Quran Universe
24:56

وَأَقِيمُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُواْ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَأَطِيعُواْ ٱلرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُرۡحَمُونَ

Waaqeemoo alssalata waatoo alzzakata waateeAAoo alrrasoola laAAallakum turhamoona

And establish prayer and give zakah and obey the Messenger - that you may receive mercy.

Word by word
  1. وَأَقِيمُواْAnd establish
  2. ٱلصَّلَوٰةَthe prayer
  3. وَءَاتُواْand give
  4. ٱلزَّكَوٰةَzakah
  5. وَأَطِيعُواْand obey
  6. ٱلرَّسُولَthe Messenger
  7. لَعَلَّكُمۡso that you may
  8. تُرۡحَمُونَreceive mercy
An-Nur · 24:56Madinah

Prayer, zakah, obedience: the road to mercy.

Worship of Allah and kindness to His creatures

Three steps
prayerworship Allah alone
zakahkindness to the weak
obey the Messengerdo and avoid
that you
receive mercyfrom Allah
How mercy comes
just hopingAllah is merciful anyway
walking toward itprayer, giving, following

Right after the promise of security, the verse names the daily practice behind it. Ibn Kathir explains prayer is worshipping Allah alone, zakah is kindness towards His poor and weak creatures, and by these one obeys the Messenger ﷺ, so that Allah will have mercy.

You pray on the way to work, give a little on payday, and try to follow the Sunnah in small things. It does not feel like much. This verse says that is the road to mercy. One line upward to Allah, one line outward to people.

Mercy is something that will just happen to me.

Prayer, giving, and following the Messenger ﷺ are how I walk toward Allah's mercy.

Try this

Give a small amount to someone in need today, right after a prayer.

Related9:71
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

And perform the Salah, and give the Zakah and obey the Messenger that you may receive mercy (56)Consider not that the disbelievers can escape in the land. Their abode shall be the Fire – and worst indeed is that destination (57)

The Command to Pray, Give the Zakah and Obey the Messenger (ﷺ); The Inability of the Disbelievers to Escape,and the Ultimate Destiny

Allah commands His believing servants to establish prayer, which means worshipping Allah Alone with no partner or associate; to pay the Zakah, which is an act of kindness towards His poor and weak creatures; and by doing so to obey the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, i.e., to do as he commands them and to avoid what he forbids them, so that Allah will have mercy on them for that. No doubt, whoever does that, Allah will have mercy on him, as Allah says in another Ayah:

أُولَٰئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللَّهُ

(Allah will have His mercy on them)(9:71)

لَا تَحْسَبَنَّ

(Consider not) means, 'do not think, O Muhammad,' that:

الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا

(the disbelievers) meaning, those who opposed and denied you,

مُعْجِزِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ

(can escape in the land.) means, that they can flee from Allah. No, Allah is able to deal with them and He will punish them most severely for that. Allah says:

وَمَأْوَاهُمُ 

(Their abode) meaning, in the Hereafter,

النَّارُ ۖ وَلَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ

(shall be the Fire – and worst indeed is that destination.) means, how terrible the consequences will be for the disbelievers, how evil a place to stay in and how awful a place to rest!