Tafsir of Al-`Ankabut 29:45

"Recite what has been revealed to you..."

Prayer serves as a grace (luṭf) in abandoning sins, as if it were a deterrent against them.

If you ask: How many people pray, yet their prayer does not deter them?

I say: The prayer that is truly "prayer" in the sight of God—the one deserving of reward—is that which one enters having offered sincere repentance and possessing taqwa (God-consciousness), for the Almighty says: "God only accepts from the righteous" (Al-Ma'idah: 27). One must perform it with humility of heart and limb. It is narrated of Ḥātim: "It is as if my feet are on the Bridge (Ṣirāṭ), Paradise is to my right, Hell is to my left, and the Angel of Death is above me, and I pray between fear and hope." Then, one must guard the prayer after performing it so as not to nullify it. This is the prayer that deters from indecency and evil.

• Ibn ʿAbbās (may God be pleased with them both) said: "Whoever is not commanded by his prayer to do good and deterred from evil, his prayer only increases him in distance from God."
• Al-Ḥasan (may God have mercy on him) said: "Whoever is not deterred by his prayer from indecency and evil, his prayer is not a prayer, and it is a burden upon him."

It is also said: Whoever is mindful of prayer will eventually be led by it to abandon sins one day. It is narrated that:

• It was said to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) that a certain man prays by day and steals by night. He replied: "His prayer will surely deter him."
• A youth from the Anṣār used to pray with the Prophet (peace be upon him) but would not leave any indecency uncommitted. When this was described to the Prophet, he said: "His prayer will soon deter him," and it was not long before he repented.

In any case, one who is mindful of prayer is inevitably further from indecency and evil than one who is not. Furthermore, how many worshippers are indeed deterred by their prayer? The wording does not necessitate that not a single worshipper should fall outside this outcome. Just as when you say, "Zayd forbids evil," your intent is not that he forbids all evils, but rather that this quality exists in him and proceeds from him, without implying universality.

"And the remembrance of God is greater" It means: Prayer is greater than other acts of obedience. He named it "remembrance of God," as He said: "Hasten to the remembrance of God" (Al-Jumuʿah: 9). He said "And the remembrance of God" to stand alone as the reason, as if to say: "Prayer is greater because it is the remembrance of God."

Alternatively: "The remembrance of God at the time of indecency and evil—recalling His prohibition of them and His threat regarding them—is greater, and thus more effective in deterring than the grace (luṭf) inherent in the prayer itself."

• Ibn ʿAbbās (may God be pleased with them both) said: "And the remembrance of God of you with His mercy is greater than your remembrance of Him through your obedience."

"And God knows what you do" Of good and obedience, so He will reward you with the best of rewards.

"And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, 'We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.'"