And He Almighty said:

{Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of God is greater.} (Al-Ankabut: 45).

And He Almighty said:

{And he remembered the name of his Lord and prayed.} (Al-A'la: 15).

Thus, he indicated by this saying that Prayer is a commander and a prohibitor, and that the one who remembers his Lord is a "performer of prayer" (muṣallī). How then could these movements of the limbs be described as commanding and prohibiting?!

If someone says: "Why then did he [the Prophet] perform it and urge [others to do] it?"

The answer: We have made known to you that he established an exoteric aspect which he made a guide to the esoteric; for had he not done so, no one would have known either an exoteric or an esoteric.

Among what clarifies the voidance of the exoteric [as an end in itself] is that, in the path of Justice, it would have been necessary that when God sent Muhammad with this Law (Shar‘), He should have sent a messenger to the furthest lands of China to command them with exactly what Muhammad commanded us—regarding the obligations of fasting, prayer, pilgrimage, and Jihad—without alteration, since they are creations like us. Why then did He distinguish us with the Messenger