Al-Suddi, in a report he ascribes to a group of Companions, claimed that the “rock” meant here (1) is the great boulder beneath the seven earths. The same view is related from ʿAṭiyyah al-ʿAwfī (2), Abū Mālik, al-Thawrī, al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, and others, yet the authenticity of this statement is doubtful to begin with.

Beyond that, even granting its authenticity, there remains another problem: in the verse the word “rock” appears in the indefinite form, not the definite. Had the text intended the specific rock they speak of, it would have said, “in the rock (al-ṣakhrah).” What is meant, rather, is “in a rock”—that is, any rock whatsoever.

Imām Aḥmad related: Ḥasan ibn Mūsā told us, Ibn Lahīʿah told us, Darrāj told us from Abū al-Haytham, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said (4):
“If one of you were to perform a deed inside a solid rock that had neither door nor window, that deed would still emerge for people to see, whatever it may be.” (5)

He then said: “My dear son, establish the prayer,” meaning: perform it with all its obligations—its proper limits and appointed times, its bowings and prostrations, its composure and humility, and everything prescribed therein—while avoiding whatever is forbidden in it.

Next He said: “And enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong,” that is, to the fullest of your ability: if you can do so with your hand, then with your hand; if not, then with your tongue; and if you cannot, then with your heart.

Then He commanded patience, saying: “And be patient over whatever befalls you.” The one who commands right and forbids wrong is liable to face hostility and harm, yet the ultimate outcome is his; therefore He ordered him to endure, and it is well-known that relief follows patience.

His statement, “Surely that is of the matters requiring firm resolve,” [i.e., your enjoining right, forbidding wrong, and bearing harm are among the determinations] (6) that are indispensable and unavoidable.

His words, “And do not turn your cheek in scorn toward people,” Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujāhid, ʿIkrimah, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, al-Ḍaḥḥāk, Yazīd ibn al-Aṣamm, Abū al-Jawzāʾ, and many others (7) explained as: do not act arrogantly toward people, turning your cheek away from them when you speak to them or they speak to you, in a manner that shows pride and disdain. The linguists (8) say: the root of the verb ṣaʿara refers to a disease that strikes camels, causing their necks to twist so that their heads