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wa-ʾmur ʾahlaka bi-ṣ-ṣalāti wa-ṣṭabir ʿalayhā lā nasʾaluka rizqan naḥnu narzuquka wa-l-ʿāqibatu li-t-taqwā
And bid your family to prayer and be steadfast in maintaining it. We do not ask any provision of you: it is We who provide for you, and to Godwariness belongs the ultimate outcome [in the Hereafter].
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Ta Ha – Verse 132
132. “And bid your family to pray and be constant therein. We do not ask you sustenance, (but) We give you sustenance, and the (good) end is for (the people of) righteousness.”
A considerable number of Islamic traditions indicate that after the revelation of this verse, for several months the Prophet (S) used to knock at the door of the house of Ali (as) and Fatimah (as), and loudly said: /as-salat/ (prayer), then he began reciting the verse of sanctification.23 Whenever the life of the Messenger of Allah (S) was straitened, he recited the above-mentioned verse and then he told his family members to establish prayer.4
The Qur’anic phrase /’istabir ‘alayha/ (be constant therein) means that you should be severe and constant both on keeping prayer and bidding others to it. In order to comfort the Prophet (S), and to strengthen his heart, in this verse the Qur’an says:
The reason of it is that, this very prayer, for you and your household, is the source of sanctification, serenity of the heart (mind), strengthening of the spirit, and duration of the remembrance of Allah. Then, the verse adds:
This prayer does not increase anything to the greatness of Allah, but it is a great capital for the development of men and a high training class for them. And, at the end of the verse, it continues saying:
That which that will remain with Allah (s.w.t.) and its end is useful, constructive, and enlivening is piety and righteousness. Finally, the pious people are victorious and impious ones are condemned to failure.
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