The Quran

191

Preface

الَّذينَ يَذكُرونَ اللَّهَ قِيامًا وَقُعودًا وَعَلىٰ جُنوبِهِم وَيَتَفَكَّرونَ في خَلقِ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ رَبَّنا ما خَلَقتَ هٰذا باطِلًا سُبحانَكَ فَقِنا عَذابَ النّارِ

Yusuf Ali

Men who celebrate the praises of God, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides,¹ and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): “Our Lord! not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us² salvation from the penalty of the Fire.

That is, in all postures, which again is symbolical of all circumstancespersonal, social, economic, historical and other.
It is the thought of Salvation that connects all these glories with man.
Otherwise man would be a miserable, contemptible creature in these beauties and wonders of Nature. With his high destiny of Salvation he can be lifted even higher than these glories! The Fire is a symbol of penalty, we pray for salvation from the penalty.