Chapter: Remembering Allah at Morning and Evening

Allah the Exalted says, “And remember your Lord inwardly, with humility and awe, and without raising your voice, in the morning and evening; and do not be among the heedless” (Q 7:205). The lexicographers state that al-āṣāl is the plural of aṣīl and denotes the span between ʿAṣr and Maghrib.

He, Most High, also says, “And glorify the praise of your Lord before sunrise and before sunset” (Q 50:39); and, “And glorify the praise of your Lord in the evening and the early morning” (Q 40:55). They explain that al-ʿashī refers to the period from the sun’s zenith until it sets.

He, Exalted is He, further says, “In houses that Allah has allowed to be raised and wherein His name is mentioned—therein He is glorified morning and evening by men whom neither trade nor sale distracts from the remembrance of Allah” (Q 24:36-37). And He says, “Indeed, We subjected the mountains to join him in glorification at nightfall and at sunrise” (Q 38:18).

[Explanation]
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—entitles this section “The dhikr in the morning and evening,” meaning its virtue at the start and close of the day and at the beginning of the night. Morning begins with the break of dawn and ends when the sun has risen high in the sky, mid-morning. Evening commences after the ʿAṣr prayer and lasts until the ʿIshāʾ prayer or thereabouts.

Accordingly, the adhkār that are restricted to morning and evening are to be recited during these times, whereas those confined to the night are recited at night—such as Āyat al-Kursī, for whoever recites it “in a night” must do so within the night itself. The author, may Allah bestow mercy upon him, then cited several verses on this subject, among them His saying, exalted be He, “And remember your Lord inwardly, with humility and awe, and without raising your voice, in the morning and evening; and do not be among the heedless.”