2/238-239 — The prayer set in the middle of the law
The placing of these two verses has been discussed more than their content — and rightly. The verse stands right in the middle of the rulings about divorce: before it dower and divorce, after it bequest and the waiting period again.
There was one other instance of this in the sūra: verse 186 was placed in the middle of the rulings about fasting, and the same thing was recorded there. The same working is repeated here: in the middle of the regulation the language of ruling is left for a moment.
And the place these verses are put is the most strained section of the sūra: separation, division of property, mutual claims of right. Right there it says "keep up the prayers". I record this as my own reading: it is recalled that the ground on which the rulings are to be applied stands before the rulings.
ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ٱلْوُسْطَىٰ — "the middle prayer". Which prayer it is is disputed and must not be concealed:
| View | Ground |
|---|---|
| The afternoon prayer | The view most widely transmitted |
| The dawn prayer | Its being in the middle between two prayers |
| The noon prayer | Its coming at the middle of the day |
| It has been left unspecified | That its name was not given so that all the prayers might be kept |
I impose no preference. I record only this much: the root of the word (و-س-ط) was treated at verse 143 of the sūra in the construct ummatan wasaṭan, and it was recorded there that the word "middle" states both position and value. The same double sense holds here.
The licence is again beside the ruling. And the form of the licence is worth recording: the prayer is not lifted, its form is changed. The measure repeated in the sūra: in hardship the obligation does not fall, its form is lightened.