The Book of Prayer (Travellers)

Ibn 'Umar reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: When the rim of the sun starts appearing defer prayer till it completely appears, and when the rim of the sun disappears defer prayer till it completely disappears.

Abu Basra Ghifari reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) led us in the 'Asr prayer at (the place known as) Mukhammas, and then said: This prayer was presented to those gone before you, but they lost it, and he who guards it has two rewards in store for him. And no prayer is valid after till the onlooker appears (by onlooker is meant the evening star).

This hadith has been narrated by Abu Basra Ghifari through another chain of transmitters.

Uqba b. 'Amir said: There were the times at which Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) forbade us to pray, or bury our dead: When the sun begins to rise till it is fully up, when the sun is at its height at midday till it passes over the meridian, and when the sun draws near to setting till it sets.

'Amr b. 'Abasa Sulami reported: I in the state of the Ignorance (before embracing Islam) used to think that the people were in error and they were not on anything (which may be called the right path) and worshipped the idols. In the meanwhile I heard of a man in Mecca who was giving news (on the basis of his prophetic knowledge) ; so I sat on my ride and went to him. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was at that time hiding as his people had made life hard for him. I adopted a friendly attitude (towards the Meccans and thus managed) to enter Mecca and go to him (the Holy Prophet) and I said to him: Who are you? He said: I am a Prophet (of Allah). I again said: Who is a Prophet? He said: (I am a Prophet in the sense that) I have been sent by Allah. I said: What is that which you have been sent with? He said: I have been sent to join ties of relationship (with kindness and affection), to break the Idols, and to proclaim the oneness of Allah (in a manner that) nothing is to be associated with Him. I said: Who is with you in this (in these beliefs and practices)? He said: A free man and a slave. He (the narrator) said: Abu Bakr and Bilal were there with him among those who had embraced Islam by that time. I said: I intend to follow you. He said: During these days you would not be able to do so. Don't you see the (hard) condition under which I and (my) people are living? You better go back to your people and when you hear that I have been granted victory, you come to me. So I went to my family. I was in my home when the Messengerof Allah (may peace be upon him) came to Medina. I was among my people and used to seek news and ask people when he arrived in Medina. Then a group of people belonging to Yathrib (Medina) came. I said (to them): How is that person getting on who has come to Medina? They said: The people are hastening to him, while his people (the polytheists of Mecca) planned to kill him, but they could not do so. I (on hearing It) came to Medina and went to him and said: Messenger of Allah, do you recognise me? He said: Yes, you are the same man who met me at Mecca. I said: It is so. I again said: Prophet of Allah, tell me that which Allah has taught you and which I do not know, tell me about the prayer. He said: Observe the dawn prayer, then stop praying when the sun is rising till it Is fully up, for when it rises it comes up between the horns of Satan, and the unbelievers prostrate themselves to it at that time. Then pray, for the prayer is witnessed and attended (by angels) till the shadow becomes about the length of a lance; then cease prayer, for at that time Hell is heated up. Then when the shadow moves forward, pray, for the prayer is witnessed and attended by angels, till you pray the afternoon prayer, then cease prayer till the sun sets, for it sets between the horns of devil, and at that time the unbelievers prostrate themselves before it. I said: Apostle of Allah, tell me about ablution also. He said: None of you who uses water for ablution and rinses his mouth, snuffs up water and blows it, but the sins of his face, and his mouth and his nostrils fall out. When he washes his face, as Allah has commanded him, the sins of his face fall out from the end of his beard with water. Then (when) he washes his forearms up to the elbows, the sins of his arms fall out along with water from his finger-tips. And when he wipes his head, the sins of his head fall out from the points of his hair along with water. And (when) he washes his feet up to the ankles, the sins of his feet fall out from his toes along with water. And if he stands to pray and praises Allah, lauds Him and glorifies Him with what becomes Him and shows wholehearted devotion to Allah, his sins would depart leaving him (as innocent) as he was on the day his mother bore him. 'Amr b. 'Abasa narrated this hadith to Abu Umama, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), and Abu Umama said to him: 'Amr b. 'Abasa, think what you are saying that such (a great reward) is given to a man at one place (only in the act of ablution and prayer). Upon this 'Amr said: Abu Umama, I have grown old and my bones have become weak and I am at the door of death; what impetus is there for me to attribute a lie to Allah and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him)? Had I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) once, twice, or three times (even seven times), I would have never narrated it, but I have heard it from him on occasions more than these.

'A'isha reported that 'Umar misconstrued the fact that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had prohibited the observance of prayer at the time of the rising sun and at the time of its setting.

'A'isha said that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) did not abandon observing two rak'ahs after 'Asr, but she reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Do not get used to observe prayer at the time of the rising sun and at the time of its setting and (exhorted the Muslims) to pray at their times.

Kuraib, the freed slave of Ibn 'Abbas, reported that 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas, 'Abd al-Rahman b. Azhar, al-Miswar b. Makhrama sent him to 'A'isha, the wife of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), telling him to give her their greetings, and ask her about the two rak'ahs after the afternoon prayer, (for)" we have heard that you observe them whereas it has been conveyed to us that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) prohibited their observance." Ibn 'Abbas said: I along with 'Umar b. al-Khattab dissuaded people to do so (to observe two rak'ahs of prayer). Kuraib said: I went to her ('A'isha) and conveyed to her the message with which I was sent. She said: (Better) ask Umm Salama. So I went to them (those who had sent him to Hadrat 'A'isha) and informed them about what she had said. They sent me back to Umm Salama with that with which I was sent to 'A'isha. Umm Salama said: I beard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) prohibiting them, and then afterwards I saw him observing them. And when he observed them (two rak'ahs) he had already observed the 'Asr prayer. Then he (the Holy Prophet) came, while there were with me ladies of Banu Haram, a tribe of the Ansar and he (the Holy Prophet) observed them (the two rak'ahs). I sent a slave-girl to him asking her to stand by his side and say to him that Umm Salama says: Messenger of Allah, I heard you prohibiting these two rak'ahs, whereas I saw you observing them; and if he (the Holy Prophet) points with his hand (to wait), then do wait. The slave-girl did like that. He (the Holy Prophet) pointed out with his hand and she got aside and waited, and when he had finished (the prayer) he said: Daughter of Abu Umayya. you have asked about the two rak'ahs after the 'Asr prayer. Some people of 'Abu al-Qais came to me for embracing Islam and hindered me from observing the two rak'ahs which come after the noon prayer. So those are the two I have been praying.

Abu Salama asked 'A'isha about the two prostrations (i. e. rak'ahs) which the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) made after the 'Asr. She said: He (the Holy Prophet) observed them before the 'Asr prayer, but then he was hindered to do so, or he forgot them and then he observed them after the 'Asr, and then he continued observing them. (It was his habit) that when he (the Holy Prophet) observed prayer, he then continued observing it. Isma'il said: It implies that he always did that.

'A'isha reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) did not abandon at all observing two rak'ahs after the 'Asr in my house.

'A'isha reported: Two are the prayers which the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) always observed in my house-openly or secretly-two rak'ahs before the dawn and two rak'ahs after the 'Asr.

Aswad and Masruq reported: We bear testimony to the fact that 'A'isha said: Never was there a day that he (the Holy Prophet) was with me and he did not observe two rak'ahs of prayer in my house, i. e. two rak'ahs after the Asr.

Mukhtar b. Fulful said: I asked Anas b. Malik about the voluntary prayers after the afternoon prayer, and he replied: 'Umar struck hit hands on prayer observed after the 'Asr prayer and we used to observe two rak'ahs after the sun set before the evening prayer during the time of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him). I said to him: Did the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observe them? He said: He saw us observing them, but he neither commanded us nor forbade us to do so.

Anas b. Malik reported: When we were in Medina, the moment the Mu'adhdhin made the call to the sunset prayer, the people hastened to the pillars of the mosque and prayed two rak'ahs with the result that any stranger coming into the mosque would think that the obligatory prayer had been observed owing to the number who were praying then.

Abdullah b. Mughaffal reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) u saying: There Is between the two calls (Adhan and Iqama) a prayer. And he mentioned it three times, and at the third time he said: This applies to those who wish to do it.

This hadith has been narrated by Abdullah b. Mughaffal by another chain of transmitters, but with this variation that he (the Holy Prophet) said at the fourth time: " He who wishes (may do to)."

Salim b. Abdullah b. 'Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him) led on* of the two groups In one rak'ah of prayer in danger, while the other group faced the -enemy. Then they (the members of the first group) went back and replaced their companions who were facing the enemy. and then they (the members of the second group) came and the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) led them in one rak'ah of prayer. Then the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) pronounced salutation, and then they (the members of the Ant group) completed the rak'ah and they (the members of the second group) completed the rak'ah. This hadith has been narrated by another chain of tranamitters.

Ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed prayer in danger on some day (in this way): a group stood with him (the Holy Prophet) (for prayer) and the other group stood In front of the enemy. Then those who were with (him) observed one rak'ah of prayer and they went back and the others came and they observed one rak'ah (with him). Then both the groups completed one rak'ah each. Ibn Umar said: When there is greater danger, then observe prayer even on the ride or with the help of gestures in a standing posture.

Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported: I observed prayer in danger with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). We drew ourselves up in two rows, one row behind him with the enemy between us and the Qibla. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Allah is Most Great, and we all said it. He then bowed and we all bowed. He then raised his head from bowing, we all raised (our heads). He then went down in prostration along with the row close to him, and the rear row faced the enemy; then when the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) completed the prostration, ; and then stood up, the row near to him also did it; then went down the rear row in prostration; then they stood up; then the rear row went to the front and the front row went to the rear. Then the Apostle of Allah (may peace he upon him) bowed down and we all bowed. He then raised his head from bowing and we also raised (our heads). He and the row close to him which I had been in the rear then went down in prostration In the first rak'ah, whereas the rear row faced the enemy. And when the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and the rear row close to him had finished the prostration, the rear row went down and prostrated themselves; then the Apostle of Allah pronounced the salutation and we also pronounced the salutation. (Jabir said we hadith) as your guards behave with their chiefs.

Jabir reported: We fought In the company of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) with the tribe of Juhaina. They fought with us terribly. When we had finished the noon prayer, the polytheists said: Had we attacked them at once. we would have killed them. Gabriel informed the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) about It (about their evil design). The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) made a mention of it to us, adding that they (the polytheists) had also said: Shortly there would be time for the 'Asr prayer. which is dearer o them (the Muslims) than even their children. So when the time of the 'Asr prayer came. we formed ourselves into two rows, while the polytheists were between us and the Qibla. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Allah is Most Great, and we also said so. He bowed and we also bowed. He went down in prostration and the first row prostrated along with him. When they stood up, the second row went down in prostration. Then the first row went into the rear, and the second row came in the front and occupied the place of the first row. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) then said: Allah is Most Great, and we also said so. He then bowed, and we also bowed. He then went down in prostration and along with him the row also (went down in prostration), and the second row remained standing. And when the second row had also prostrated and all of them sat down then the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) pronounced salutation to them. Abu Zubair said: Jabir made a mention specially of this thing: just as your chiefs observe prayer.

Sahl b. Abu Hathma reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) led his Companions in prayer in danger. He made them stand in two rows behind him. He led them who were close to him in one rak'ah. He then stood up and kept standing till those who were behind them observed one rak'ah. Then they (those standing in the second row) came in front and those who were in front went into the rear. He then led them In one rak'ah. He then sat down, till those who were behind him observed one rak'ah and then pronounced salutation.

Yazid b. Ruman told on the authority of Salih b. Khawwat on the authority of one who prayed in time of danger with Allah's Messenger (may peace he upon him) at the Battle of Dhat ar-Riqa' that a group formed a row and prayed along with him, and a group faced the enemy. He led the group which was along with him in a rak'ah, then remained standing while they finished the prayer by themselves. Then they departed and formed a row facing the enemy. Then the second group came and he led them in the remaining rak'ah, after which he remained seated while they finished the prayer themselves. He then led them in salutation.

Jabir reported: We went forward with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and when we reached Dhat ar-Riqa', we came to a shady tree which -we left for him One of the polytheists came there and, seeing the sword of the Messenger (may peace be upon him) hanging by a free. took it up. drew it from the scabbard and said to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him): Are you afraid of Me? He (the Holy Prophet) said: No. He again said: Who would protect you from me? He said: Allah will protect me from you. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) threatened him. He sheathed the sword and hung it up. Then call to prayer was made and he (the Holy Prophet) led a group in two rak'ah. Then (the members of this group) withdrew and he led the second group in two rak'ah. So the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed four rak'ah and people observed two rak'ah.

Abu Salama b. 'Abd al-Rahman reported that Jabir told him that he had observed the prayer in danger with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) (first) led one of the two groups in two rak'ah of prayer. and then led the second group in two rak'ah of prayer. So the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed four rak'ah and led in two rak'ah each of the groups.