ٱتْلُ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ وَلَذِكْرُ ٱللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ
"Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book, and perform the prayer. The prayer surely restrains from indecency and from wrong. And the remembrance of God is greater still."
I record this as an observation about the word order: the verse does not say "the one who prays keeps clear of wrong." It gives the act to the prayer.
And at Luqmān 31/17 the same two words had occurred as a command: aqimi'ṣ-ṣalāta wa'mur bi'l-maʿrūfi wa'nha ʿani'l-munkar — there the nahy was the human being's work.
| Place | The subject of the verb nahy |
|---|---|
| Luqmān 31/17 | The human being — warn against wrong |
| al-ʿAnkabūt 29/45 | The prayer — restrains from wrong |
The same root, two different subjects. This is an overlap that can be verified from the text, and I record it as my own reading in this way: one is a restraining directed outwards, the other a restraining that works upon the person himself.
The lexicographers differ over the meaning of the construction, and the disagreement is not concealed:
| Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | The remembrance of God is greater than the restraining function of the prayer |
| 2 | God's remembrance of the servant is greater than the servant's remembrance of Him |
| 3 | The remembrance within the prayer is greater than the other aspects of the prayer |