He said: “Humble submission is in the heart and consists of fear and lowering the gaze during prayer.” Abū Ubaydah Mamar ibn al-Muthannā wrote in his book Majāz al-Quran, concerning “those who are humbly submissive in their prayer” [al-Mu’minūn: 2]: “That is, their eyes do not look upward, nor do they look around.”

Imam Ahmad narrated in his book al-Nāsikh wa-al-Mansūkh a report from Ibn Sīrīn. Ishāq ibn Rāhawayh also narrated it in his Tafsīr, as did Ibn al-Mundhir in his own Tafsīr. It was transmitted through al-Thawrī: Khālid narrated to me, from Ibn Sīrīn, who said: “The Prophet ﷺ used to raise his gaze toward heaven. He was then commanded to show humble submission, so he directed his gaze toward his place of prostration”—meaning the spot upon which he prostrated.

Sufyān said: “Someone else narrated to me, from Ibn Sīrīn, that this verse was revealed concerning that: ‘Successful indeed are the believers—those who are humbly submissive in their prayer’ [al-Mu’minūn: 1–2].” He said: “It means that a person remains still during prayer.” Mamar said: “Al-Hasan said: ‘Fearful.’ Qatādah said: ‘Humble submission is in the heart.’”

One manifestation of this is the humbling of the gaze: lowering it and keeping it still rather than shifting it in different directions. Allah Most High says:

“So turn away from them. On the Day when the Caller summons them to something terrible, their eyes humbled, they will emerge from the graves as though they were scattered locusts, rushing toward the Caller. The disbelievers will say, ‘This is a difficult Day.’” [al-Qamar: 6–8] [al-Qamar]

And Allah Most High says:

“On the Day when they will emerge swiftly from the graves, as though racing toward a goal, their eyes humbled and abasement overwhelming them. That is the Day they had been promised.” [al-Maārij: 43–44] [al-Maārij]

In another reading [of the first verse], the wording is: “[Humbled] were their eyes.” In these two verses, He described their bodies as moving swiftly, while describing only their eyes as humbled. This is unlike the verse concerning prayer, in which He described