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Chapter
10:
Prayer-Service (Hadith -- The
Traditions):
(Note:
The superscript-numbers [e.g., intention2]
that
appear in the text [in
pink]
refer to the numbers of the explanatory footnotes that
appear at the end of each Hadith
[Tradition].)
1
Ibn `Umar said,
I prayed with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, when staying at home and when journeying;
so he said the Zuhr prayer, when staying at home, four
rak`ahs and after it two rak`ahs and he said the `Asr prayer
four rak`ahs and there was nothing after it, and he said the
Maghrib prayer three rak`ahs and after it two rak`ahs he
said the `Isha prayer four rak`ahs; and he said the Zuhr
prayer, when journeying, two rak`ahs and after it two
rak`ahs, and the `Asr two rak`ahs and there was nothing
after it, and Maghrib three rak`ahs and after it two
rak`ahs, and the `Isha' two rak`ahs and after it two
rak`ahs. 1(Ah.
11, 90.)
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1
Rak`ah (from raka`a, he bent or
bowed down), taken as meaning a single act of
standing in prayer, is really a unit in the Islamic
institution of prayer. It consists really of all
the four possible worshipful positions, viz.,
standing, bowing down, prostration and sitting. Its
full description is given in h. 4. A man first
stands in prayer, then bows down, then stands
upright again, then falls down in prostration, then
raises himself up and sits down, then falls down in
prostration again and then raises himself up again.
This is called one rak`ah. After every two rak`ahs
the sitting position is assumed for a longer time.
The standing position is called qiyam, the
bowing down ruku, the prostration
sajdah and the sitting position
jalsah when it is a short sitting between
the two sajdahs, and qa`dah when it
is a longer sitting for reciting tashahhud
after two rak`ahs or at the end of prayer. This
hadith contains full details of the number of
rak`ahs for the different prayers with the
exception of Fajr, which consists of two rak`ahs,
but the statement made here that nafl or
sunnah rak`ahs were said during journeys is
contradicted by Bukhari (h. 32).
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2
`A'ishah reported that,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, never
omitted saying four rak`ahs before Zuhr and two rak`ahs
before Fajr. 2
(B. 19 : 34.)
|
2
From the hadith that have gone before it appears
that he said two rak`ahs before Zuhr. It, is
therefore, reasonable to conclude that sometimes he
said two rak`ahs sunnah and sometimes
four.
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3
Abu Hurairah reported that,
A man entered the mosque, and the Messenger of Allah, peace
and blessings of Allah be on him, was sitting in a corner of
the mosque; ......... he said, Teach me, O Messenger of
Allah! He said,
"When thou risest for the
prayer, then perform the ablution in a right manner, then
turn thy face towards the Qiblah, then say Allahu
Akbar, then recite what thou canst afford of the
Qur'an, then bow down until thou art at rest in bowing
down (ruku`), then raise thyself up until thou art firm
in the standing posture, then fall down in prostration
until thou art at rest in prostration, then raise thyself
up until thou art at rest in sitting, then fall down in
prostration until thou art at rest in prostration, then
raise thyself up until thou art at rest in
sitting3;
and, according to one report, then raise thyself up until
thou art firm in the standing posture; then do this in
the whole of thy prayer." (B. & M-Msh. 4 :
10.)
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3
This applies when two rak`ahs have been
said.
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4
Abu Humaidal-Sa`idi said,
I best guard the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, When he said Allahu
Akbar4
I saw him raise his hands to his shoulders; and When he
performed the ruku`, he firmly held his two knees with his
two hands, and he bent his back (levelling it with his
head); then when he raised his head, he stood erect until
every bone of the spine returned to its regular place; and
when he performed the sajdah, he laid his forearms (on the
ground), not spreading them out as a bed, nor contracting
them (to his sides), and he made the tips of the toes of his
two feet face towards the Qiblah; and when he sat after
(finishing) two rak`ahs, he sat on his left foot and made
the right one stand erect; and when he sat after the last
rak`ah, he brought forward his left foot and made the other
stand erect, and sat on his
sitting-place.5
(B. 10 :
145.)
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4
This is called takbir tahrimah, the first
takbir with which a person enters the state of
prayer.
5
In this state the left foot was brought forward to
make himself more at ease, as the sitting after the
last rak`ah lasted longer. According to B. 10 :
145, when a person is unable to take a particular
position he may take any other in which he finds
himself comfortable.
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5
Sahl ibn Sa`d said,
Order was given to the people that in prayer a man should
place right hand on his left forearm.6
(B. 10 : 87.)
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6
This is the position of the hands in qiyam, whether
the hands are place on the breast or below the
navel.
|
6
Ibn `Abbas said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, was
commanded that he should perform sajdah on seven members of
the body, the forehead7
the two hands, the two knees and the two feet, and that he
should not arrange hair nor garments (while
praying).
(B. 10 :
133.)
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7
Including the tip of the nose (B. 10 :
135).
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7
Ibn `Umar said,
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be
on him, sat in tashahhud8,
he used to place his left hand on left knee and his right
hand on his right knee.9
(M-Msh. 4 :
15.)
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8
Tashahhud is the dhikr referred to in
h. 23. It is so called because it ends with the
Kalimah Shahadah.
9
The same is the position of the hands when one sits
between the two sajdahs.
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8
Anas reported on the authority of the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, (who said):
"When a person is drowsy in his prayers, let him go to sleep
until he knows what he recites." 10(B:
4 : 53.)
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10
This direction shows that the Holy Prophet wanted
the people to know the significance of what they
recited in their prayers. Mere repetition of words
without understanding their meaning does not serve
the real purpose of prayer. The recitations, which
are essential in prayer-service, are so few that a
child, as well as an adult, can learn their
significance within three months. It may, however,
be noted that some of the phrases, which are more
frequently repeated in prayer, are understood by
Muslims generally, whether they are educated or
not, such as Allahu Akbar, Subhana
Rabbiya-l-`Azim, etc. Moreover, the different
postures are a great help in creating a prayerful
mood.
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9
Abu Hurairah said,
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be
on him, got up for prayer, he used to say Allahu
Akbar when he assumed qiyam; then he said Allahu
Akbar when he bowed down for ruku`; then he said, "Allah
listens to him who praises Him", when he raised his back
from ruku`; then he said while he was standing, "Our Lord,
Thine is the praise"; then he said Allahu Akbar when
he fell down (in sajdah); then he said Allahu Akbar
when he raised his head; then he said Allahu Akbar
when he performed the (second) sajdah; then he said
Allahu Akbar when he raised his head; then he did
this in the whole of his prayer until he finished it, and he
said Allahu Akbar when he rose from the sitting
posture after two (rak`ahs11).
(B. 10 :
117.)
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11
This hadith mentions the different adhkar to be
uttered in the change from one posture to another.
It will be noted that except for what is uttered in
rising from ruku`, Allahu Akbar (Allah is
the Greatest) is uttered in all other changes
including the one when a person enters the state of
prayer.
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10
Abu Hurairah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, used to remain silent between the (opening) takbir and
the recital (of the Qur'an)-- I think, he said-- a little. I
said, May my father and my mother be thy sacrifice, O
Messenger of Allah! thy silence between the takbir and the
recital, what sayest thou (in that interval)? He said, "I
say:
`O Allah! Keep faults as
distant from me as the east is distant from the west; O
Allah! cleanse me of all faults as a white cloth is
cleansed of dirt; O Allah! wash away my faults with water
and snow and hail."12
(B. 10 : 89.)
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12
The dhikr mentioned in this hadith and the next
goes by the name of istiftah which means the
desiring to open, the real opening of prayer
being the chapter Fatihah as noted in h.
12.
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11
`A'ishah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, used to say, when he opened the prayer:
"Glory to Thee, O Allah! and
Thine is the praise, and blessed is Thy name and exalted
is Thy majesty and there is none to be served besides
Thee." (AD-Msh. 4 : 11.)
12
Anas reported that,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, and Abu
Bakr and `Umar used to open the prayer with al-hamdu
lillahi Rabbi-l-`alamin.13(B.
10 : 89.)
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13
The opening of the Holy Qur'an is thus also the
opening of prayer. Prayer is said to open with
al-hamdu li-llahi (the Fatihah),
because it is with this prayer that the imam opens
the prayer in a loud voice, the dhikr, called
istiftah being uttered individually in a voice
audible to oneself only.
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13
`Ubadah reported that,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"There is no prayer for him
who does not recite the Opening (chapter) of the Book."
14
(B. 10 : 95.)
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14
The Fatihah is thus an essential part of
every rak`ah of every prayer. Abu Hurairah is
reported to have said that the Fatihah
should be recited in a low voice even when
following the imam (M-Msh. 4 : 12).
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14
Abu Musa said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"When you pray, set right
your ranks; then one of you should act as your imam, so
when he says the takbir, say the takbir, and when he says
ghairi-l-maghdzub-i `alai-him wala-dzallin, say
amina,15
Allah will accept
your prayer. (M-Msh. 4 : 12.)
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15
Amina (from the root amn meaning security)
occurs always with fatihah over the final
letter, and it means O Allah! Listen to or
Answer my prayer or May it be so!
(N). It is generally uttered at the end of prayers;
when the imam utters a prayer, those who follow say
amina. The Fatihah being a prayer is
generally followed by amina and when the
imam recites the Fatihah in a loud voice,
those who follow should say amin in a loud
voice. Bukhari has a chapter (10 : 111) with the
heading "The saying of the imam amina in a
loud voice", and under this head he says : "Ibn
al-Zubair and those behind him said amina
until there was an echo in the mosque".
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15
Abu Qatadah reported that,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, used to
recite Umm al-Kitab (the Fatihah) and along
with it another surah in the first two rak`ahs of Zuhr and
`Asr prayers, and now and then he made us hear a verse, and
he used to lengthen (recital) in the first rak`ah.
16
(B. 10 :
109.)
|
16
In the first two rak`ahs of all prayers, some
portion of the Holy Qur'an is added to the
Fatihah, but in the third and fourth rak`ahs
only the Fatihah is recited. There are many
hadith in which it is related that the Holy Prophet
recited such and such a surah in the Maghrib,
`Isha' or Fajr prayer, the recitation in these
three prayers being in a loud voice, as against the
Zuhr and `Asr prayers in which the recitation was
in a voice audible to oneself.
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16
Abu Rafi` said,
I said with Abu Hurairah the `Isha' prayer, and he
recited Idha-l-sama' u-nshaqqat (ch. 84), and
performed sajdah17
. I enquired from him,
and he said, I performed the sajdah behind Abu-l-Qasim,
peace and blessings of Allah be on him, and I will continue
to perform the sajdah in it until I meet him. (B. 10 :
100.)
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17
There are several verses in the Holy Qur'an,
fourteen in all, the recital of which is followed
by an actual prostration. One such verse occurs in
ch. 84. The practice of the Holy Prophet was that
he performed a sajdah on the recital of such a
verse even when he recited it in
prayer-service.
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17
`A'ishah said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, used to
say in his ruku` and in his sajdah:
"Glory to Thee, O Allah, our
Lord! And Thine is the praise; grant me protection, O
Allah!" (B. 10 : 123.)
18
Hudhaifah reported that,
IHe prayed with the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be
on him, and he (the Prophet) used to say in his ruku`,
`Glory to my Lord, the Great', and in his sajdah, `Glory to
my Lord, the Most High'; and he did not recite any verse
speaking of Divine mercy but he paused and asked (for
mercy), and he did not recite any verse speaking of Divine
punishment but he paused and sought refuge (in
Allah).18
(Tr-Msh. 4 : 13.)
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18
This shows that the whole prayer should be made a
supplication to God, so that even when reciting the
Qur'an in prayer one should make supplications to
the Divine Being for His mercy and seek refuge in
Him.
The dhikr in ruku` and
sajdah, as mentioned in this hadith, should be
repeated thrice at least, as other hadith
show.
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19
Rifa`ah said,
IWe were one day praying behind the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, So when he raised from ruku`
(and) said, "Allah listens to him who praises Him," a man
behind him said, Our Lord! And Thine is the praise, abundant
praise, most excellent, blessed therein. When he finished
(the prayer), he said, "Who uttered (the words)?" The man
said, I. He said, "I saw over thirty angels hastening who
should write them first."19
(B. 10 :
126.)
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19
From this it appears that those who prayed were not
bound by uttering only prescribed words but were
free to give vent to their feelings as best they
could. The dhikr mentioned here is now generally
adopted, as it was approved by the Holy
Prophet.
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20
Abu Hurairah said,
And when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, raised his head saying, "Allah listens to
him who praises Him, our Lord! and Thine is the praise" he
used to pray for some people mentioning them by name and
said:
"O Allah! Deliver Walid ibn
al-Walid and Salamah ibn Hisham and `Ayyash ibn Abi
Rabi`ah and the weak from among the believers; O Allah!
make severe Thy hold on Mudzar and make these to them
years (of draught) like the years of Joseph."
20
(B. 10 : 128.)
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20
The prayer after rising from ruku` is known as
qunut, the name given to the special prayer
of witr. This hadith further shows that any
petition whatsoever may be made in any posture
during the prescribed prayers. The Holy Prophet
spoke the Arabic language and he therefore made all
supplications to God in Arabic. Following this
practice everyone is at liberty to ask for anything
from God in his own language.
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21
Abu Hurairah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"The nearest that the servant
is to his Lord is when he is in sajdah so make most
petitions (in sajdah)." 21
(M-Msh. 4 :
14.)
|
21
The state of sajdah or prostration is a state of
utmost humility, and the humbler a man feels before
the Great Maker, the nearer he is to Him. He is
told to make most of his petitions in this state.
These petitions may be made in any language.
Undoubtedly those made in the language which a man
generally speaks would give the best expression to
his deep feelings and are most fitted to lay open
his mind before God.
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22
Ibn `Abbas said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, used to say between the two sajdahs:
"O Allah! Forgive me and have mercy on
me and guide me and grant me security and grant me
sustenance." (AD-Msh. 4 :
14.)
23
`Abd Allah said,
When we said our prayers with the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, we said, Peace be on Allah
from His servants....... ; so the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, said to us:
"Do not say, Peace on Allah, for Allah
is the Author of peace; but say, `All services rendered by
words and bodily actions and sacrifice of wealth are due to
Allah. Peace be to Thee, O Prophet! and the mercy of Allah
and His blessings. Peace be to us and the righteous servants
of Allah,'--for when you say this, it reaches every servant
(of Allah) in heaven and in earth--`I bear witness that none
deserves to be worshipped but Allah, and I bear witness that
Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.' Then one should
choose any petition which he likes most and pray (to
Allah).22
(B. 10 :
150.)
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22
As other hadith show, this prayer is offered in the
sitting position, called qa`dah, which is
necessarily adopted after every two rak`ahs and
after the final rak`ah. It is known as
tashahhud on account of the shahadah
(bearing of witness) in the concluding
sentence.
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24
`Abd Allah ibn Mas`ud said,
I was saying prayers, and the Prophet, peace and blessings
of Allah be on him, was present and Abu Bakr and `Umar were
with him. When I assumed the sitting posture, I began with
extolling Allah, then I repeated sala on the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be on him, then I prayed for
myself.23
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said,
"Ask (and) thou wilt be given, ask (and) thou wilt be
given."24
(Tr-Msh. 4 : 16.)
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23
This, of course, was as taught by the Holy Prophet
himself. The extolling of Allah is as taught in h.
23, the sala on the Holy Prophet as taught in h. 25
and the prayer for oneself as taught in h.26 and
other hadith.
24
This is meant
to lay stress on the fact that the observance of
prayer does not mean the utterance of certain
stated formulae only; it is really an occasion of
opening one's mind before the Maker to its fullest
extent.
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25
`Abd al-Rahman said,
...................We said, O Messenger of Allah! How should
we offer you sala? ......... He said, "Say:
`O Allah! Exalt Muhammad and
the true followers of Muhammad as Thou didst exalt
Abraham and the true followers of Abraham, for Thou are
Praised, Magnified. O Allah! Bless Muhammad and the true
followers of Muhammad as Thou didst bless Abraham and the
true followers of Abraham, for Thou are Praised,
Magnified." 25
(B. & M.-Msh. 4 :
16.)
|
25
The sala on the Holy Prophet, as the words
show, is really a prayer for the exaltation and
spread of the Holy Prophet's cause; in other words,
for the exaltation and spread of truth in the
world.
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26
`A'ishah reported that,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, used to say in his prayers:
"O Allah! I seek refuge in
Thee from the punishment of the grave,26
and I seek refuge in Thee from the tribulation of
al-Masih al-Dajjal27
(the Anti-Christ), and I seek refuge in Thee from the
trials of life and the trials of death; O Allah! I seek
refuge in Thee from sins and from being in
debt."
(B. 10 : 149.)
|
26
The grave really stands for the condition after
death till the day of Resurrection.
27
Al-Masih is the Arabic word for the Messiah
or the Christ, and al-Dajjal (from
dajl meaning covering or
covering of truth with falsehood) is the
Anti-Christ, so called "because he will cover the
earth with his adherents," or "because of his lying
in arrogating to himself godship," or because he
will traverse most of the regions of earth", or
"because he will cover mankind with his
infidelity", or "because he will cover the truth
with falsehood," or "because he will involve men in
confusion or doubt by falsehood or will manifest
the contrary of what he conceals," or from dajjal,
signifying gold or gold-wash for
gilding," because treasures will follow him
wherever he goes," or from dajjala,
signifying a great company of men journeying
together covering the ground by their multitude
or carrying goods for traffic.
(LL.)
The tribulation of the
Anti-Christ is spoken of as the greatest
tribulation that has appeared in the world, and it
is stated in hadith that the first and the last ten
verses of the chapter entitled Kahf (ch. 18)
afford a protection from it : "He who remembers the
first ten verses of the chapter entitled the Cave
is protected from the tribulation of the Dajjal"
(A.D. 36 : 14; Tr. 31 : 59; IM. 36 : 33; Ah. VI,
466.) Now the verses referred to speak of the
Christian doctrine, and therefore there is not the
least doubt that the tribulation of the Dajjal
means the tribulation of the Christian or
materialistic civilization with which we are faced
in these days, and the name Anti-Christ given to it
is due to the fact that it is opposed to the true
teaching of Christ, who never taught the doctrines
of Sonship and Atonement.
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27
`Abd Allah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, used to utter taslim on his right hand side, "Peace be
on you and the mercy of Allah", until the white of his right
cheek could be seen, and on his left, "Peace be on you and
the mercy of Allah", until the white of his left cheek could
be seen.28
(AD-Msh. 4 :
17.)
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28
The Taslim is the final act of prayer, and
its words are the same as the words of the
greetings of Muslims to each other. It may be noted
that the prayer of the Muslim begins with the
greatness of Allah (in Allahu Akbar) and
ends with the mercy of Allah (in
rahmatu-llah).
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28
Ibn `Abbas reported that,
The raising of voices with dhikr when the people turned away
from the obligatory prayer was the practice in the time of
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him.29
(B. 10 :
155.)
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29
This hadith and h. 29 speak of the dhikr uttered
individually in a loud voice when the
congregational service was over. The practice now
generally in vogue--the imam and the congregation
raising hands in silent prayer--cannot be traced to
the Holy Prophet.
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29
Thauban said,
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be
on him, turned back from his prayer, he used to resort to
istighfar thrice, and said:
"O Allah! Thou art the Author
of peace and from Thee is peace, Blessed art Thou, O Lord
of Glory and Honour." (M-Msh. 4 : 18.)
30
`Abd Allah ibn Buhainah..............said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, led
them in the Zuhr (prayer), and he stood up after the first
two raka`ahs and did not sit, and the people stood up with
him. When he finished the prayer and the people waited for
taslim, he uttered the takbir while sitting and performed
two sajdahs before he pronounced the taslim, then he
pronounced the taslim.30
(B. 10 :
146.)
|
30
The Holy Prophet forgot to sit after the second
rak`ah and performed two sajdahs before taslim.
This is called sajdah al sahw, sahw
meaning forgetting. Another hadith shows
that the Holy Prophet said two rak`ahs instead of
four, and when he was informed of it, he first
completed the number and then performed two sajdahs
(B. 22 : 3). According to another hadith (B. 8 : 31
; 22 : 2) when five rak`ahs were said instead of
four, and the Holy Prophet was informed of this
after finishing the prayer, he performed only two
sajdahs which were followed by the taslim. In all
cases the sajdahs were followed by taslim only. In
22 : 4, Bukhari quotes Qatadah that there is no
additional tashahhud in cases of
forgetfulness. When the imam makes a mistake, any
one of those following him may point it out to him
by saying Subhan Allah, the implication
being that every human being is liable to
error.
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31
Abu Sa`id said,
I said with Abu HuraThe Messenger of Allah, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, said:
"When one of you has a doubt about his
prayer and he does not know how many rak`ahs he has said,
whether three or four, let him dismiss the doubt and proceed
on what he is certain, then let him perform two sajdahs
before he pronounces the taslim." (M-Msh.
4 : 20.)
32
Hafs ibn `Asim said,
I asked Ibn `Umar. He said, I have been in the company of
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, and I
never saw him saying the sunnah while
journeying.31
(B. 18 : 11.)
|
31
The Holy Prophet, however, said the witr prayer in
journey (B. 14 : 6), and his tahajjud prayer as
well (B. 18 : 6). The sunnah before the Fajr prayer
are an exception, as one hadith shows that he never
dropped them (B. 19 : 22).
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33
Ibn `Abbas said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, stayed
for nineteen days shortening the prayer, so when we were in
journey for nineteen days we shortened, and when it was
above that we completed (the prayer).32
(B. 18 : 1.)
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32
According to his hadith, a person who has to stay
at one place even for nineteen days in the course
of a journey may continue to shorten the prayer.
But as nineteen days is nowhere spoken of as the
limit, the prayer may be shortened even for a
longer period in such a case. When a person settles
down at a place, the case is different, as he must
complete the prayer. So also in touring when that
is part of the duty of a person.
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Hadith
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Manual of Hadith
> Chapter 10: Prayer-Service (Hadith -- The Traditions)
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