سورة البقرة

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The meaning is safeguarding and observing the establishment of the prayer at the beginning of its time, in such a way that no matter distracts him from the prayer nor occupies him with anything else.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): Whoever performs the five obligatory prayers while observing their conditions and limits, and pays attention to the time of their establishment, will meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection with a covenant with his Lord by which He admits him into Paradise. And whoever does not observe the limits of the obligatory daily prayers and does not give importance to their times will meet Allah without having any covenant; then Allah, if He wills, will punish him, and if He wills, will forgive him.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Satan is continuously in fear of the believer as long as he adheres to the five prayers. So when he neglects them, [Satan] grows bold against him and drags him into [the realm of committing] the major sins.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): If a person's prayer ascends to the presence of Allah at its first time, it returns to its owner shining and radiant and says: "You safeguarded my rights, may Allah safeguard you!" And if a person's prayer ascends to the presence of Allah outside its appointed time and lacks the required limits and regulations, it returns to its owner black and dark and says: "You wasted my rights, may Allah waste you!"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [The reality of] the prayer is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him), Fatima (peace be upon her), Hasan (peace be upon him) and Husayn (peace be upon him).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): What is meant is the Zuhr prayer, in which Allah also made the Friday prayer obligatory; and [the Zuhr prayer] is the prayer during whose hour any Muslim servant who asks Allah for anything of good and benefit, Allah grants it to him.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): What is meant by [the reality of] the middle prayer is Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): It is the Zuhr prayer.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The middle prayer is the Zuhr prayer, and it is the first prayer that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) performed. [The reason for its being named so is that] this prayer falls between two prayers during the day, and those two are: the Fajr prayer and the Asr prayer.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [What is meant by it] is the Zuhr prayer, and it is the first prayer that Allah revealed upon His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): It is the Friday prayer, and the Zuhr prayer on other days. It is the first prayer that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) performed, and it is the prayer that is offered during the day between the two prayers of Fajr and Asr.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): What is meant by it is the middle prayer of the day, which is the Zuhr prayer; and for this reason our companions show great care in [determining the time of] zawal (midday).

Imam Husayn (peace be upon him): The time of the Asr prayer is the very time when Adam (peace be upon him) ate from that tree and Paradise was withheld from him. So Allah commanded his descendants until the Day of Resurrection to perform this prayer, and He chose it and made it obligatory. So the Asr prayer is among the most beloved prayers to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. So my Lord enjoined upon me that, among all the prayers, I pay the greatest attention to the Asr prayer. Allah said: حافِظُوا عَلَی الصَّلَواتِ وَ الصَّلاةِ الْوُسْطی [Attend constantly to prayers and to the middle prayer] — what is meant is the Asr prayer.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Halabi narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "If anyone squanders his Asr prayer [and does not offer it in its time], he will be [in Paradise] alone, cut off from his family and his wealth." A person asked: "What is the state of this person, alone and separated from his family and wealth?" He said: "This person [although he is of the people of Paradise], yet in Paradise he has neither anyone nor any wealth; [because] he lost the Asr prayer and used to abandon it deliberately until the sun turned yellow and set [and he would pray the Asr prayer close to sunset]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): What is meant by qunut is the supplication recited in the standing position during the prayer.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): It means the prayer must be established while being obedient, compliant and eager.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [meaning] Stand up in the path of obedience to the Imams (peace be upon them).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): وَقُومُواْ لِلّهِ قَانِتِینَ [and stand up truly obedient to Allah] is a person's turning his attention to his prayer.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ قُومُوا لِلهِ قانِتِین [and stand up truly obedient to Allah] is regarding the middle prayer (the Zuhr prayer).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): This verse was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) on a Friday, while he was on a journey. He performed it [the Friday prayer with khushu] humbly, and [from then on and forever] he kept this state in the prayer in the same manner, whether while travelling or while residing at home.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): [Allah has a ruling for each of the limbs of the body, and] that which Allah has made obligatory upon the feet [of a person] is this: that ... He has made it obligatory upon the feet to stand upright during the prayer, and He said: وَ قُومُوا لِلهِ قانِتِین [and stand up truly obedient to Allah].