The Qur'an constantly mentions the couplet of salah and zakah, and in this order. Why?

Salah is our most basic positive obligation towards God, zakah is our most basic positive obligation towards other human beings.

Huquq Allah and huquq al-'ibad. https://twitter.com/YasirQadhi/status/1274459554122797056

Jesus (upon him be peace) is reported to have said "Love the Lord your God ... [and] love your neighbour ... All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Salah is the most fundamental action we can do under the first of them, zakah under the second.

Salah and zakah are in fact ultimately linked, in that the latter is a component of the former.

The Qur'an tells us that one who prays salah but does not aid the needy is heedless of their salah.

The fullness of salah requires that one gives zakah. https://twitter.com/Evollaqi/status/1262823350059089927?s=19

This reflects the ultimate reality.

Huquq Allah and huquq al-'ibad are not in fact distinct. Everything is the domain of God, all rights are God's rights upon us.

All obligations to creation are ultimately obligations towards God, all precepts of dīn are precepts of tawhīd.

All good deeds towards creation, with right intent, are acts of worship of God.

To summarise the original message of this thread:

Salah is the least we can do towards God, zakah is the least we can do towards others.

The bare minimum of our worship and of our morality, but also the backbone of Islam from which all else is built.

All our claims of worshipping God - whether my tongue, heart, mind, or limb - ring hollow if do not even do our fardh salah.

All our claims of doing good for others ring hollow if we're not willing to put our money where our mouth is (even just 2.5%).