11.Surah Hud

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ ...

11: 114. And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day

C1616. The two ends of the day: Morning and afternoon.

-     The morning prayer is the Fajr, after the light is up but before sunrise: we thus get up betimes and begin the day with the remembrance of Allah and of our duty to Him.

-        The early afternoon prayer, Zuhr, is immediately after noon: we are in the midst of our daily life, and again we remember Allah. (R).

... وَزُلَفًا مِّنَ اللَّيْلِ...

and at the approaches of the night:

C1617. Approaches of the night: Zulafun, plural of Zulfatun, an approach, something near at hand.

As Arabic has, like Greek, a dual number distinct from the plural, and the plural number is used here, and not the dual, it is reasonable to argue that at least three "approaches of the night" are meant.

-        The late afternoon prayer, 'Asr, can be one of these three, and

-        the evening prayer, Magrib, just after sunset, can be the second.

-        The early night prayer, 'Isha, at supper time-when the glow of sunset is disappearing, would be the third of the "approaches of the night", when we commit ourselves to Allah before sleep.

These are the five canonical prayers of Islam.

...إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّـيِّئَاتِ...

for those things that are good remove those that are evil:

C1618. "Those things that are good": in this context the words refer primarily to prayers, but they include all good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.

It is by them that we keep away everything that is evil, whether referring to the past, the present, or the future.

...ذَلِكَ ذِكْرَى لِلذَّاكِرِينَ ﴿١١٤﴾

be that the word of remembrance to those who remember (their Lord):

Other versions:

11: 114 [Hud, Mecca 52]

Yusuf Ali And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night: for those things that are good remove those that are evil: be that the word of remembrance to those who remember (their Lord):

Pickthall Establish worship at the two ends of the day and in some watches of the night. Lo! good deeds annul ill deeds. This is a reminder for the mindful.

Transliteration Wa aqimis sala_ta tarafayin naha_ri wa zulafam minal lail(i), innal hasana_ti yuzhibnas sayyi'a_t(i), za_lika zikra_ liz za_kirin(a).