Taberî examines the word 'qânitîn' in this verse as meaning silence in worship (remaining silent during prayer), and transmits various disagreements about which prayer is the middle prayer (salât-ï vustâ); he lists different reports that it is the noon prayer, afternoon prayer, evening prayer, and dawn prayer. He bases his preferred view on an interpretation transmitted from Ibn Abbas: all creatures in the heavens and on earth are obedient to Allah (qânit), because in matters such as life and death no one can oppose Allah; however, they can rebel through actions they choose of their own will. Therefore, it is noted that the expression 'qânitîn' refers to this general meaning of obedience, and this usage in the verse points to the meaning of not speaking/silence, which differs from other uses of qanut in the Qur'an.

وأولى الأقوال في ذلك بالصواب القول الذي ذكرناه عن ابن عباس: وهو أن كل من في السماوات والأرض من خلق لله مطيع في تصرفه فيما أراد تعالى ذكره من حياة وموت، وما أشبه ذلك، وإن عصاه فيما يكسبه بقوله، وفيما له السبيل إلى اختياره وإيثاره على خلافه.

In this text, Râzî addresses the issue of which prayer is the salât-ï vustâ and the number of prayer times. He transmits that some interpreters established the necessity of five daily prayers through numerical evidence, and then conveys various proofs regarding the salât-ï vustâ being the dawn prayer (qunut, the sweetness of sleep, the need for emphasis, etc.). He also transmits that the word qunut was interpreted differently by scholars such as Ibn Abbas and Mujahid (supplication-remembrance, silence, humility) and also conveys jurisprudential views regarding the manner of performing prayer in a state of fear.

فهذه الآية دالة على وجوب الصلوات الخمسة بهذا الطريق ، واعلم أن هذا الاستدلال إنما يتم إذا بينا أن المراد من الوسطى ما تكون وسطى في العدد لا ما تكون وسطى بسبب الفضيلة

According to this text, the number of obligatory prayers is between three and seven, and among these only five exists as an odd number, thus it becomes clear that the obligatory prayers are five times daily. This situation is presented as evidence that the witr prayer is not obligatory, for if witr were obligatory the number of prayers would need to be even, yet it remains odd.

دليل على أن الوتر ليس بواجب لأن المسلمين اتفقوا على أعداد الصلوات المفروضات أنها تنقص عن سبعة وتزيد على ثلاثة وليس بين الثلاثة والسبعة فرد إلا الخمسة

Ibn Kesîr transmits many reports from the Companions and the Successors regarding 'the middle prayer' (salât-ï vustâ): some state that it is the dawn prayer (Abul-Aliya, Ibn Umar, Anas, etc.), some state it is the noon prayer (Zayd b. Thabit), some state it is the afternoon prayer (Sumurah b. Jundub, Abû Hurayrah, a view based on Aisha's reading), and one view holds it to be the evening prayer (Ibn Abbas). While he points to the abundance of reports supporting the afternoon prayer view and the soundness of some chains of transmission, he notes weakness in the chain of the evening prayer view.

وقيل إن الصلاة الوسطى هي صلاة المغرب رواه ابن أبي حاتم عن ابن عباس وفي إسناده نظر فانه رواه عن أبيه عن أبي الجماهر عن سعيد بن بشير عن قتادة عن أبي الخليل عن عمه عن ابن عباس قال صلاة الوسطى المغرب

According to Beydâwî, the verse points to performing prayers at their appointed times and maintaining consistency in them; he transmits multiple views about the expression 'salât-ï vustâ': that this prayer is the one in the middle among others or the most virtuous prayer, particularly the afternoon prayer (based on the hadith of the Battle of the Trench), and also different reports and reasons that it may be the noon, dawn, evening, or night prayer. In the reading transmitted from Aisha, it is stated that the Prophet read this as 'the afternoon prayer' explicitly, in which case the afternoon is mentioned both among the four prayers counted and also separately for its virtue. Furthermore, the word 'qânitîn' is explained as being occupied with remembrance in prayer, being in a state of humility, or according to Ibn al-Musayyib, particularly meaning the qunut in the dawn prayer.

وعن عائشة رضي الله تعالى عنها: أنه عليه الصلاة والسلام كان يقرأ: «والصلاة الوسطى صلاة العصر» ، فتكون صلاة من الأربع خصت بالذكر مع العصر لانفرادهما بالفضل.