“The Hour is certainly coming—there is no doubt about it—yet most people do not believe. Your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me, and I will answer you. Those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell humiliated.’” (59–60)
Regarding His saying, exalted is He: “The blind and the seeing are not equal; nor are those who believe and do righteous deeds equal to the evildoer. Little do you take heed”: the people of Kufah recited “you take heed,” with the letter taʾ, whereas the others recited it with the letter yaʾ, because the beginning and end of the verses are statements concerning a people.
“The Hour,” that is, the Day of Resurrection, “is certainly coming—there is no doubt about it—yet most people do not believe.”
“Your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me, and I will answer you’”: that is, worship Me alone, to the exclusion of all else; I shall answer you, reward you, and forgive you. Since He referred to worship as supplication, He called turning penitently to Him a response.
Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Samʿan informed us; Abu Jaʿfar Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Rayani related to us; Humayd ibn Zanjawayh related to us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf related to us; Sufyan related from Mansur, from Abu Dharr, from Yusayʿ al-Kindi, from al-Nuʿman ibn Bashir, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say from the pulpit: “Supplication is worship.” He then recited: “Call upon Me, and I will answer you. Those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell humiliated.” (1)
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ali al-Dawraqi informed us; Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Yusuf al-Shirazi related to us; Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Musa al-Qurashi, in Baghdad, informed us; Muhammad ibn Ubayd ibn al-Ala related to us; Ahmad ibn Budayl related to us; Wakiʿ related to us; Abu al-Malih related, saying: I heard Abu Salih mention, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever does not call upon Allah, Allah becomes angry with him.” (2)