ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ ﲙ ﲚ ﲛ ﲜ ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ
There is no blame upon you if you divorce women you have not touched nor specified for them an obligation. But give them [a gift of] compensation - the wealthy according to his capability and the poor according to his capability - a provision according to what is acceptable, a duty upon the doers of good.
Tafsir
Verse range: 2:236-237
It means the middle one among the prayers, or the most excellent one, derived from the saying "the middle" (al-awsat) to denote the best. It is singled out and conjoined to "the prayer" because of its unique excellence; it is the Asr (afternoon) prayer.
It is narrated from the Prophet (ﷺ) that he said on the day of the Confederates (al-Ahzab): "They distracted us from the middle prayer, the Asr prayer; may Allah fill their houses and graves with fire."
He (ﷺ) also said: "It is the prayer that Sulayman ibn Dawud was distracted from until the sun disappeared behind the veil."
Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her) said to the one who was writing the Mushaf for her: "When you reach this verse, do not write it until I dictate it to you as I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recite it." She then dictated to him: "And the middle prayer, the Asr prayer."
It is narrated from Aisha and Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that they read: "And the middle prayer and the Asr prayer," with the conjunction wa (and). According to this reading, the specification applies to two prayers: one is the "middle prayer"—which, according to varying narrations, could be the Dhuhr, Fajr, or Maghrib—and the second is the Asr. It is said that its excellence lies in the fact that people are occupied with their trades and livelihoods during its time.
Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said: It is the Dhuhr prayer, because it is in the middle of the day. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray it during the midday heat, and there was no prayer more difficult for his companions than it.
Mujahid said: It is the Fajr prayer, because it is between the two prayers of the day and the two prayers of the night.
Qabisah ibn Dhu’ayb said: It is the Maghrib prayer, because it is the "odd number" (witr) of the day, and it is not shortened from three [units] during travel.
Abdullah read: "And upon the middle prayer." Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) read: "And the middle prayer," in the accusative case (nasb) to denote praise and specialization. Nafi’ read it as al-wostā with a sad.
Ikrimah said: They used to speak during prayer, so they were forbidden from it. Mujahid said: It is stillness and restraining the hands and the gaze. It is narrated that when one of them stood for prayer, he would be in such awe of the Most Merciful that he would not cast his gaze, turn around, flip pebbles, or speak to himself about any worldly matters.
According to Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him), they do not pray while walking or fighting unless standing is impossible. According to al-Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him), they pray in any state, and the rider gestures [for the bowing and prostration] and is exempt from facing the Qibla.
