لَّا تَجْعَلُوا دُعَاءَ الرَّسُولِ بَيْنَكُمْ كَدُعَاءِ بَعْضِكُم بَعْضًا ۚ قَدْ يَعْلَمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ يَتَسَلَّلُونَ مِنكُمْ لِوَاذًا ۚ فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَن تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (63)
(24:63) O Believers, do not consider the summoning by the Messenger like the summoning among you by one another. *102 Allah knows well those of you who steal away, concealing themselves behind others. *103 Let those who disobey the order of the Messenger beware lest they should be involved in some affliction, *104 or are visited by a woeful scourge.
*102) Dua" means `to summon', `to pray' and` to call`. Dua'-ar-Rasul, therefore, may mean `summoning or praying by the Messenger' or `calling the Messenger'. The verse can thus have three meanings which would all be equally correct;
(a) "The Prophet's summons should not be treated as a common man's summons", for the Prophet's summon is of extraordinary importance, which you cannot ignore, because if you fail to respond to it, or feel hesitant about it, you will be doing so at the very risk of your faith
(b) "Do not consider the Prophet's prayer as a common man's prayer". If he is pleased with you and prays for you, there can be no greater good fortune for you. But if he is displeased with you and curses you, there can be no greater misfortune for you.
(c) "Calling the Prophet should not be like calling among yourselves of each other. That is, you should not call or address the Prophet just as you call and address other people aloud by their names. You should have full respect for' him, because the slightest disrespect in this regard will call for Allah's reckoning in the Hereafter. Though all the three meanings quite fit in with the context, the first meaning is more in keeping with the theme which follows.
*103) This is yet another trait of the hypocrites. When they are summoned to gather together for a collective cause, they do respond to the call, because they want to be counted among the Muslims. But they grudge their presence, and steal away somehow as soon as they find an opportunity.
*104) According to Imam Ja'far Sadiq, "affliction" means "rule of the unjust". That is if the Muslims will disobey the Commands of the Prophet, they will be put under tyrants. Besides this, there can be many other forms of affliction also; for instance, sectarian differences, civil war, moral degradation, disruption of community life, internal chaos, disintegration of political and material power, subjugation by others, etc. verse64