SALAT: “Devotion to Allah.”

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

حَفِظُوْاْ عَلَى الصَّلَوَةِ وَ الصَّلَوَةِ الْوُسْطَى وَ قُوْمُوْاْ لِلَّهِ قَنِتِيْنَ َ

Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers Especially the middle prayer, and stand before Allah in a devout (frame of mind).
–  Quran 2:238

Tafsir al-Julalayn:
Maintain the, five, prayers, by performing them at their appointed times, and the middle prayer, either that of the afternoon, or the morning, or the midday, or another prayer (there are many opinions on this matter); God has singled it out for mention because of its merit; and stand, in prayer, submissive to God, li Lllāhi qānitīn: some have said that this means ‘obedience’, on account of the Prophet (s) saying, ‘Wherever the [expression] qunūt [‘submission’], appears in the Qur’ān, it denotes obedience’, as reported by Ahmad [b. Hanbal] and others; it is also said to mean ‘in silence’ [sākitīn], on the basis of a hadīth of Zayd b. Arqam, in which he said, ‘We used to speak to each other sometimes during prayer, but when this was revealed, we were commanded to be silent and were forbidden to talk’, as reported by the two Shaykhs [Bukhārī and Muslim].

Sahih al-Bukhari:

Book 6 (page 54), Chapter 42, Hadith # 58):

‘And stand before Allah with obedience (and not to speak to others during the prayer),’ — Quran 2:238

58. Narrated Zaid bin Arqam:  We used to speak while in prayer.  One of us used to speak  to his brother (while in prayer) about his need, till the Verse was revealed:-

‘Guard strictly the (five obligatory) prayers, especially the middle (the Best) (‘Asr) Prayer and stand before Allah with obedience (and not to speak to others during the prayers*).’  Then we were ordered not to speak in prayers.

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*I must note here that as Believers (Muslims) we should want for our brother and sister Muslim what we want for ourselves.  So even though we may have completed our salat we must remember in Jama’at there are others who may be making ‘their salat’ and deserve just as much consideration for their Taqwa as they stand before Allah Most High.

حَسْبِىَّ الله

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Mr. Harun Jihad Bilal | LIVING ISLAM 101