2.7 Al-Baqarah — The Wisdom Behind Salah and Zakah Appearing Together in the Same Verses

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

All praise is due to Allah, the Most High and the Most Great. May blessings be upon our Seal Prophet, Muḥammad ﷺ, and may Allah be pleased with all of the Companions.

Today we share the following topic: When reciting the verses, we find that our Lord repeatedly places “establishing/maintaining the prayer” and “paying the zakah” together within the same verse. Regarding this phenomenon, we will briefly analyze it in order to understand the wisdom within it.

Regarding these two acts of worship being mentioned together in the same verse, some scholars have said: the prayer is Allah’s right and a form of worship by which a person worships Him—it includes affirming Allah’s Oneness, glorifying Allah, supplicating to Allah, and relying upon Allah. As for zakah and charity, they concern doing good toward the creation. From two angles this becomes clear: one is how a servant faces the Lord—worshipping Him with various concrete components, and this is the prayer; and zakah is facing the creation with good deeds as an act of worship.

1) The Meaning Contained in “Establish the Prayer”

We analyze in detail the meanings contained in establishing the prayer and paying the zakah. First, we know that:

أَقِيمُواْ الصَّلاَةَ (Aqīmū aṣ-ṣalāh)

Translation: Establish/maintain the prayer (or: stand for the prayer).

The verb root in أَقِيمُواْ الصَّلاَةَ originally carries the meaning of “standing,” and one of its derived terms is the Day of Standing, the Day of Resurrection—they share the same root. We should therefore think of the prayer as containing the element of standing. Allah, the Most High and Most Great, commands us to stand—standing for whom? This requires reflection.

Of course, we stand for the Creator and Lord of all worlds. First, we should remember that “standing” includes the standing on the Day of Resurrection for reckoning. If there is resurrection, then there is also the disappearance and destruction of all the worlds before it. Between the disappearance and the resurrection, our Lord Himself will bear witness: “To whom belongs the dominion today?” and only He Himself will bear witness, saying: “It belongs to Allah, the One, the Supreme Subduer.” In verse 16 of “Ghafir” we can learn:

{يَوْمَ هُم بَارِزُونَ لاَ يَخْفَى عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَيْءٌ لِّمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّار}[غافر:16]

40:16. the Day all will appear ˹before Allah˺. Nothing about them will be hidden from Him. ˹He will ask,˺ “Who does all authority belong to this Day? To Allah—the One, the Supreme!

Likewise, when we speak about standing in prayer, we must first think: for whom do we stand? For whom is this act of worship established? Of course, it is because of Allah, the One, the Supreme—Allah, the Most High and Most Great.

2) Direction in Prayer

Second, when the Lord commands prayer, there must be a direction to face. For example, Allah, the Most High and Most Great, describes His Essence: when all the worlds vanish and only He remains—where is He? How do we face Him to stand, bow, and prostrate for Him? Therefore, there must be a direction, and this direction is what He has prescribed for us. Whether it was the first or the last, or the period when Al-Masjid Al-Aqṣā appeared between us and the House—these are all directions prescribed for people by the prophets and messengers He sent, by His command: to stand, bow, and prostrate for Him.

3) Recitation, Remembrance, and Witnessing in Prayer

Third, standing in prayer includes reciting the Scripture to glorify Him and praise Him, making supplication, and also bearing witness—these all contain remembrance. This must reach a state and level in which all created things are cast aside, and one is only remembering the Lord. Because Allah, the Most High and Most Great, commands us to recite the Scripture in prayer, and the Scripture speaks of the signs of Allah, the Most High and Most Great, so we must reflect upon those signs. Our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ—when he should glorify his Lord in prayer, he glorified; when he should seek forgiveness, he sought forgiveness. All of this proves that all things become signs by which one remembers the Lord, and that prayer is purely remembrance of Him.

From these aspects, taken together, we can understand that prayer contains essential content. Allah, the Most High and Most Great, commands us to stand in prayer, and we must recognize that before creating this world, and after destroying this world—when all the worlds do not exist—only He remains. We must firmly believe that He possesses His own Essence, and we do not associate partners with Him. He commands us not to face any created thing, but rather to remember Him through this pure act of worship—to stand for His sake. And we must recognize that He will resurrect all the worlds, and before resurrection He will destroy all the worlds. We take all of this as remembrance, and purely utter a testimony: all the worlds will vanish, and only He is Everlasting. Prayer can realize true affirmation of Allah’s Oneness—knowing that nothing deserves worship, and that all things will vanish. Allah, the Most High and Most Great, creates all things, resurrects, and makes all things bear witness that He is truly One; no time, space, creation, or any existing thing can be taken as a partner with Him. Therefore, in prayer—when we face our Lord purely—our praise of Him, our supplication, and our reliance upon Him contain an important essence: attaining the affirmation of Allah’s Oneness.

4) Understanding Zakah and Its Recipients

Now we recognize zakah. Zakah contains giving, but as giving it is a mandated obligation from the Lord, so it must be fulfilled. If a person has the ability and his wealth reaches the threshold stipulated by the Sacred Law, it becomes obligatory and he must pay zakah; if he does not, there is punishment. As for voluntary charity, it has recipients—such as relatives, family members, slaves, and so on. In “At-Tawbah” it clearly mentions eight categories who may receive zakah:

{إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاء وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيم}[التوبة:60]

9:60. Alms-tax is only for the poor and the needy, for those employed to administer it, for those whose hearts are attracted ˹to the faith˺, for ˹freeing˺ slaves, for those in debt, for Allah’s cause, and for ˹needy˺ travellers. ˹This is˺ an obligation from Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

We take zakah as an example: it is a prescription that our Lord has set for us, yet what it faces is the creation—specifically people. Because zakah is a divine command, it is a good deed that must be completed, not a voluntary act with free choice. Allah, the Most High and Most Great, prescribed it for us so that we may do good and thereby receive blessings—not only does the one who does good in this world receive good, but our reward in the Hereafter is to see Him: our Lord, the Most Good, the truly existent One. It is He who made us do good, seeking His وجه (wajh — “Face/Countenance”), seeking the reward of seeing Him. He prescribed for us to do good: in this world, when we do good toward His creation, our rank rises; we pursue seeing Him and that reward, and we also bear witness—bearing witness that He possesses many virtues and attributes; bearing witness that He is the only One, the wholly good, the Most Good Lord; the only One who is All-Powerful and Mighty; the only One who is All-Knowing and Wise.

Because we have this prescription, when speaking of paying zakah there is also the meaning of provision. A person who possesses knowledge can obtain provision; a person who possesses strength and action can find provision; and a person who possesses character, morality, and virtue can also obtain provision. One uses this wealth to do good, seeking the Lord’s pleasure and the blessing of seeing the Lord in the Hereafter. Thus, we ourselves are bearing witness that Allah, the Most High and Most Great, enables our actions; enables us to possess character; enables us to possess benevolence; to possess knowledge and wisdom. It is He who grants humanity these attributes by which provision is sought, then these provisions are used to do good toward the creation, achieving the pursuit of His pleasure. Because of pursuing His pleasure, the person himself gives testimony—believing and being certain that in the Hereafter one can see the Lord. Our Lord possesses His Essence; nothing resembles Him; eyes do not see Him—but He will grant us a reward by which we can see Him. We must have this certainty, and give testimony to faith in Allah’s Oneness.

5) Summary: The Testimonies Contained in Prayer and Zakah

Now we summarize. Prayer produces a testimony—affirming Allah’s Oneness—meaning that all the created things in the worlds are a testimony of that Lord who possesses His own Essence, testifying that He is real and existent, and that the worlds will vanish. And before the creation of the worlds, and the destruction of the worlds, and the re-creation of the worlds—all of this creation will be made to vanish, and only He is without beginning and without end, everlasting.

Prayer itself has a prescribed time. From our standing we understand this meaning: Allah, the Most High and Most Great, is Everlasting, and regarding recognizing His Essence we must firmly believe this. Prayer also has a time concept: all created things are constrained, with a beginning and an end. Even the everlastingness without end that our Lord grants us after resurrection is only a phenomenon, a sign—because all the worlds will vanish, and only He remains; only He is Everlasting. From the time regulations of prayer we can know: time becomes a sign to testify to Him—He is Ever-Living and Eternal, and all things will vanish; this is a testimony.

Zakah testifies to the resurrection of the worlds; after resurrection we must be certain that we can see Him. We must be certain that the worlds were created, and that the Lord displays His many attributes and virtues through creation—because all created things are His signs; through these signs we can know which attributes and virtues He possesses. And we must also be certain that He can allow us to see Him. Thus, these two contents are not the same: one is to believe that before this world is created, only His وجه (wajh — “Face/Countenance”), His majestic Presence, exists; and the other is that this world has been created, and that He can allow created beings to worship Him, and grant those who do good for His sake a reward—seeing Him. Therefore, prayer and zakah together produce two testimonies, making us certain that we are to meet our Lord: all things will vanish and only He remains. We must be certain that after resurrection He grants us an everlasting, unending reward—being able to see Him. That is, the worlds do not exist; they exist; and we can still see Him. We must be certain of these matters; these two acts of worship contain these two aspects of our knowledge of the Lord.

Prayer contains affirming Allah’s Oneness; zakah contains faith in Allah’s Oneness. Together, they are two important acts of worship in the religion of Islam that our Lord has given us. Because worship is worship and a divine command—and it contains worshipping Allah alone—our prayer requires that He accept it, without associating partners with Him; our zakah requires that He accept it, without associating partners with Him. So this itself contains worshipping Allah alone: combining the three testimonies of Oneness—affirming His Oneness, believing in His Oneness, and worshipping Him alone. Through these two acts of worship, the three forms of tawḥīd are joined together; when these two acts are mentioned in the same verse, we produce three testimonies—this is also the wisdom we can read.

6) Why Prayer Comes Before Zakah

Now we recognize why the verses place prayer first and zakah after it. We all know that prayer contains pure remembrance of the Lord; it purifies our spirituality, so that our self and our heart become tranquil through remembering the Lord; the self becomes restrained, and by remembering the Lord we can elevate the soul. Prayer itself is an act of worship; it was given to our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ during the Night Journey and Ascension as guidance for humanity. Therefore, those who maintain prayer consistently and often, their souls can also ascend, and the human ego is restrained.

In the verse, our Lord says that prayer truly keeps people away from all sins and all indecencies, reaching praise and magnifying the Lord—because in prayer there must be much glorification, التكبير (at-takbīr — “saying ‘Allāhu akbar’ / magnifying Allah”). How do we understand التكبير? It means carrying out Allah’s command—without associating partners with Him—and strictly perfecting one’s conduct according to the Sacred Law He gave us; naturally, one will avoid sins. The human نفس (nafs — “self/ego”) will then manifest an inclination toward good. When the نفس (nafs) is tranquil—when it is in the state of a tranquil soul—our روح (rūḥ — “spirit”) will manifest attributes like the purity of the angels. At that time a person has a good self, a good human nature; and when facing the created world—such as the human world—doing good then contains sincerity. For example, when paying zakah, one will not feel oppressed, forced, or unable to continue; one will not pay one year and then stop the next. Zakah that one is able to pay is continuous—it must be paid every year—and it is paid with a state of special willingness and voluntariness, without seeking fame or reputation.

Some people, whether paying zakah or giving charity, if they do not take sincerity as the foundation, will show traits of hypocrisy; even if they pay zakah, they cannot receive the Lord’s reward, cannot obtain the reward of goodness. Without the reward of goodness, they cannot testify that their goodness can lead them—when rewarded in Paradise—to the pleasure of seeing the Lord, and thus they do not have this certainty. Therefore, placing prayer before zakah is also something for us to reflect upon: because every day there are five prayers, this act of worship keeps us continuously in a state of worshipping and remembering the Lord, restraining our desires, attaining a good self, inclining toward goodness, inclining toward seeking truth, not being arrogant, and not being selfish or self-righteous, and valuing the collective. Thus, when facing people, paying zakah becomes easy—and it is sincere goodness that can attain the Lord’s pleasure.

7) Stillness and Movement: Guidance in Both Dimensions

These two acts of worship together also provide us with special guidance, enabling us to unite stillness and movement: we can instantly enter a state of tranquility, calmness, and quiet, and then also face various social relationships and work relationships to seek provision—reaching a state of movement. For example, if a person is completely in a static state, the human nature cannot be satisfied; if completely in the moving state of social relations and responsibilities, the intellect cannot be satisfied, and the spirit روح (rūḥ) cannot manifest ascent. None of these allow a person to manifest perfect attributes.

Our Lord created the human being as a bodily person and also a spiritual person. He made us remember Him through prayer, elevating our spirit, reaching a pure spirituality. He made us seek material wealth, seeking wealth within the visible created world. He made us pay zakah, purifying our wealth, and because we remember Him, wealth can continually be blessed. In this way, people can obtain satisfaction: the needs of the body are blessed, and the spiritual content is pure and blessed—manifesting a blessed human nature.

8) Angels and Humans: The Distinct Blessing

Finally, we add a little more recognition: through prayer we know we can elevate the spirit, like angels possessing a pure spirituality; because angels also pray, we can obtain this blessing of elevating the spirit and manifest blessedness. But we know angels have no such act of worship as paying zakah, because they have no material needs and no material satisfaction—whereas humans need material satisfaction. For example, if a person does not eat for a few days, he cannot bear it. The human body needs shelter from wind and rain, needing to build a house, and also to seek blessings. In ancient times people trained horses as mounts; now people build airplanes, cars, and other means of transportation. These material riches are what the human body needs, so there is labor. With such strenuous labor earning money, the Lord commands us to do good by paying zakah—thus increasing the blessings obtained in the material world and manifesting blessedness; angels naturally do not have this blessing.

So naturally, why did our Lord—after creating Ādam (peace be upon him)—teach him the names of all things, and enable him and his descendants to seek blessings? Among these is the blessing of paying zakah; angels do not have these attributes. Therefore, when the Lord taught Ādam (peace be upon him) the names of all things, Allah, the Most High and Most Great, specially inspired that the angels prostrate to him—this not only testifies to the Lord’s All-Knowingness and Wisdom, but creation also testifies that humanity—because they receive the Lord’s guidance—prays to elevate the spirit, preserve pure spirituality, and also face the material world to seek blessings and receive blessedness. Together, as a material person and a spiritual person seeking blessings, we produce three testimonies—affirming Allah’s Oneness, believing in Allah’s Oneness, and worshipping Allah alone.

Of course, other created beings cannot reach this perfect attribute—producing three kinds of testimony; only humans have such nobility, becoming the most perfect sign of our Lord. Therefore, He bestows His noble Scripture in mercy to humanity as guidance to attain blessings; He bestows His perfect sign—the Seal Prophet and Messenger ﷺ, a mercy to the worlds—to guide us to testify to His blessings upon us.

Closing

Today I will conclude here. I ask our Lord to guide us to become those who firmly maintain worship and properly fulfill zakah. That is all for today. If I misspoke or explained unclearly, I ask Allah to forgive, and I ask the group members to excuse me. Thank you everyone for sharing.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

Qur’an translation source: The Clear Qur’an — Dr. Mustafa Khattab.

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