Ayah
Word by Word
وَإِذَا
And when
كُنتَ
you are
فِيهِمۡ
among them
فَأَقَمۡتَ
and you lead
لَهُمُ
for them
ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ
the prayer
فَلۡتَقُمۡ
then let stand
طَآئِفَةٞ
a group
مِّنۡهُم
of them
مَّعَكَ
with you
وَلۡيَأۡخُذُوٓاْ
and let them take
أَسۡلِحَتَهُمۡۖ
their arms
فَإِذَا
Then when
سَجَدُواْ
they have prostrated
فَلۡيَكُونُواْ
then let them be
مِن
from
وَرَآئِكُمۡ
behind you
وَلۡتَأۡتِ
and let come (forward)
طَآئِفَةٌ
a group
أُخۡرَىٰ
other
لَمۡ
(which has) not
يُصَلُّواْ
prayed
فَلۡيُصَلُّواْ
and let them pray
مَعَكَ
with you
وَلۡيَأۡخُذُواْ
and let them take
حِذۡرَهُمۡ
their precautions
وَأَسۡلِحَتَهُمۡۗ
and their arms
وَدَّ
Wished
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
كَفَرُواْ
disbelieved
لَوۡ
if
تَغۡفُلُونَ
you neglect
عَنۡ
[about]
أَسۡلِحَتِكُمۡ
your arms
وَأَمۡتِعَتِكُمۡ
and your baggage
فَيَمِيلُونَ
so (that) they (can) assault
عَلَيۡكُم
[upon] you
مَّيۡلَةٗ
(in) an attack
وَٰحِدَةٗۚ
single
وَلَا
But (there is) no
جُنَاحَ
blame
عَلَيۡكُمۡ
upon you
إِن
if
كَانَ
was
بِكُمۡ
with you
أَذٗى
any trouble
مِّن
(because) of
مَّطَرٍ
rain
أَوۡ
or
كُنتُم
you are
مَّرۡضَىٰٓ
sick
أَن
that
تَضَعُوٓاْ
you lay down
أَسۡلِحَتَكُمۡۖ
your arms
وَخُذُواْ
but take
حِذۡرَكُمۡۗ
your precautions
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
أَعَدَّ
has prepared
لِلۡكَٰفِرِينَ
for the disbelievers
عَذَابٗا
a punishment
مُّهِينٗا
humiliating
وَإِذَا
And when
كُنتَ
you are
فِيهِمۡ
among them
فَأَقَمۡتَ
and you lead
لَهُمُ
for them
ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ
the prayer
فَلۡتَقُمۡ
then let stand
طَآئِفَةٞ
a group
مِّنۡهُم
of them
مَّعَكَ
with you
وَلۡيَأۡخُذُوٓاْ
and let them take
أَسۡلِحَتَهُمۡۖ
their arms
فَإِذَا
Then when
سَجَدُواْ
they have prostrated
فَلۡيَكُونُواْ
then let them be
مِن
from
وَرَآئِكُمۡ
behind you
وَلۡتَأۡتِ
and let come (forward)
طَآئِفَةٌ
a group
أُخۡرَىٰ
other
لَمۡ
(which has) not
يُصَلُّواْ
prayed
فَلۡيُصَلُّواْ
and let them pray
مَعَكَ
with you
وَلۡيَأۡخُذُواْ
and let them take
حِذۡرَهُمۡ
their precautions
وَأَسۡلِحَتَهُمۡۗ
and their arms
وَدَّ
Wished
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
كَفَرُواْ
disbelieved
لَوۡ
if
تَغۡفُلُونَ
you neglect
عَنۡ
[about]
أَسۡلِحَتِكُمۡ
your arms
وَأَمۡتِعَتِكُمۡ
and your baggage
فَيَمِيلُونَ
so (that) they (can) assault
عَلَيۡكُم
[upon] you
مَّيۡلَةٗ
(in) an attack
وَٰحِدَةٗۚ
single
وَلَا
But (there is) no
جُنَاحَ
blame
عَلَيۡكُمۡ
upon you
إِن
if
كَانَ
was
بِكُمۡ
with you
أَذٗى
any trouble
مِّن
(because) of
مَّطَرٍ
rain
أَوۡ
or
كُنتُم
you are
مَّرۡضَىٰٓ
sick
أَن
that
تَضَعُوٓاْ
you lay down
أَسۡلِحَتَكُمۡۖ
your arms
وَخُذُواْ
but take
حِذۡرَكُمۡۗ
your precautions
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
أَعَدَّ
has prepared
لِلۡكَٰفِرِينَ
for the disbelievers
عَذَابٗا
a punishment
مُّهِينٗا
humiliating
Translation
When thou (O Messenger) art with them, and standest to lead them in prayer, Let one party of them stand up (in prayer) with thee, Taking their arms with them: When they finish their prostrations, let them Take their position in the rear. And let the other party come up which hath not yet prayed - and let them pray with thee, Taking all precaution, and bearing arms: the Unbelievers wish, if ye were negligent of your arms and your baggage, to assault you in a single rush. But there is no blame on you if ye put away your arms because of the inconvenience of rain or because ye are ill; but take (every) precaution for yourselves. For the Unbelievers Allah hath prepared a humiliating punishment.
Tafsir
When you, O Muhammad may peace and salutation be upon him, are, present, among them, while you [all] fear an enemy, and you stand to lead them in prayer (this type of address is customary in Al-Qur'an), let a party of them stand with you, while another party stand back, and let them, the party standing with you, take their weapons, with them. Then when they have performed their prostrations, that is, [when] they have prayed, let them, the other party, be behind you, on guard until you complete the prayers; thereupon, let this party go on guard, and let another party who have not prayed come and pray with you, taking their precautions and their weapons, with them until you have completed the prayers. The Prophet may peace and salutation be upon him did this once at Batn Nakhla, as reported by the two Shaykhs [Bukhaaree and Muslim]. The disbelievers wish, when you have stood up to pray, that you should be heedless of your weapons and your baggage that they may descend upon you all at once, by making an assault against you and capturing you, and herein is the reasoning behind keeping weapons on oneself. You are not at fault, if rain bothers you, or if you are sick, to lay aside your weapons, and not carry them: this implies that when there is no such excuse, it is compulsory to carry them, and this is one of two opinions held by al-Shaafi'ee [on this matter]; the other [opinion] is that this [precaution] constitutes a sunna, and this is the more preferable opinion. But take your precautions, against the enemy and be on your guard as best you can; God has prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating chastisement.
"The Description of The Fear Prayer
Allah says;
وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمۡ فَأَقَمۡتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلَةَ فَلۡتَقُمۡ طَأيِفَةٌ مِّنۡهُم مَّعَكَ وَلۡيَأۡخُذُواۡ أَسۡلِحَتَهُمۡ فَإِذَا سَجَدُواۡ فَلۡيَكُونُواۡ مِن وَرَايِكُمۡ وَلۡتَأۡتِ طَأيِفَةٌ أُخۡرَى لَمۡ يُصَلُّواۡ فَلۡيُصَلُّواۡ مَعَكَ وَلۡيَأۡخُذُواۡ حِذۡرَهُمۡ وَأَسۡلِحَتَهُمۡ وَدَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواۡ لَوۡ تَغۡفُلُونَ عَنۡ أَسۡلِحَتِكُمۡ وَأَمۡتِعَتِكُمۡ فَيَمِيلُونَ عَلَيۡكُم مَّيۡلَةً وَاحِدَةً
When you (O Messenger Muhammad) are among them, and lead them in Salah, let one party of them stand up (in prayer) with you, taking their arms with them; when they finish their prostrations, let them take their positions in the rear and let the other party come up which have not yet prayed, and let them pray with you, taking all the precautions and bearing arms. Those who disbelieve wish, if you were negligent of your arms and your baggage, to attack you in a single rush,
The Fear prayer has different forms, for the enemy is sometimes in the direction of the Qiblah and sometimes in another direction.
The Fear prayer consists sometimes of four Rak`ahs, three Rak`ahs, as for Maghrib, and sometimes two Rak`ah like Fajr and prayer during travel.
The Fear prayer is sometimes prayed in congregation, but when the battle is raging, congregational prayer may not be possible. In this case, they pray each by himself, facing the Qiblah or otherwise, riding or on foot. In this situation, they are allowed to walk and fight, all the while performing the acts of the prayer.
Some scholars said that in the latter case, they pray only one Rak`ah, for Ibn Abbas narrated,
""By the words of your Prophet, Allah has ordained the prayer of four Rak`ah while residing, two Rak`ah during travel, and one Rak`ah during fear.""
Muslim, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah recorded it.
This is also the view of Ahmad bin Hanbal.
Al-Mundhiri said,
""This is the saying of Ata, Jabir, Al-Hasan, Mujahid, Al-Hakam, Qatadah and Hammad; and Tawus and Ad-Dahhak also preferred it.""
Abu Asim Al-Abadi mentioned that Muhammad bin Nasr Al-Marwazi said,
the Fajr prayer also becomes one Rak`ah during fear.
This is also the opinion of Ibn Hazm.
Ishaq bin Rahwayh said,
""When a battle is raging, one Rak`ah during which you nod your head is sufficient for you. If you are unable, then one prostration is sufficient, because the prostration is remembrance of Allah.""
The Reason behind Revealing this Ayah
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Ayyash Az-Zuraqi said,
""We were with the Messenger of Allah in the area of Usfan (a well known place near Makkah), when the idolators met us under the command of Khalid bin Al-Walid, and they were between us and the Qiblah. The Messenger of Allah led us in Zuhr prayer, and the idolators said, `They were busy with something during which we had a chance to attack them.'
They then said, `Next, there will come a prayer (`Asr) that is dearer to them than their children and themselves.'
However, Jibril came down with these Ayat between the prayers of Zuhr and `Asr,
وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمۡ فَأَقَمۡتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلَةَ
(When you (O Messenger Muhammad) are among them, and lead them in Salah (prayer)).
When the time for prayer came, the Messenger of Allah commanded Muslims to hold their weapons and he made us stand in two lines behind him. When he bowed, we all bowed behind him. When he raised his head, we all raised our heads.
The Prophet then prostrated with the line that was behind him while the rest stood in guard. When they finished with the prostration and stood up, the rest sat and performed prostration, while those who performed it stood up in guard after the two lines exchanged position.
The Prophet then bowed and they all bowed after him, then raised their heads after he raised his head. Then the Prophet performed prostration with the line that was behind him, while the rest stood in guard. When those who made prostration sat, the rest prostrated.
The Prophet then performed the Taslim and ended the prayer.
The Messenger of Allah performed this prayer twice, once in Usfan and once in the land of Banu Sulaym.""'
This is the narration recorded by Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i, and it has an authentic chain of narration and many other texts to support it.
Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn Abbas said,
""Once the Prophet led the Fear prayer and the people stood behind him. He said Allahu-Akbar and the people said the same. He bowed and some of them bowed. Then he prostrated and they also prostrated. Then he stood for the second Rak`ah and those who had prayed the first Rak`ah left and guarded their brothers. The second party joined him and performed bowing and prostration with him. All the people were in prayer, but they were guarding one another during the prayer.""
Imam Ahmad recorded that Jabir bin Abdullah said that;
the Messenger of Allah led them in the Fear prayer. A group of them stood before him and a group behind him. The Prophet led those who were behind him with one Rak`ah and two prostrations. They then moved to the position of those who did not pray, while the others stood in their place, and the Messenger of Allah performed one Rak`ah and two prostrations and then said the Salam. Therefore, the Prophet prayed two Rak`ah while they prayed one.
An-Nasa'i recorded this Hadith, while Muslim collected other wordings for it.
Collectors of the Sahih, Sunan and Musnad collections recorded this in a Hadith from Jabir.
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Salim said that;
his father said,
وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمۡ فَأَقَمۡتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلَةَ
(When you (O Messenger Muhammad) are among them, and lead them in Salah (prayer)) refers to the Fear prayer.
The Messenger of Allah led one group and prayed one Rak`ah, while the second group faced the enemy. Then the second group that faced the enemy came and Allah's Messenger led them, praying one Rak`ah, and then said the Salam. Each of the two groups then stood up and prayed one more Rak`ah each (while the other group stood in guard).""
The Group collected this Hadith with Ma`mar in its chain of narrators.
This Hadith also has many other chains of narration from several Companions, and Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Ibn Marduwyah collected these various narrations, as did Ibn Jarir.
As for the command to hold the weapons during the Fear prayer,
a group of scholars said that it is obligatory according to the Ayah. What testifies to this is that Allah said;
وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِن كَانَ بِكُمۡ أَذًى مِّن مَّطَرٍ أَوۡ كُنتُم مَّرۡضَى أَن تَضَعُواۡ أَسۡلِحَتَكُمۡ وَخُذُواۡ حِذۡرَكُمۡ
But there is no sin on you if you put away your arms because of the inconvenience of rain or because you are ill, but take every precaution for yourselves,
meaning, so that when necessary, you will be able to get to your weapons easily.
إِنَّ اللّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلۡكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا
Verily, Allah has prepared a humiliating torment for the disbelievers.
The Order for Ample Remembrance After the Fear Prayer
Allah says;
فَإِذَا قَضَيۡتُمُ الصَّلَةَ فَاذۡكُرُواۡ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَى جُنُوبِكُمۡ
When you have finished the Salah, remember Allah standing, sitting down, and on your sides,
Allah commands Dhikr after finishing the Fear prayer, in particular, even though such Dhikr is encouraged after finishing other types of prayer in general. In the case of Fear prayer, Dhikr is encouraged even more because the pillars of the prayer are diminished since they move about while performing it, etc., unlike other prayers.
Allah said about the Sacred Months,
فَلَ تَظۡلِمُواۡ فِيهِنَّ أَنفُسَكُمۡ
(so wrong not yourselves therein), (9:36) even though injustice is prohibited all year long. However, injustice is particularly outlawed during the Sacred Months due to their sanctity and honor.
So Allah's statement,
فَإِذَا قَضَيۡتُمُ الصَّلَةَ فَاذۡكُرُواۡ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَى جُنُوبِكُمۡ
(When you have finished Salah, remember Allah standing, sitting down, and on your sides), means, in all conditions,
فَإِذَا اطۡمَأۡنَنتُمۡ فَأَقِيمُواۡ الصَّلَةَ
But when you are free from danger perform the Salah.
when you are safe, tranquil and fear subsides,
فَأَقِيمُواۡ الصَّلَةَ
(perform the Salah),
by performing it as you were commanded; fulfilling its obligations, with humbleness, completing the bowing and prostration positions etc.
Allah's statement,
إِنَّ الصَّلَةَ كَانَتۡ عَلَى الۡمُوۡمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَّوۡقُوتًا
Verily, the Salah is Kitaban on the believers at fixed hours.
means, enjoined, as Ibn Abbas stated.
Ibn Abbas also said,
""The prayer has a fixed time, just as the case with Hajj.""
Similar is reported from Mujahid, Salim bin Abdullah, Ali bin Al-Husayn, Muhammad bin Ali, Al-Hasan, Muqatil. As-Suddi and Atiyah Al-Awfi.
The Encouragement to Pursue the Enemy Despite Injuries
Allah's statement
وَلَا تَهِنُواۡ فِي ابۡتِغَاء الۡقَوۡمِ
And don't be weak in the pursuit of the enemy;
means, do not weaken your resolve in pursuit of your enemy. Rather, pursue them vigorously, fight them and be wary of them.
إِن تَكُونُواۡ تَأۡلَمُونَ فَإِنَّهُمۡ يَأۡلَمُونَ كَمَا تَأۡلَمونَ
if you are suffering then surely they are suffering as you are suffering,
meaning, just as you suffer from injuries and death, the same happens to the enemy.
In another Ayah, Allah said,
إِن يَمۡسَسۡكُمۡ قَرۡحٌ فَقَدۡ مَسَّ الۡقَوۡمَ قَرۡحٌ مِّثۡلُهُ
If you suffer a harm, be sure a similar harm has struck the others. (3:140)
Allah then said,
وَتَرۡجُونَ مِنَ اللّهِ مَا لَا يَرۡجُونَ
but you have a hope from Allah that for which they hope not;
meaning, you and they are equal regarding the injuries and pain that you suffer from. However, you hope for Allah's reward, victory and aid, just as He has promised you in His Book and by the words of his Messenger. Surely, Allah's promise is true. On the other hand, your enemies do not have hope for any of this. So, it is you, not they, who should be eager to fight so that you establish the Word of Allah and raise it high.
وَكَانَ اللّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
And Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise.
means, He is most knowledgeable and wise in all what He decides, decrees, wills and acts on concerning various worldly and religious ordainments, and He is worthy of praise in all conditions."
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