His words, “They guided by Our command,” mean that they guided people by Our religion. They did not command according to their own desires, but according to Allah’s command and religion and in pursuit of His pleasure. A servant cannot be a leader until he calls others to Allah’s command.

“And We inspired them to do good deeds.” They performed such deeds and called people to them. This encompasses every good deed, including the rights of Allah and the rights of His servants.

“And to establish prayer and give zakāt.” This specifies particular matters after mentioning the general, due to the honor and virtue of these two acts of worship. Whoever performs them fully as commanded upholds his religion, while whoever neglects them will be even more neglectful of everything else. Prayer is the finest deed involving Allah’s right, while zakāt is the finest deed involving kindness toward His creation.

“And they were worshippers of Us”—that is, of no one else. They remained constant in acts of worship of the heart, tongue, and body throughout most of their time. They therefore deserved to have worship as their defining quality, for they embodied what Allah commanded His creation to do and that for which He created them.