you are able to make sure that you are not overcome with regard to a prayer before the rising of the sun and a prayer before its setting, then do so.’

He then recited the Almighty’s words:
‘And glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the sun and before its setting; and glorify Him during the watches of the night, and at the ends of the day, so that you may be well-pleased.’ ⦗20:130⦘

This is the import of David’s statement, ‘Sing to Allah a new song of praise,’ for the ‘new praises’ that Allah has freshly prescribed are the five daily prayers which He newly instituted for the Muslims. When Gabriel established these prayers for the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—he said, ‘This is your time and the time of the Prophets before you.’

Thus the Prophets used to glorify Allah at these very times, as indicated by the earlier tasbih, and they also observed the ‘new’ tasbih, as the rest of the passage shows. It is impossible to apply this to the Christians, for they do not proclaim Allah’s greatness with elevated voices, nor are their hands gripping double-edged swords by which Allah exacts retribution from the nations. On the contrary, their own histories indicate that they were subdued alongside other peoples and did not wage jihad against them with the sword; rather