Maintain the five prayers by performing them at their appointed times and the middle prayer either that of the afternoon or the morning or the midday or another prayer there are many opinions on this matter; God has singled it out for mention because of its merit; and stand in prayer submissive to God li Lllāhi qānitīn some have said that this means ‘obedience’ on account of the Prophet s saying ‘Wherever the expression qunūt ‘submission’ appears in the Qur’ān it denotes obedience’ as reported by Ahmad b. Hanbal and others; it is also said to mean ‘in silence’ sākitīn on the basis of a hadīth of Zayd b. Arqam in which he said ‘We used to speak to each other sometimes during prayer but when this was revealed we were commanded to be silent and were forbidden to talk’ as reported by the two Shaykhs Bukhārī and Muslim.
