Allah Most High has said:

“I did not create jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”

And “worship of Allah encompasses knowing Him, loving Him, and humbling oneself before Him; indeed, it encompasses everything He loves and is pleased with. Its foundation and greatest aspect are the deeds of the heart: faith, knowledge of Allah, love for Him, reverent fear of Him, turning to Him, reliance upon Him, and contentment with His judgment. These are encompassed by prayer, remembrance, supplication, and recitation of the Quran. All of this falls within the meaning of remembrance of Allah and prayer. Mentioning prayer alongside remembrance of Allah is an instance of conjoining the specific with the general, as in His words, Most High:

‘And His angels and His messengers, and Gabriel and Michael.’

And His words, Most High:

‘And when We took from the prophets their covenant, and from you and from Noah.’

Likewise, Allah Most High said:

‘O you who believe, when the call to prayer is made on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off trade.’

He thus described hastening to prayer as hastening to the remembrance of Allah.

Since prayer encompasses remembrance of Allah Most High, which is sought for its own sake, and restraint from evil, which is sought for a further purpose, Allah Most High said:

‘Indeed, prayer restrains one from indecency and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater.’

That is, the remembrance of Allah within prayer is greater than its restraining one from indecency and wrongdoing. It does not mean that remembrance of Allah outside prayer is better than prayer and the remembrance of Allah it contains, for that would contradict scholarly consensus.

Since remembrance of Allah is the purpose of prayer, Abū al-Dardā’ said: ‘As long as you remember Allah, you are in prayer, even if you are in the marketplace.’ And since the remembrance of Allah