﴿ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ فَرِجَالًا أَوْ رُكْبَانًۭا ۖ فَإِذَآ أَمِنتُمْ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَمَا عَلَّمَكُم مَّا لَمْ تَكُونُوا۟ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

“But if you are in danger, [pray] walking or riding; and when you are again secure, bear God in mind - since it is He who taught you what you did not previously know.”

The word hafizu (literally ‘guard’) is used to denote yet another aspect of prayer. It is as if prayer were an object to be guarded just the way wealth is. Great care in observing the proper timings of prayer, even in times of the greatest danger, and refraining from all such actions as may mar the spirit of prayer—all this is implied by the ‘guarding’ of prayer. The third aspect of prayer is humility. It is the essence of prayer. Prayer is the standing of His servants before their Lord. Therefore, it is essential that at times of prayer that state of mind should be induced in the suppliant, which prevails when the most humble stands before the Most High.