Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | THE FAMILY: THE FOUNDATION OF HUMAN SOCIETYobligation binding on the righteous.” (Verse 236)The second possibility arises if a dowry has been agreed and settled, in which casehalf of it must, in principle, be paid unless the wife, or her guardian if she is young,choose, without any pressure, to forgo such a payment. Forgoing such a claim is theattitude of one who has the power of the law on her side but she declines to touch themoney of a man with whom she no longer has any relation.Nevertheless, the Qur’ān goes on to urge more fear of God, tolerance,magnanimity and benevolence on the part of all involved. It exhorts: “To forgo what isdue to you is closer to being righteous. Do not forget to act benevolently to one another. Godsees all that you do.” (Verse 237)A Question of WorshipHaving evoked an atmosphere of submission to, and consciousness of, God, thesūrah interjects with a short passage on prayer, the main act of worship in Islam,before it deals with other aspects of divorce. The inference here, in the inimitablestyle of the Qur’ān, is that obedience to God in matters of marriage and divorce is anact of worship no less reverent or commendable than prayer itself. This is in totalharmony with the comprehensive Islamic concept of worship (`ibādah) whichencompasses all human activity and is seen as the central purpose of humanexistence, expressed in the Qur’ān: “I have not created the jinns and human beings to anyend other than that they may worship Me.” (51: 56)The sūrah says: “Attend regularly to your prayers, particularly the middle prayer, andstand up before God in devout obedience. If you are in fear, pray walking or riding. When youare again secure, remember God, since it is He who has taught you what you did not know.”(Verses 238-239)This is a clear instruction to Muslims to attend regularly to the five daily prayers,offering them in the proper manner, in the correct form, and at their appointed times.The middle Prayer is generally taken to refer to `Aşr, or mid-afternoon prayer, on thebasis of reports that on the day of the Battle of the Moat (627 CE), the ProphetMuĥammad was heard cursing the enemy forces for “causing us to miss the middleprayer of `Aşr. May God engulf their hearts and homes in fire.” The reason for aspecific mention of the `Aşr prayer is perhaps because it falls during that part of theafternoon when people take a short rest and may easily miss it.The sūrah also emphasizes total devotion during prayers, because in the earlydays, Muslims used to, if they felt the need, talk and break away from the prayer toattend to urgent business. When this verse was revealed, it became clear that nothingshould distract one from prayer and that worshippers must stand before God in a316