Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

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Allah Most High said:

“And remember your Lord within yourself, in humility and fear, without speaking loudly, morning and evening.”

He was thus commanded to remember Allah within himself. It may be said that this means remembering Him in his heart without using his tongue, because Allah then says:

“Without speaking loudly.”

Or it may be said—and this is more correct—that it means remembering Allah within himself with both tongue and heart. His words, “Without speaking loudly,” are like His words:

“Do not raise your voice in prayer, nor lower it too much, but seek a way between the two.”

An authentic report from ʿĀ’ishah states that she said: “This was revealed concerning supplication.” Another authentic report relates that Ibn ʿAbbās said:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to recite the Quran aloud. When the polytheists heard him, they would revile the Quran, the One who revealed it, and the one to whom it was revealed. So Allah said: ‘Do not recite the Quran so loudly that the polytheists hear it and revile it, nor so quietly that your Companions cannot hear it.’”

He thus forbade him both loud recitation and quiet utterance. Quiet utterance is remembering Him within oneself, while the loudness forbidden here is that mentioned in His words:

“Without speaking loudly.”