"And perform the prayer at the two ends of the day and in the early hours of the night. Truly good deeds remove those that are evil. This is a reminder for those who remember."
Quran 11:114
This passage is drawn from the eleventh surah, Hud. Not surprisingly it reminds me of the next to last passage of the seventh surah, which is often featured in my own prayers: "And remember thy Lord within thy soul, humbly and in awe, being not loud or voice, in the morning and the evening, and be not among those who are heedless." (7:205) The reference to praying at the "two ends of the day" and "the morning and the evening" is certainly interesting in relation to a faith that requires five prayers a day. To me in this instance it's another metaphoric reminder to always at the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, to stop and carve off some meditative time to be thankful for the many gifts that we have and to reflect upon the ways that we can be better people.
In addition the reminder that "good deeds remove those that are evil" brings us back to the essential Islamic precept that good deeds outweigh bad deeds. As Nasr reminds us, "In a more general sense, it can refer to the manner in which the positive effect of good actions can offset the negative effects of evil actions, as the Prophet said, 'Follow up an evil deed with a good deed, and it shall erase it.' In a hadith the prophet said, 'For Everything there is a polish, and the polish of the heart is the remembrance of God.'" (p. 587)
Quran 11:114
This passage is drawn from the eleventh surah, Hud. Not surprisingly it reminds me of the next to last passage of the seventh surah, which is often featured in my own prayers: "And remember thy Lord within thy soul, humbly and in awe, being not loud or voice, in the morning and the evening, and be not among those who are heedless." (7:205) The reference to praying at the "two ends of the day" and "the morning and the evening" is certainly interesting in relation to a faith that requires five prayers a day. To me in this instance it's another metaphoric reminder to always at the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, to stop and carve off some meditative time to be thankful for the many gifts that we have and to reflect upon the ways that we can be better people.
In addition the reminder that "good deeds remove those that are evil" brings us back to the essential Islamic precept that good deeds outweigh bad deeds. As Nasr reminds us, "In a more general sense, it can refer to the manner in which the positive effect of good actions can offset the negative effects of evil actions, as the Prophet said, 'Follow up an evil deed with a good deed, and it shall erase it.' In a hadith the prophet said, 'For Everything there is a polish, and the polish of the heart is the remembrance of God.'" (p. 587)
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