اتْلُ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلآةَ  

Recite (O Muhammad) what has been revealed to you of the Book, and establish regular Salat.

    Allah commands Muhammad (pbuh) to recite of the Quran and to establish Salat, which is a command for all Muslims.  Recitation of the Holy Quran brings comfort and peace to the heart.  Recitation of the Quran as a book of guidance will:

1. strengthen our faith,

2. urge us to do good deeds and prohibits us from what is evil,

3. promise the grand reward in the Hereafter, (Paradise),

4. remind us of the justice of Allah,

5. reminds us of our accountability to Allah, and the Day of Judgment.

Ø The Quran is a convincing book, written in an eloquent style, understood by both the uneducated and scholarly.  The Quran is a treasure and will continue to be so because it is the Book of Allah.

Ø We are to recite the Quran because:

1. its commands are numerous,

2. its guidelines plentiful,

3. its Directives legion, and

4. the Divine laws set forth in it can never be surpassed.

Ø The Quran deals with individuals, communities, as well as societies.  It deals with the relationship between men and women in justice and fairness, in fact, it provides guidance for all aspects of personal and communal life.

 إِنَّ الصَّلآةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاء وَالْمُنكَرِ 

Verily Salat restrains from the reprehensible and obscene;

    Besides keeping communion with Allah, Salat gives us many additional benefits.  A person earnest in his Salat elevates himself to a high level, a level above vulgarity and obscenity, above temptations of all sorts.

  وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ  

and verily Allah's remembrance is the greatest (duty of the believers).  Allah knows all that you do.

    Allah's remembrance is an invisible shield by itself, it is a form of silent prayer.

    Allah's remembrance:

1. renews our love and dedication to Allah,

2. reminds us of His ever presence, Omnipotence, Authority, and Mercy.

3. renews our resolve to do good on earth, to do His work on earth,

4. directs us to strive for the decent and good and against the evil and bad.

ولاَ تُجَادِلُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ إِلاّ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِلاّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْهُمْ  

And dispute not with the people of the Book save in the best manner, apart from those of them who act unjustly;

    The people of the Scriptures are the Christians and Jews.  The Muslims are commanded by Allah to argue with them in a friendly and genial way.  After all, the fundamentals of Christianity and Judaism (as they were first revealed), are the same as those of Islam.  Islam came to:

1. affirm the genuine parts of those religions,

2. remove the distortions that crept into them through the ages, and

3. scomplete Allah's Message to humanity.

    Since the three religions came from the same source, Muslims are commanded to be genial and cordial in their dealings and arguments with the people of the Scriptures.

وَقُولُوا آمَنَّا بِالَّذِي أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَأُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَإِلَهُنَا وَإِلَهُكُمْ وَاحِدٌ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ  

Tell them:  "We believe in what has been sent down to us and to you, our Lord and your Lord is One, and unto Him we submit."

Ø This confirms that what has been revealed to Islam an originally revealed to Christianity or Judaism was the same, and that the fundamentals are the same.

Ø It further says that Allah is One and it affirms His Oneness once more, for Allah has always revealed Himself as One Deity, in Islam as well as Christianity and Judaism.

Ø A third point is emphasized, and that is the submission to the Authority and Will of Allah, and gladly accepting it.

وَكَذَلِكَ أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ فَالَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ 

Thus We have sent down this Book (the Quran) to you;

and those whom We have given the book believe in it;

    Allah informs Muhammad (pbuh) that the path in which the Quran was revealed was the same as that of the other Scriptures and Allah's Revelations remain the same for all religions, and Allah's aim remains the same.

Ø Allah wants to direct humanity to what is good, fair, decent, and righteous.  Allah wants to guide humanity away from the evil and sinful.

    This means there are two camps in humanity:

1. the camp of people who believe in Allah, do His work, and strive to follow His Directives; and

2. the camp of people who disobey Allah and do what they please.  Often they are inclined to mischief.

Therefore, believers in religions constitute the camp of Allah, they are like brothers, united in their aim and dedicated to the cause.  They are to struggle against the others (the disbelievers) with all they have, all through the ages.

وَمِنْ هَؤُلاء مَن يُؤْمِنُ بِهِ وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِآيَاتِنَا إِلاّ الْكَافِرُونَ  

and some of these (Arab pagans) also believe in it;

and none contradicts Our Signs except the disbelievers.

    Not only did some people of the Scriptures believe in what was revealed in the Quran, but some of Prophet Muhammad's contemporaries (who were pagans) came to believe in it too.

    Therefore, at the time of early Islam there were believers consisting of, a) some of the people of the Scriptures, and b) some of Quraish on the one hand, and the disbelievers on the other hand.