description points to the highest station: worshiping solely for the sake of Allah, being heedless of fear and hope. This is evidenced by His saying: {When reminded thereof, they fall down in prostration} (As-Sajdah: 15), which indicates that upon mere remembrance, prostration occurs from them, even without fear or hope.

The second part of the description points to the two lower stations: worship motivated by fear (like one who serves a tyrannical king out of fear of his might) or by hope (like one who serves a generous king out of hope for his bounty). Then, He clarified the reward for their actions.

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فلا تعلم نفس مآ أخفى لهم من قرة أعين جزآء بما كانوا يعملون . > 7 !

Translation:

{And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for the eyes as a reward for what they used to do.} (Verse 17)