The Book of Mosques and Places of Prayer

Al-Aswad and 'Alqama reported: We came to the house of 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud. He said: Have these people said prayer behind you? We said: No. He said: Then stand up and say prayer. He neither ordered us to say Adhan nor Iqama. We went to stand behind him. He caught hold of our hands and mode one of us stand on his right hand and the other on his left side. When we bowed, we placed our hands on our knees. He struck our hands and put his hands together, palm to palm, then put them between his thighs. When he completed the prayer he said. There would soon come your Amirs, who would defer prayers from their appointed time and would make such delay that a little time is left before sunset. So when you see them doing so, say prayer at its appointed time and then say prayer along with them as (Nafl), and when you are three, pray together (standing in one row), and when you are more than three, appoint one amongst you as your Imam. And when any one of you bows he must place his hands upon hie thighs and kneel down. and putting his palms together place (them within his thighs). I perceive as if I am seeing the gap between the fingers of the Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him).

This hadith is narrated on the authority of Alqama and Aswad by another chain of transmitters and in the hadith transmitted by Ibn Mus-hir and Jabir the words are: " I perceive as if I am seeing the gap between the fingers of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as he was bowing."

'Alqama and Aswad reported that they went to 'Abdullah. He said: Have (people) behind you said prayer? They said: Yes. He stood between them ('Alqama and Aswad). One was on his right aide and the other was on his left. We then bowed and placed our hands on our knees. He struck our hands and then putting his hands together, palm to palm, placed them between his thighs. When he completed the prayer he said: This is how the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to do.

Mus'ab b. Sa'd reported: I said prayer by the side of my father and placed my hands between my knees. My father said to me: Place your hands on your knees. I repeated that (the previous act) for the second time, and he struck at my hands and said: We have been forbidden to do so and have been commanded to place our palms on the knees.

This hadith has been narrated by Abu Ya'fur with the same chain of transmitters up to these words: We have been forbidden from it and no mention of that has been made what follows it.

Ibn Sa'd reported: I bowed and my hands were in this state, i. e. they were put together, palm to palm, and were placed between his thighs. My father said: We used to do like this but were later on commanded to place them on the knees.

Mus'ab b. Sa'd b. Abu Waqqas reported: I said prayer by the side of my father. When I bowed I intertwined my fingers and placed them between my knees. He struck my hands. When he completed the prayer he said: We used to do that but then were commanded to lift (our palms) to the knees.

Tawus reported: We asked Ibn Abbas about sitting on one's buttocks (in prayer). (ala alqad mein) He said: It is sunnah. We said to him: We find it a sort of cruelty to the foot. Ibn 'Abbas said: It is the sunnah of your Apostle (may peace be upon him).

Mu'awiya b. al-Hakam said: While I was praying with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), a man in the company sneezed. I said: Allah have mercy on you! The people stared at me with disapproving looks, so I said: Woe be upon me, why is it that you stare at me? They began to strike their hands on their thighs, and when I saw them urging me to observe silence (I became angry) but I said nothing. When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said the prayer (and I declare that neither before him nor after him have I seen a leader who gave better instruction than he for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom). I swear that he did not scold, beat or revile me but said: Talking to persons is not fitting during the prayer, for it consists of glorifying Allah, declaring his Greatness. and recitation of the Qur'an or words to that effect. I said: Messenger of Allah. I was till recently a pagan, but Allah has brought Islam to us; among us there are men who have recourse to Kahins. He said, Do not have recourse to them. I said. There are men who take omens. That is something which they find in their breasts, but let it not turn their way (from freedom of action). I said: Among us there are men who draw lines. He said: There was a prophet who drew lines, so if they do it as they did, that is allowable. I had a maid-servant who tended goats by the side of Uhud and Jawwaniya. One day I happened to pass that way and found that a wolf had carried a goat from her flock. I am after all a man from the posterity of Adam. I felt sorry as they (human beings) feel sorry. So I slapped her. I came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and felt (this act of mine) as something grievous I said: Messenger of Allah, should I not grant her freedom? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Bring her to me. So I brought her to him. He said to her: Where is Allah? She said: He is in the heaven. He said: Who am I? She said: Thou art the Messenger of Allah. He said: Grant her freedom, she is a believing woman.

This hadith has been narrated by Yahya b. Abu Kathir with the same chain of transmitters.

Abdullah (b. Masu'd) reported: We used to greet the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) while he was engaged in prayer and he would respond to our greeting. But when we returned from the Negus we greeted him and he did not respond to us; so we said: Messenger of Allah. we used to greet you when you were engaged in prayer and you would respond to us. He replied: Prayer demands whole attention.

This hadith has been reported by A'mash with the same chain of transmitters.

Zaid b. Arqam reported: We used to talk while engaged in prayer and a person talked with a companion on his side in prayer till (this verse) was revealed:" And stand before Allah in devout obedience" (ii, 238) and we were commanded to observe silence (in prayer) and were forbidden to speak.

A hadith like this has been transmitted by Isma'il b. Abu Khalid.

Jabir reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent me on an errand. I (having done the business assigned to me came back and) joined him as he was going (on a ride). Qutaiba said that he was saying prayer while he rode. I greeted him. He gestured to me. When he completed the prayer. he called me and said: You greeted me just now while I was engaged in prayer. (Qutaiba said): His (Prophet's face) was towards the east, as he was praying.

Jabir reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent me (on an errand) while he was going to Banu Mustaliq. I came to him and he was engaged in prayer on the back of his camel. I talked to him and he gestured to me With his hand, and Zuhair gestured with his hand. I then again talked and he again (gestured to me with his hand). Zuhair pointed with his hand towards the ground. I heard him (the Holy Prophet) reciting the Qur'an and making a sign with his head. When he com- pleted the prayer he sa'id: What have you done (with regard to that business) for which I sent you? I could not talk with you but for the fact that I was engaged in prayer. Zuhair told that Abu Zubair was sitting with his face turned towards Qibla (as he transmitted this hadith). Abu Zuhair pointed towards Banu Mustaliq with his hand and the direction to which he pointed with his hand was not towards the Ka'ba.

Jabir reported: We were in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), and he sent me on an errand, and when I came back (I saw him) saying prayer on his ride and his face was not turned towards Qibla. I greeted him but he did not respond to me. As he completed the prayer, he said: Nothing prevented me from responding to your greeting but the fact that I was praying.

This hadith that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent Jabir on an errand has been reported by him through another chain of transmitters.

Abu Huraira reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saying: A highly wicked one amongst the Jinn escaped yesternight to interrupt my prayer, but Allah gave me power over him, so I seized him and intended to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque in order that you, all together or all, might look at him, but I remembered the supplication of my brother Sulaiman:" My Lord, forgive me, give me such a kingdom as will not be possible for anyone after me" (Qur'an, xxxvii. 35).

This hadith has been transmitted by Ibn Abi Shaiba.

Abu Darda' reported: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) stood up (to pray) and we heard him say:" I seek refuge in Allah from thee." Then said:" curse thee with Allah's curse" three times, then he stretched out his hand as though he was taking hold of something. When he finished the prayer, we said: Messenger of Allah, we heard you say something during the prayer which we have not heard you say before, and we saw you stretch out your hand. He replied: Allah's enemy Iblis came with a flame of fire to put it in my face, so I said three times:" I Seek refuge in Allah from thee." Then I said three times:" I curse thee with Allah's full curse." But he did not retreat (on any one of these) three occasions. Thereafter I meant to seize him. I swear by Allah that had it not been for the supplication of my brother Sulaiman he would have been bound, and made an object of sport for the children of Medina.

Abu Qatadi reported: I saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saying the prayer while he was carrying Umama, daughter of Zainab, daughter of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). and Abu'l-'As b. al-Rabi'. When he stood up, he took her up and when he prostrated he put her down, Yahya said: Malik replied in the affirmative.

Abu Qatada al-Ansari reported: I saw the Apostle (may peace be upon him) leading the people in prayer with Umima, daughter of Abu'l-'As and Zainab, daughter of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him), on his shoulder. When he bowed, he put her down, and when he got up after prostration, he lifted her again.

Abu Qatada reported: I saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) leading the people in prayer with Umama daughter of Abu'l-'As on his neck; and when he prostrated he put her down.

Abu Qatada reported: As we were sitting in the mosque, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came to us, and the rest of the hadith is the same except that he made no mention that he led people in this prayer.

Abu Hazim is reported on the authority of his father: Some people came to Sahl b. Sa'd and began to differ about the wood of which the (Prophet's pulpit was made. He (Sahl b. Sa'd) said: By Allah, I know of which wood it is made and who made it, and the day when I saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) seated himself on it on the first day. I said to him: O Abu Abbas (kunyah of Sabl b. Sa'd), narrate to us (all these facts), He said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a person to a woman asking her to allow her slave, a carpenter, to work on woods (to prepare a pulpit) so that I should talk to the people (sitting on it). Abu Hazim said: He (Sahl b. Sa'd) pointed out the name of (that lady) that day. So he (the carpenter) made (a pulpit) with these three steps. Then the Messengerof Allah (may peace be upon him) commanded it to be placed here (where it is lying now). It was fashioned out of the wood of al-Ghaba. And I saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him) standing upon it and glorifying Allah and the people also glorified Allah after him, while he was on the pulpit. He then raised (his head from prostration) and stepped back (on his heels) till he prostrated himself at the base of pulpit, and then returned (to the former place and this movement of one or two steps continued) till the prayer was complete. He then turned towards the people and said: O people, I have done it so that you should follow me and learn (my mode of) prayer.

Abu Hazim reported: They (the people) came to Sahl b. Sa'd and they asked him of what thing the pulpit of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) was made, and the rest of the hadith is the same.

Abu Huraira reported from the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) that he forbade keeping one's hand on one's waist while praying, and in the narration of Abu Bakr (the words are): The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) forbade to do so.

Mu'aiqib quoted the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) mentioning the removal of pebbles from the ground where he prostrated himself. He (the Prophet) said: It you must do so, do it only once.

Mu'aiqib said: They asked the Apostle (may peace be upon him) about the removal of (pebbles) in prayer, whereupon he said: If you do it, do it only once.