Al-Israa (The Night Journey)

78. “Perform the prayer (rituals) from the declension of the sun till the darkness of the night, and the recitation (of prayer) at the dawn, verily the recitation (of prayer) at the dawn is witnessed (by the angels).”

Pursuing the previous verses which concentrated on the issues of monotheism and paganism and, later, discussed the conspiracies, plots and temptations of the pagans, in this verse the Qur’an deals with such issues as prayers and the focusing of one’s attention on the Lord, which serves as an effective means for campaigning against paganism, as well as a means for expelling the satanical temptations from one’s heart and soul.

Undoubtedly, it is the prayer which makes man remember the Lord, wiping away the dust of sin from him all over and expelling the satanical temptations from him.

The verse, at first, says:

“Perform the prayer (rituals) from the declension of the sun till the darkness of the night, and the recitation (of prayer) at the dawn, verily the recitation (of prayer) at the dawn is witnessed (by the angels).”

The declining time of the sun signifies the declining or fading away of the sunshine from the meridian circle which is the noon-time on.

The Arabic term /dulūk/ is derived originally from the term /dalaka/, meaning ‘rubbing’, for, at that time, and in sunny lands in particular, man usually tends to rub his eyes because of the strength of the sunshine.

Or, it might be derived from the Arabic term /dalk/, meaning becoming inclined, for the sun, at this time, becomes inclined from the meridian circle towards the west. It might also signify the fact that man tends to guard off against the sunshine by keeping his hand between his eyes and the sunshine as if he removes its lights from his eyes, thus reclining it.

Anyway, according to the quotations received from the sources of Ahl-ul-Bayt (as), the Qur’anic term /dulūk/, mentioned in this verse, has been commented upon as signifying the ‘declining of the sun’.

A quotation from Imam Sadiq (as) indicates that ‘Ubayd-Ibn-i-Zararah questioned the Imam (as) as to the comments of this holy verse, who answered:

“The Almighty has enjoined Muslims to establish four prayers, the beginning of which starts at the declining of the sun, ‘at moon’, and which ends at ‘midnight’.”1

In another quotation, we have it from Imam Baqir (as) in the commentary upon this very verse when asked by Zar arah, the great Shi‘ite traditionist, he (as) answered:

“The declining of the sun signifies its fading away (from the meridian circle), and the Arabic phrase /qasaq-ul-layl/ denotes ‘midnight’. These are the four set of prayers which the Prophet (S) designated for people, confirming the time, and the Qur’anic phrase /Qur’an-ul-fajr/ refers to the morning prayer.”2

Certainly, some commentators have offered other probable hypotheses with regard to the meaning of /dulūk/ which cannot be considered as remarkable.

As for the meaning of the Arabic phrase /qusaq-ul-layl/, one might claim that as the term /qasaq/ signifies the intensive darkness of the night, and such a darkness reaches its peak at midnight, and is utmost in its density, this phrase altogether signifies ‘midnight’.

The Arabic term ‘Qur’an’ refers to that which is ‘read’ and the phrase /Qur’an-ul-fajr/, altogether refers to the ‘prayer at dawn’.

It is for this reason that the above verse is among the ones which briefly refer to the five-time daily prayers and, alongside with the other verses regarding the prayer times, as well as the numerous quotations received in this connection, the five times for daily prayers are exactly distinguished.

Certainly, one must keep in mind the fact that some of the verses of the Qur’an refer to one prayer only, like:

“Guard your prayers, and (especially) the middle prayer…”3

in which case, the ‘middle prayer’, according to the authentic commentaries, is that same ‘midday prayer’.

Occasionally, those verses allude to the three times for prayers out of the five-time daily prayers, like:

“And establish the prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night…”4

in which case, /tarafay-in-nah ar/ makes allusions to the morning and evening (Maqrib) prayers, and the phrase /zulafan min-al-layl/ alludes to the night prayer (‘Isha’ prayer).

At times, all of the five-time prayers are briefly referred to, as in the verse in question. (We have already explained in minute details in this connection in commentary, upon verse 114 of Surah Hūd, No. 11)

At any rate, undoubtedly the details as for the five-times daily prayers have not been explained in full in these verses; on the contrary, as is the case with other Islamic commandments, the explanations are confined to the general rules, and their fuller explanations are left to the practice of the Prophet (S) and the true Imams.

Another point which remains outstanding in here is that the above verse says that the ‘morning prayer is being witnessed’. Now this question arises as by whom is it being witnessed?

According to the Islamic quotations received through the commentaries upon this verse suggest that ‘They are witnessed by both the angels of night and day’, for, ‘night angels’, who are on guard by night, are replaced by day angels at dawn and as morning prayer is performed at dawn, both groups of angels observe and bear testimony to that.

These quotations are quoted by both the Shi‘ah and Sunni scholars, among whom, (according to Tafsir-Rūh-ul-Ma‘ani), Ahmad and Nisa’i, Ibn Majid, Tarmuzi, and Hakim have quoted the Prophet (S) who stated in his commentary upon this sentence:

“Both the day and the night angels watch him5.”

The famous scholars of Hadith of the Sunnis, Bukh ari and Muslim have also quoted this meaning in their ‘Sahih’.

For further information regarding the traditions of the Ahl-ul-Bayt (as) upon this meaning refer to Tafsir-Nūr-uth-Thaqalayn, vol. 3, under the verse in question.

The transparency provided in this commentary explains that the best time for performing the morning prayer rituals is the moments coinciding with the onset of the dawn.