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Chapter
09:
Institution of Prayer (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
Abu Hurairah reported that,
He heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, say:
"Tell me if there is a stream
at the door of one of you, in which he bathes five times
every day, what dost thou say, will it leave anything of
his dirt?"
They said, It would not leave anything
of his dirt. He said:
"This is the likeness of the
five prayers, with which Allah blots out (all)
faults."1
(B. 9 : 6.)
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1
This hadith should be interpreted in the light of
the Qur'an, which says, as quoted in the heading :
"Prayer keeps one away from indecency and evil" (v.
1). By the blotting out of faults is therefore
meant curbing the tendency to go against Divine
injunctions. The man, who feels himself in the
Divine presence five times a day, has his mind
purified of all dross, just as the bather is
purified of physical dirt.
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2
Anas reported,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
said:
"When one of you says
prayers, he holds confidential intercourse with his
Lord." 2
(B. 9 : 8.)
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2
That is the essence of prayer; a man should feel
when praying that he is alone before his Maker, and
he should open his mind to Him in its
fullness.
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3
Ibn `Abbas said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"Gabriel acted as imam for me
twice in the (Sacred) House; so he said the Zuhr prayer
with me when the sun had declined from the meridian and
(the shadow) was the measure of a thong, and he said the
`Asr prayer with me when the shadow of everything was the
like of it, and he said the Maghrib prayer with me when
one who fasts breaks the fast, and he said the `Isha'
prayer with me when redness in the horizon had
disappeared, and he said the Fajr prayer with me when
food and drink are prohibited to one who fasts. When it
was the next day, he said with me the Zuhr prayer when
the shadow (of a thing) was the like of it, and he said
with me the `Asr prayer when the shadow (of a thing) was
its double, and he said with me the Maghrib prayer when
one who fasts breaks the fast, and he said with me the
`Isha' prayer when one-third of the night had passed, and
he said with me the Fajr prayer when the dawn was bright.
Then he turned to me and said, O Muhammad! This is the
time of the prophets before thee, and the time is between
these two times."3
(AD., Tr-Msh. 4 :
1.)
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3
This is a comprehensive hadith relating to the
times of prayer. It further shows that the mode of
prayer, the rak'ahs and the time thereof were
taught to the Holy Prophet by Divine revelation, as
it was Gabriel who led the prayers and the Holy
Prophet followed him. Gabriel pointed out the
time-limits within which different prayers could be
said. The different times thus are : Zuhr--when the
sun begins to decline till `Asr; `Asr--when the sun
is about midway on its course to setting till it
begins to set; Maghrib--after the sun sets till the
disappearance of the red glow in the west;
`Isha'--after the disappearance of the red glow
till midnight (as other hadith show); Fajr--after
dawn till sunrise. Where the days are too short,
the Zuhr and the `Asr prayers may be combined, and
where the nights are too short, the Maghrib and the
`Isha' may be combined (h. 6.). Where the days or
nights extend over 24 hours, the times of prayer
may be fixed in accordance with the times of work
and rest. Thus the morning prayer may be said on
rising from sleep, the Maghrib and the `Isha' when
going to bed, and the Zuhr and the `Asr in the
middle of the day's work.
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4
Ibn `Abbas reported that,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, forbade
prayer after the morning prayer till the sun brightens, and
after `Asr till it sets. 4
(B. 9 : 30)
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4
The Fajr prayer is the last prayer of the night,
and the `Asr the last prayer of the day. As h. 7
shows, these two prayers are given a special
importance.
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5
Ibn `Umar said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"Do not purposely seek in
your prayer the rising of the sun or the setting of
it."5
(B. 9 : 30.)
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5
What is forbidden is the commencing of prayer
purposely when the sun is setting or when it is
rising. If, however, a man begins his prayer before
the setting of the sun, and it begins to set when
he is still praying, he should finish his prayer.
Similarly in the case of the rising of the sun. The
prohibition aims at avoiding resemblance with
sun-worshippers.
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6
Ibn `Abbas reported that,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said
prayers in Madinah seven (rak`ahs) and eight (rak`ahs) Zuhr
and `Asr and Maghrib and `Isha'. 6
(B. 9 : 12.)
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6
This hadith allows the combining of Zuhr with `Asr
prayer and that of Maghrib with `Isha'. According
to another hadith (Ah. I, 223), the Holy Prophet
did this when there was "neither danger nor rain,"
and he did this so that "his ummah may not
be in difficulty." This shows that the prayers
spoken of may be combined in case of danger or
rain, and even when there is no such reason. The
combined prayers may be said at either prayer time.
In combining prayers the sunnah that fall
between the two prayers are dropped.
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7
Fadzalah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, taught me, and there was in what he taught me (the
command) : "And be mindful of the five prayers." He said, I
said, These hours are such that I have (other) business to
attend to therein, so command me something comprehensive so
that when I have done it, it should suffice me. He said: "Be
mindful of the two `Asr prayers." This was not known in our
idiom. So I said, what are the two `Asr prayers? He said :
"A prayer before the rising of the sun and a prayer before
the setting of it."7
(AD. 2 : 8.)
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7
The hadith does not mean that only two prayers are
sufficient. It only lays stress on their special
importance. Or, perhaps, the man found it difficult
to attend the congregational prayer five times
daily, and he was told to be mindful specially of
these two prayers and not to miss them in
congregation.
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8
Jabir reported that,
`Umar ibn al-Khattab came on the day of the Ditch
8
after the sun had set, and he began to abuse the
disbelieving Quraish. He said, O Messenger of Allah! I could
not manage to say the `Asr prayer until the sun was about to
set. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
said: "I call Allah to witness that I (too) have not said
it." Then we got up towards Buthan, and he performed
ablutions for prayer, and we too performed ablutions for it,
and he said the `Asr (prayer) after the sun had set, and
after that he said the Maghrib (prayer).9
(B. 9 : 36.)
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8
Also known as the battle of Ahzab or Confederates,
which took place in 5 A.H.
9
When the prayer-time is missed unavoidably, it may
be said even after the time for it has
passed.
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9
Anas reported on the authority of the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, (who) said:
"Whoever forgets (the saying
of) a prayer, let him say the prayer when he remembers
it; there is no atonement for it but this, `Establish the
prayer for My remembrance'." 10
(B. 9 : 37.)
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10
A long hadith is narrated by Bukhari, showing that
when sleep overcomes a person, and he misses the
prayer at the right time, he should say it when he
gets up (B. 9 : 35).
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10
Abu Barzah reported that,
TThe Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, disliked sleeping before the `Isha' (prayer) and
conversation after it.11
(B. 9 : 23.)
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11
He disliked it, because one who went to sleep
before he said the prayer might miss the prayer
altogether; and because he wanted prayer to be the
last act before going to bed, so that he should go
to bed with a prayerful mind.
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11
Anas said,
`A'ishah had a figured curtain of red wool, with which she
had covered a side of her apartment. The Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, said:
"Remove from us thy curtain,
for its figures come before me in my prayers."
12
(B. 8 : 15.)
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12
In order to apply the mind fully to prayer, it was
necessary that there should be nothing, even in the
environment, which should lead the mind away from
it. That is also the reason why the mosque should
be a simple structure.
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12
`A'ishah said,
I asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah
be on him, about casting side glances in prayer. He
said:
"That is a snatching from the
prayer of the servant, which the devil snatches away be
deceit."13
(B. 10 : 93.)
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13
Casting side glances would undoubtedly divert the
attention from prayer, and this is not desirable.
This is called a snatching away by the
devil.
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13
Zainab, wife of `Abd Allah ibn Mas`ud, said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said to us:
"When one of you goes to the
mosque, let her not use scent." 14
(M-Msh. 4 :
23.)
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14
This order is also meant as a precaution against
distraction. But scent was recommended on Fridays
on account of the larger gatherings.
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14
Abu Qatadah said,
While we were saying our prayers with the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, he suddenly heard noise of
(running) people. When he finished the prayer, he said,
"What was the matter with
you?"
They said, We were hastening for the
prayer. He said:
"Do not do so; when you come
to prayer, you should be perfectly calm; then whatever
part of it you overtake, say (it with the imam), and
complete the part that has escaped
you."15
(B. 10 : 20.)
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15
Everything which disturbs the calm of mind, should
be avoided, as this would be inconsistent with a
peaceful attitude. Muslims need a calm atmosphere
within and without the mosque, and this is the
reason why they resent music before
mosques.
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15
Ibn `Umar said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
said:
"When one of you is taking
food, let him not hasten until he satisfies his need,
even though the iqama for prayers has been recited." (B.
10 : 42.)
16
Jabir said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, used to
say his prayers on his riding camel in whichever direction
it turned with him; but when he intended to say the
obligatory prayer, he got down and faced towards the
Qiblah.16
(B. 8 : 31.)
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16
This could be done in the case of a camel or a
horse. A man who is in a boat or in a railway
carriage should turn his face to the nearest
direction to Qiblah in the first instance, but he
is not required to continue changing the direction
as the boat or the railway changes its
direction.
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17
Abu Hurairah said,
A man got up before the Prophet, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, and asked him about praying in one garment.
He said :
"Can every one of you get two
garments?"
Then a man asked `Umar, and he said,
When Allah gives ample, then you should use amply; a man
wore his garments, a man prayed in a waist-wrapper and an
outer garment, in a waist-wrapper and a shirt, in a
waist-wrapper and a cloak, in trousers and outer garment, in
trousers and a shirt, in trousers and a cloak, in knickers
and a cloak, in knickers and a shirt, and I think he said,
in knickers and an outer garment." 17
(B. 8 : 9.)
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17
A man must be decently dressed according to his
means. Any dress, that is regarded as decent in
society, is looked upon as decent for
prayers.
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18
Abu Juhaim said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"Did the passer in front of one who is
praying know what burden is on him, it would be better for
him to wait for forty (days) than that he should pass in
front of him." 18
(B. 8 : 101.)
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18
This is forbidden, because by so doing a man would
distract the attention of the person who is
praying. The Holy Prophet set up a sutrah--a
spear or a staff, etc--in front of him when praying
in an open place (B. 8 : 90).
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Top
Hadith
Section
> A
Manual of Hadith
> Chapter 09: Institution of Prayer (Hadith -- The
Traditions)
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