﴿238- 239﴾ Then Allah Most High says: “Guard the prayers, and especially the middle prayer, and stand before Allah in devout obedience. If you are in fear, then pray on foot or mounted. Once you are safe, remember Allah as He taught you what you did not know.” Allah Most High commands that all the prayers be carefully observed in general, and the middle prayer—the Asr prayer—in particular.

Observing the prayers means performing them at their prescribed times, fulfilling their conditions and pillars, maintaining humility in them, and attending to everything connected with them, whether obligatory or recommended.

Careful observance of the prayers helps safeguard all other acts of worship and restrains one from shameful and evil deeds, especially when they are performed fully as commanded in His words: “Stand before Allah in devout obedience”—that is, humbled, sincere, and submissive. Devout obedience means steadfast obedience joined with humble submission.

﴿239﴾ In His words, “If you are in fear,” the cause of fear is left unspecified so that it encompasses fear of an enemy or a wild beast, as well as fear of missing something whose loss would cause one harm. In such circumstances, pray “on foot”—that is, walking.

“Or mounted” on horses, camels, or any other means of transport. In this situation, facing the qiblah is not required. This is how one excused because of fear performs the prayer; once security is restored, he performs the prayer in full.

His words, “Once you are safe, remember Allah,” include performing the prayers in their complete form. They also include remembering Allah frequently in gratitude for the blessing of security and the blessing of instruction, in which lies the servant’s felicity.

The noble verse also establishes the virtue of knowledge and that whoever has been taught by Allah what he did not know should remember Allah abundantly.

It further indicates that remembering Him abundantly is a means of acquiring further knowledge, for gratitude is linked to increase.

Then Allah Most High says: “As for those of you who die and leave wives behind, a bequest shall be made for their wives: maintenance for one year without eviction. But if they leave, there is no blame upon you for what they reasonably do with themselves. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.”

﴿240﴾ It is widely held among many commentators that this noble verse was abrogated by the verse preceding it, namely the words of Allah Most High: “Those of you who die and leave wives behind—their wives shall wait by themselves for four months and ten days.” They maintain that a wife was initially commanded to observe a waiting period of one complete year, which was then abrogated and reduced to four months and ten days.

They explain the abrogating verse’s preceding the abrogated verse by saying that it precedes it only in arrangement, not in revelation, since an abrogating text must have been revealed after the text it abrogates. This view, however, has no evidence to support it.

Anyone who reflects upon the two verses will see clearly that the other interpretation is correct: the former verse categorically obliges the woman to observe a waiting period of four months and ten days. This verse, however, is a directive to the deceased’s family to allow his wife to remain with them for a complete year, thereby comforting her and showing kindness to their deceased relative. Hence He says, “A bequest shall be made for their wives,” meaning a directive from Allah to the deceased’s family that they care for his wife, provide for her, and not turn her out.

If she wishes, she may remain under the terms of this bequest; but if she chooses to leave, there is no blame upon her. Hence He says, “But if they leave, there is no blame upon you for what they do with themselves,” meaning in relation to adornment and dress. The condition, however, is that this be done in an acceptable manner that does not take her beyond the bounds of religion and propriety. The verse concludes with these two magnificent names, which signify perfect might and perfect wisdom, because these rulings proceed from His might and demonstrate His perfect wisdom, as He has assigned each ruling to its proper place.

﴿241- 242﴾ “Divorced women are entitled to fair provision—a duty upon the pious. Thus does Allah make His verses clear to you so that you may understand.” After explaining in the preceding verse the provision made for a woman parted from her husband by death, Allah states here that every divorced woman is entitled to receive from her husband a parting gift appropriate to his circumstances and hers. This is a duty fulfilled by the pious and is one of the traits of piety, whether obligatory or recommended.

If no dower had been stipulated for the woman and he divorces her before consummation, it was explained earlier that he is obliged to provide for her according to his means, whether ample or straitened.

If a dower had been stipulated for her, her provision is half the stipulated amount.

If he had consummated the marriage with her, the parting gift is recommended according to the majority of scholars.

Some scholars held it to be obligatory, adducing His words, “a duty upon the pious.” The basic implication of a duty is that it is obligatory, especially since Allah ascribed it to the pious, while piety itself is fundamentally obligatory.

After Allah Most High had explained these momentous rulings between spouses, He praised His rulings, His exposition and clarification of them, and their conformity with sound reason. His purpose in explaining them to His servants is that they should grasp what He has made clear, retaining and understanding these rulings and acting upon them, for all of this constitutes complete understanding.

﴿243﴾ “Have you not considered those who fled their homes in their thousands, fearing death? Allah said to them, ‘Die,’ and then restored them to life. Surely Allah is bountiful to humanity, but most people do not give thanks.” That is: Have you not heard of this astonishing account concerning some of those who came before you from the Children of Israel? When an epidemic struck their land, they fled in such great numbers to escape death. Yet fleeing neither saved them nor protected them from the very thing they feared. Allah brought about the opposite of what they intended and caused every last one of them to die. He then bestowed His grace upon them and restored them to life, either in response to a prophet’s supplication, as many commentators have stated, or in some other manner.

This occurred through His grace and benevolence, and His grace toward humanity has never ceased. This should lead them to show gratitude for Allah’s blessings by acknowledging them and using them in ways that please Him. Nevertheless, most people fall short of fulfilling the duty of gratitude.

This account contains the lesson that Allah has power over all things, and it is a tangible sign of the resurrection. The account was well known and mass-transmitted among the Children of Israel and those associated with them. Allah therefore relates it as a matter already firmly established among those being addressed.

It is also possible that these people left their homes out of fear of their enemies and cowardice about confronting them. This possibility is supported by the fact that Allah follows it with the command to fight and states concerning the Children of Israel that they had been driven from their homes and separated from their children.

On either interpretation, the account encourages jihad, warns against holding back from it, and shows that doing so affords no protection whatsoever from death. “Say, ‘Had you remained in your homes, those destined to be killed would still have gone forth to the places where they were to fall.’”

﴿244- 245﴾ “Fight in Allah’s cause, and know that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Who will lend Allah a goodly loan so that He may multiply it for him many times over? Allah withholds and gives abundantly, and to Him you will be returned.” Allah coupled the command to fight in His cause with both wealth and one’s person, because jihad cannot be sustained without both. He also urged sincerity in it: the servant should fight so that the word of Allah will be supreme, for Allah is