Tafsir

Requiring one's relatives and associates to offer their prayers regularly and the philosophy behind itوَأْمُرْ‌ أَهْلَكَ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَاصْطَبِرْ‌ عَلَيْهَا (And bid your family to perform salah and adhere to it yourself - 132) Here the Holy Prophet has been asked to direct the members of his family to say prayers and that he himself should be very particular about his prayers. These appear to be two separate commands, i.e. one for the family and the other for himself but the fact is that for a person to be steadfast in saying prayers it is essential that his family and friends should be equally mindful of their duty in this matter. The word اھل ahl used for the family is quite comprehensive and includes a person's wife, children and his associates because all of them influence the environment and are an integral part of society. After this verse was revealed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ he used to go to the house of Sayyidna Ali and Sayyidah Fatimah ؓ every morning at the time of morning prayers and call out الصَّلَاةِ الصَّلَاةِ (Come to salah, come to salah).

(Qurtubi)It is reported that whenever Sayyidna ` Urwah ibn Zubair ؓ saw a display of wealth, he would at once return home, call his family to prayer and recite to them this verse. Also when Sayyidna ` Umar ibn Khattab ؓ got up for his midnight (tahajjud) prayers, he would awake the other members of his family and recite to them this verse. (Qurtubi)Allah provides easy sustenance to a person who devotes himself to prayers and to His worshipلَا نَسْأَلُكَ رِ‌زْقًا (We ask no provision from you - 20:132) Allah does not demand of the people that they should provide sustenance to their families and dependants by their own power, because the responsibility for this is in His hands alone. Man is incapable of providing for himself, and the best that he can do is to plough the land and plant seeds in it, but he has no power to germinate it or to make a tree grow out of it. The role of man in all this is to protect the tree after it has grown to maturity and then to put its yield to his personal use.

And for the person who spends all his time in prayer Allah makes even this labour bearable for him (Tirmidhi). Ibn Majah has quoted Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,یقول اللہ تعالیٰ : یا ابن آدم : تفرَّغ لعبادتی املأ صدرک غنی واسد فقرک، وان لم تفعل ملأت صدرک شغلا ولم اسد فقرک (ابن کثیر)"Allah says: '0 son of 'Adam! You dedicate yourself to My worship and I will fill your chest with sufficiency and free you from want. But if you do not obey my commands, I will fill your chest with anxieties and worries and will not free you from want."' (Ibn Kathir)The meaning of the words لم اسد فقرک (I will not free you from want) is that such a man will always remain poor because the more wealth he acquires the more his greed will increase.

And Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Mas’ ud ؓ says that he heard the Holy Prophet ﷺ saying,من جعل ھمومہ ھمّا واحدا ھمّ المعاد، کفاہ اللہ ھمّ دنیاہ، ومن تشعبت بہ الھموم فی احوال الدّنیا لم یبال اللہ وی ایّ اودیۃ ھلک [رواہ ابن ماجہ ] (ابن کثیر)"A man who makes his concern for the Hereafter the focal point of all his efforts, Allah will take care of his concerns, but a person whose concerns are all about worldly affairs, Allah does not care in which valley he perishes."