Thy
Lord knoweth that thou continuest
in prayer and meditation sometimes
near two third parts of the night, and
sometimes one half thereof, and at
other times one third part thereof; and a part of
thy companions, who
are with
thee,
do the same. But
God measureth the night and the day; he knoweth that
ye cannot
exactly compute the same: wherefore he turneth favourably unto you
f
Note [édition originale] : Wherefore he turneth favourably unto you;] By making the matter easy to you, and dispensing with your scrupulous
counting of the hours of the night which ye are directed to spend in reading
and praying: for some of the
Moslems, not knowing how the time passed, used to
watch the whole night, standing and walking about till their legs and feet
swelled in a sad manner. The commentators add that this precept of dedicating
a part of the night to devotion, is abrogated by the institution of the five
hours of prayer
1.
.
Read, therefore, so much of the
Koran as may be easy
unto you. He knoweth
that there will be some infirm among you; and others travel through the earth,
that they may obtain
a competency of the bounty of
God; and others fight in
the defence of
God’s faith. Read, therefore, so much of the same as may be
easy. And observe the stated times of prayer, and pay the legal alms; and
lend unto
God an acceptable loan; for whatever good ye send before your souls,
ye shall find the same with
God. This
will be better, and will merit a
greater reward
a
Note [édition originale] : This will merit a greater reward;] i.e. The good which ye shall do in your lifetime will be much more
meritorious in the sight of
God, than what ye shall defer till death, and
order by will
2.
. And ask
God forgiveness; for
God is ready to forgive,
and
merciful.