Tafseer of The Believers · Al-Muminoon · 23:2
They who are during their prayer humbly submissive
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: al-Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard Khālid, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, who said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to look up toward the sky during the prayer; then this verse was revealed: الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ ('those who are humble in their prayer'). Thereafter he directed his face toward the place where he prostrated."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Hārūn ibn al-Mughīra related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Ḥajjāj al-Ṣawwāf, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, who said: "The companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise their gazes in the prayer toward the sky, until it was revealed: قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ ('Successful are the believers, those who are humble in their prayer'). Thereafter they let their heads hang down like this."
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ayyūb informed us, on the authority of Muḥammad, who said: "It has been related to me that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he performed the prayer, directed his gaze toward the sky; then a verse was revealed — whether it was الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ or another verse, I do not know — after which he bowed his head." Muḥammad said: "They said: his gaze must not pass beyond his place of prayer; and should he let his gaze wander, then he should close his eyes."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAwn informed us, on the authority of Muḥammad — to the same effect.
The exegetes disagreed concerning the meaning of khushūʿ (humility) in this place. Some said: by it is meant the stilling of the limbs in the prayer.
Mention of those who said that:
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ: he said: "The stillness therein."
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, concerning الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ: he said: "That a man be still in his prayer."
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Zuhrī — to the same effect.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, on the authority of al-Thawrī, on the authority of Abū Sufyān al-Shaybānī, on the authority of a man, on the authority of ʿAlī, who was asked about الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ. He said: "Do not turn your head about in your prayer."
ʿAbd al-Jabbār ibn Yaḥyā al-Ramlī related to us, saying: Ḍamra ibn Rabīʿa said, on the authority of Abū Shawdhab, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ: he said: "Their khushūʿ was in their hearts, and through it they lowered their eyes and let their wings droop."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, concerning خَاشِعُونَ: he said: "The khushūʿ is in the heart" — and he said: "still."
He said: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to me, on the authority of al-Masʿūdī, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of a man from his tribe, on the authority of ʿAlī — may Allah be pleased with him — who said: "The khushūʿ is in the heart; it also means that you are gentle toward the Muslim in your dealings with him, and that you do not turn your head about."
He said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ said, concerning الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ: "The humility in the prayer." Someone other than ʿAṭāʾ said to me: "The Prophet ﷺ used to, when he performed the prayer, look to the right, to the left, and straight ahead of him, until it was revealed: قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ. Thereafter he was never again seen looking at anything other than the ground."
Others said: by it in this place is meant fear.
Mention of those who said that:
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ: he said: "Those who fear."
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, concerning الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ: al-Ḥasan said: "Those who fear." Qatāda said: "The khushūʿ is in the heart."
ʿAlī related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ: he said: "Fearful and still."
We have already set forth in an earlier part of our work that khushūʿ means submission and humbling, so that repeating it here is unnecessary. Since Allah the Exalted has not designated in text or report which of the two meanings He intends, it is clear that He intends the generality of it. Thus the interpretation of this statement is as follows: those who, in their prayer, are submissive toward Allah by faithfully fulfilling what He has imposed upon them of obligations and acts of veneration; and when the servant humbles himself thus toward Allah in the prayer, then the lowliness of his submission becomes visible in the stilling of his limbs, in his concentration upon his obligation, and in his refraining from what he has been commanded to refrain from therein.
