فَسُبْحَانَ اللَّـهِ حِينَ تُمْسُونَ وَحِينَ تُصْبِحُونَ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ وَعَشِيًّا وَحِينَ تُظْهِرُ‌ونَ

So, proclaim Allah's purity when you see the evening and when you see the morning. And to Him be praise in the heavens and the earth, and in the afternoon and when you enter the time of Zuhr (soon after the decline of the sun towards West). (30:17-18)

The word 'subhan' (سُبْحَانَ ) is an infinitive which means 'to declare the purity of someone from defects'. The phrase 'subhanallah' (فَسُبْحَانَ اللَّـهِ ) is meant to proclaim Allah's purity from all defects. To recite this phrase with this intention is called 'tasbih'. But in general usage, the word 'tasbih' often includes all forms of worship and remembrance of Allah, like salah, dhikr, etc. In the present verse, a verb is understood before the infinitive 'subhan' which is meant to direct the addressees to make 'tasbih' which, in its general sense, includes all forms of remembrance of Allah, and salah in particular, as explained above. In the light of this explanation, the present verse, in its beginning, enjoins upon its followers that they should remember Allah in the morning and evening, and at the end of the verse, it is instructed that they should remember Him at the other two times, عَشِيًّا وَحِينَ تُظْهِرُ‌ونَ. One of these times is 'ashiyy' (عَشِیّ ) which is the name of the last part of the day, and here it refers to the time of ` Asr; and the other time is when the sun starts declining towards West, that is Zuhr.

In the sequence of the present verse, evening is mentioned before morning, and the end of the day (` Asr) is mentioned before Zuhr. One reason of precedence of evening over morning is that in Islamic calendar evening precedes the morning, and the date changes at the sunset (Maghrib). For precedence of ` Asr over zuhr one reason could be that at the time of ` Asr, which is also called the middle (wusta) prayer, people are generally busy in their work, and hence, it is rather difficult to offer prayer at that time. This is why there is greater emphasis in the Qur'an for offering ` Asr prayers حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَىٰ (Take due care of all the prayers, and the middle prayer, - 2:238)

In the wordings of this verse the prayer (salah) is not specified as such. Hence, all types of worships, whether by actions or by word of mouth, are included in the meaning of the verse. Since prayer is supreme in all worships, it is included here on priority. It is for this reason that the scholars have stated that this verse has clearly described and defined the timings of the five prayers. Someone asked Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ whether the Qur'an has specifically mentioned about the five prayers? He answered in the affirmative, and quoted this verse as a proof. Then explaining his point, he said that the words," when you see the evening" (حِین تُمسُونَ ) are for maghrib prayer, "when you see the morning" (حِینَ تُصبِحُونَ )for fajr prayer, "in the afternoon" (عَشِیَّا) for ` Asr prayer, "and when you enter the time of zuhr" (وَ حِینَ تُظھِرُون) for zuhr prayer. In this way, this verse has described the four prayers very clearly. As for the ` Isha' prayer, it is enjoined explicitly in the verse مِن بَعْدِ صَلَاةِ الْعِشَاءِ (After the prayer of ` Isha' - 24:58). Sayyidna Hasan Al-Basri (رح) has opined that the words, "when you see the evening" include both maghrib and ` Isha' prayers.

Special Note

This verse is the dhikr of Sayyidna Ibrahim ؓ which earned him the title of وَإِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ الَّذِي وَفَّىٰ (And Ibrahim who fulfilled his covenant - 53:37). Sayyidna Ibrahim used to recite these words in the morning and evening.

It is reported from Sayyidna Mu` adh Ibn 'Anas ؓ with authentic proofs that the reason behind awarding the title of 'fulfilling his covenant' to Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) was his recitation of this prayer.

Abu Dawud, Tabarani and Ibn- us- Sunni have reported on the authority of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said about these two verses:

فَسُبْحَانَ اللَّـهِ حِينَ تُمْسُونَ وَحِينَ تُصْبِحُونَ ﴿17﴾ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ وَعَشِيًّا وَحِينَ تُظْهِرُ‌ونَ ﴿18﴾ يُخْرِ‌جُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِ‌جُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَيُحْيِي الْأَرْ‌ضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ تُخْرَ‌جُونَ

So, proclaim Allah's purity when you see the evening and when you see the morning. And to Him be praise in the heavens and the earth, and in the afternoon and when you enter the time of Zuhur (soon after the decline of the sun towards West). He brings out the living from the dead and brings out the dead from the living, and gives life to the land after it is dead. And in similar way you will be brought out. (30:17-19)

That whoever will recite them in the morning, all shortcomings in his acts during the day will be repaired; and whoever will recite these verses in the evening all shortcomings in his actions during the night will be repaired. (Ruh).