Commentary on Tafsir al-Jalalayn: “And those who responded to their Lord” — they answered Him to what He called them to, namely tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and worship. “And they established the prayer”
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The Shaykh :[Ash-Shuraa 42:38] The waw is a letter. “Those who” is conjoined to what came before; is it a conjunction of persons or of descriptions? Descriptions. [Ash-Shuraa 42:38] The commentator said: “They answered Him to what He called them to, namely tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and worship”. “They responded to their Lord” means they answered Him. We have previously mentioned examples of “istajaba” (responded) meaning “ajaba” (answered). His statement: “namely tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and worship” is an acceptable interpretation. However, if he (may Allah have mercy on him) had said: “They responded to their Lord, meaning they answered Him to everything He called them to, namely doing the commands and leaving the prohibitions,” it would have been clearer and more comprehensive. [It is] conjoined to “they responded,” so it is included in the relative clause. The author said: “They maintained it”. There is a point of consideration here. Rather, the meaning of “they established the prayer” is that they performed it upright in the manner requested of them, because there is a difference between establishing the prayer and maintaining the prayer. Yes, maintaining it is part of establishing it, without doubt, but establishing it is not the same as maintaining it. Therefore, establishing it means performing the prayer upright in the required manner. And his statement “the prayer” encompasses both the obligatory and the voluntary. “Their affair” means their matter, and the intended meaning is the general matter, not the private one. The general matter that concerns everyone is what they consult about. The meaning of “they consult about it” is that they exchange opinions: do they proceed or refrain? Do they decide to leave things as they are? The important thing is that consultation is the exchange of opinions so that they may arrive at a result that is satisfactory to everyone. Allah the Exalted said: “They consult about it and do not rush”. [Al-Baqarah 2:3] The “min” here is for partiality, and it is possible that it is for the genus. If it is the former, the praise is for the one who spends part of his wealth. If we say it is for the genus, the praise is for the one who spends all of his wealth or part of it. Which is more appropriate to say: for partiality or for the genus? For the genus is more appropriate, to include the little, the much, and the whole. He said: “We gave them in obedience to Allah”.