A Description of Prophet's (SAW) Prayer

By Shaikh Muhammed Naasir-ud-Deen Al-Albaani. Translated by Usama ibn Suhaib Hasan.

Table of Contents
1. ntrodu!tion 1. "easons Behind The Com#ilation $f This Book %. Methodolo&y $f This Book '. Sayin&s $f The maams "e&ardin& (ollo)in& The Sunnah And &norin& Their *ie)s Contradi!tory To t 1. 1+ Abu Haneefah ,"ahimahullaah+ %. %+ Maalik bn Anas ,"ahimahullaah+ '. '+ Shaafi-i ,"ahimahullaah+ .. .+ Ahmad bn Hanbal ,"ahimahullaah+ /. The maams- (ollo)ers 0ea1in& Their *ie)s f These Contradi!ted The Sunnah %. Mis!on!e#tions Cleared 1. Mis!on!e#tion $ne %. Mis!on!e#tion T)o '. Mis!on!e#tion Three .. Mis!on!e#tion (our %. The 2ro#het-s 2rayer Des!ribed 1. (a!in& The 3a-bah %. Standin& n 2rayer 1. The 2rayer $f A Si!k 2erson n A Sittin& 2osition %. 2rayer $n A Shi# '. Sittin& And Standin& n The Ni&ht 2rayer ,Taha44ud+ .. 2rayer 5earin& Shoes And The Command To Do So /. 2rayer $n The 2ul#it ,Minbar+ 6. The Sutrah7 And The $bli&ation To Ha1e $ne 8. 5hat Breaks The 2rayer 9. 2rohibition $f 2rayer (a!in& The :ra1e '. ntention .. Takbeer 1. "aisin& The Hands %. To 2la!e The "i&ht Arm $n The 0eft Arm7 And The Command (or t '. To 2la!e The Hands $n The Chest /. To 0ook At The 2la!e $f 2rostration7 And Humility 6. $#enin& Su##li!ations ,Du-aa-s+ 8. "e!itation 1. "e!itation $f $ne *erse At A Time %. The Ne!essity $f Al-(aatihah7 And ts ;<!ellen!e

The Abro&ation $f "e!itation Behind The maam n The 0oud 2rayers The $bli&ation To "e!ite n The =uiet 2rayers The Aameen7 And The maam-s Sayin& t 0oudly The "e!itation After Al-(aatihah Combinin& Similar Soorahs And $thers n $ne "ak-ah The 2ermissibility $f "e!itin& Al-(aatihah $nly =uiet And 0oud "e!itation n The (i1e 2rayers And $thers =uiet And 0oud "e!itation n The Ni&ht 2rayer ,Taha44ud+ 5hat He ,Sallallaahu -alaihi 5a Sallam+ Used To "e!ite n The Different 2rayers 1. 1 - (a4r 2rayer %. "e!itation n The Sunnah 2rayer Before (a4r '. %- @uhr 2rayer .. "e!itation $f Aayaat After Al-(aatihah n The 0ast T)o "ak-ahs /. '- -asr 2rayer 6. .- Ma&hrib 2rayer 8. /- -ishaa- 2rayer 9. 6- Ni&ht 2rayer ,Taha44ud+ >. 8- 5itr 2rayer 1?. 9- (riday 2rayer 11. >--eid 2rayer 1%. 1?- (uneral 2rayer 1%. Tarteel ,"e!itation n Slo)7 "hythmi! Tones+7 A Makin& The *oi!e Beautiful 5hen "e!itin& 1'. Corre!tin& The maam 1.. Seekin& "efu&e A S#ittin& 0i&htly Durin& 2rayer n $rder To "e#el Tem#tation 9. The "ukoo- ,Bo)in&+ 1. The "ukoo- Des!ribed %. The $bli&ation $f Bein& At ;ase n "ukoo'. The Adhkaar $f "ukoo.. 0en&thenin& The "ukoo/. (orbiddan!e $f "e!itin& The =ur-aan n "ukoo6. Strai&htenin& U# (rom The "ukoo-7 A 5hat s To Be Said Then 8. 0en&thenin& This Standin&7 A The $bli&ation To Beat ;ase n t >. The Su4ood ,2rostration+ 1. :oin& Do)n nto The Sa4dah $n The Hands %. The Sa4dah Des!ribed '. The $bli&ation To Be At ;ase n Su4ood .. The Adhkaarof Su4ood /. (orbiddan!e $f "e!itin& The =ur-aan n Su4ood 6. 0en&thenin& The Sa4dah 8. The ;<!ellen!e $f The Sa4dah 9. Sa4dah $n The :round7 And $n Mats >. "isin& (rom Sa4dah 1?. To Sit Muftarishan Bet)een The T)o Sa4dahs 11. B-aa- Bet)een The T)o Sa4dahs 1%. The $bli&ation $f Bein& At ;ase Bet)een The T)o Sa4dahs 1'. 0en&thenin& The Sittin& Bet)een The T)o Sa4dahs 1.. The Adhkaar Bet)een The T)o Sa4dahs 1/. The Se!ond Sa4dah 16. The Sittin& $f "est 18. Su##ortin& $neself 5ith The Hands $n "isin& (or The Ne<t "ak-ah

'. .. /. 6. 8. 9. >. 1?. 11.

1?. The Se!ond "ak-ah 1. The $bli&ation $f "e!itin& Soorah Al-(aatihah n ;1ery "ak-ah 11. The (irst Tashahhud 1. Mo1in& The (in&er n Tashahhud %. The $bli&ation $f The (irst Tashahhud7 A The *alidity $f Su##li!ation Durin& t '. The Manner $f Tashahhud .. As-Salaah -alaa An-Nabiyy,Sendin& 2rayers $n The 2ro#het+ - ts 2la!e A Manner /. m#ortant Notes About As-Salaah -alaa An-Nabiyy - Sendin& 2rayers $n The 2ro#het $f The Ummah 6. Du-aa- n The (irst Tashahhud 8. Standin& U# (or The Third7 And Then The (ourth7 "ak-ah 9. =unoot n The (i1e 2rayers Be!ause $f A Calamity >. =unoot n 5itr 2rayer 1%. The (inal Tashahhud 1. The $bli&ation $f This Tashahhud %. The $bli&ation $f Sendin& 2rayers $n The 2ro#het ,Sallallaahu -alaihi 5a Sallam+ n This Tashahhud '. The $bli&ation To Seek "efu&e (rom (our Thin&s Before Su##li!atin& .. Su##li!ation Before The Salaam7 A ts *arious Ty#es 1'. The Tasleem ,Salutation $f 2ea!e+ 1. The $bli&ation $f The Tasleem 1.. Addendum 1/. A##endi< 1 16. A##endi< % 18. A##endi< ' 19. A##endi< . 1>. A##endi< / %?. A##endi< 6 %1. A##endi< 8 %%. A##endi< 9 %'. :lossary 24. Author-s Biblio&ra#hy

ntrodu!tion
Praise be to Allaah, who made Prayer compulsory on his slaves and ordered them to establish it and perform it well; who linked success and felicity to humility in Prayer; who made it the criterion to distinguish between Eeman and ufr ; and who made it a restrainer from shameful and un!ust deeds. Prayers and peace be upon our Prophet "uhammad, who was addressed in the #ords of the E$alted%

"And We have sent down to you the Message, that you may e p!ain c!ear!y to the peop!e what is sent for them"", and who fully carried out this task. &he Prayer was
one of the most important things which he e$plained to the people, verbally and practically, even

praying on the pulpit once ' standing, bowing and prostrating, and then saying to them, ha1e done this so that you may follo) me and learn my #rayer.2 (e obligated us to copy him in his prayer, saying, 2ray as you ha1e seen me #rayin&.) (e also gave the good tidings to whoever prayed like him that such a person has a covenant with Allaah that (e will enter him into the *arden, saying, There are fi1e #rayers )hi!h Allaah7 Mi&hty and Sublime7 has made !om#ulsoryC he )ho #erforms ablution )ell for them7 #rays them at their #ro#er times7 and is !om#lete in their bo)in&s7 #rostrations and humility7 he has a &uarantee from Allaah that He )ill for&i1e himD but he )ho does not do so7 has no &uarantee from AllaahC if He )ishes7 He )ill for&i1e him or if He )ishes7 He )ill #unish him.4 Prayers and peace be also on his family and his pious and !ust +ompanions, who passed on to us his worship, prayer, sayings and actions ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., and who made these, and these alone, a "adhhab and a path for them to follow; and also on those who follow in their footsteps and tread their path until the /ay of 0udgment.

#hen 1 finished reading the book of prayer in At'&argheeb wat'&arheeb by al'(aafi2 al'"undhiri ,rahimahullaah. and teaching it to our brothers, four years ago, it became clear to us all the important position of the Prayer in 1slaam; and the reward, grace and respect awaiting those who establish and perform it well; and that all this varies, depending on its closeness to the Prophet-s prayer ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.. &his is what he indicated in his saying, *erily the sla1e #rays a #rayer of )hi!h nothin& is )ritten do)n for him e<!e#t a tenth7 ninth7 ei&hth7 se1enth7 si<th7 fifth7 Buarter7 third or half of it.3 &herefore, 1 reminded the brothers that it is not possible for us to perform prayer as it should be performed, or even approach that, unless we know the detailed description of the Prophet-s prayer ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., including its essentials, manners, forms, supplications ,du-aas. and remembrances ,adhkaar., and then we make an effort to put that knowledge into practice carefully, for then we could hope that our prayers would restrain us from shameful and un!ust deeds, and that the reward and blessings mentioned in the narrations would be written down for us. (owever, detailed familiarity with all these aspects of prayer is unlikely to be achieved by most people nowadays, even many scholars, because of their limiting themselves to a particular "adhhab. 4ut, as anyone concerned with assisting in compiling and studying the purified 5unnah knows, in every "adhhab there are sunnahs which are not found in other "adhhabs; moreover, in every "adhhab there are sayings and actions which cannot be authentically traced back to the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. ' most of these are found in the sayings of the later scholars6, many of whom we see firmly attributing these to the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.78 &his is why the scholars of (adeeth ' may Allaah reward them well ' have produced books of &akhree! on the famous books of the later scholars, e$plaining the rank of each hadeeth given in them% whether e.g. authentic, weak or fabricated. E$amples of these books of &akhree! are% Al'-1naayah fi "a-rifah Ahaadeeth al' (idaayah and At'&uru9 wal'#asaa-il fi &akhree! Ahaadeeth hulaasah ad'/alaa-il by 5haikh -Abdul :aadir ibn "uhammad al' :urashi al'(anafi; ;asb ar'<aayah li Ahaadeeth al'(idaayah by (aafi2 =ayla-i, and its abridged version ad'/irayah by (aafi2 1bn (a!r al'As9alaani, who also wrote &alkhees al'(abeer fi &akhree! Ahaadeeth ar' <aafi-i al' abir; there are many others, naming which will only lengthen this discussion. >

"easons behind the Com#ilation of this Book7 and some of its (eatures

5ince 1 had not come across a comprehensive book covering this topic, 1 felt obliged to produce a book which collected together as many features of the Prophet-s prayer ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. from the takbeer to the tasleem as possible, for the benefit of my "uslim brothers who wished to follow the guidance of their Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. in their worship, such that it would be easy for any who truly loved the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. to use this book to fulfil his command, E2ray as you ha1e seen me #rayin&.E &hus 1 embarked on a difficult task, and researched the relevant ahaadeeth from the various sources of (adeeth, the book in your hands being the end result of it all. 1 stipulated on myself that 1 would only give ahaadeeth which had an authentic sanad according to the principles and regulations of the science of (adeeth. 1 disregarded any hadeeth which depended on unknown or weak narrators, whether it dealt with the outward form, adhkaar, e$cellence, etc. of the Prayer. &his is because 1 hold that the authentic ahadeeth ? are sufficient, leaving no need for anything weak, for the latter does not amount to anything e$cept 2ann ,con!ecture, suspicion., and incorrect con!ecture at that; as the E$alted says%

"### And con$ecture is of no use against the truth"@A

and the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said, Be)are of sus#i!ion7 for truly7 sus#i!ion is the most false of s#ee!h.@@ &herefore, we cannot worship Allaah by acting according to inauthentic ahaadeeth; in fact, the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. forbade us from this saying, eep away from saying things about me, e$cept what you know @2; since he has forbidden us from relating weak narrations, it goes without saying that it is forbidden to act according to them. 1 have compiled the book as two te$ts% the main te$t and the subsidiary te$t. &he main te$t includes the te$t of ahaadeeth or phrases taken from them, as well as appropriate words to string them together to give the book a fluency from start to finish. 1 have been careful to preserve the te$t of each hadeeth as it is found in the books of 5unnah; where a hadeeth has different wordings, 1 have chosen the version which best fits the fluency etc., but 1 have brought together other wordings thus% B,in one version% ... .B or B,in one narration% ....B. Cnly rarely have 1 given the +ompanion who narrated the hadeeth, or e$plained in the main te$t which of the 1maams of (adeeth have collected each hadeeth, in order to provide easier reading and reference. As for the subsidiary te$t, it is a commentary on the main te$t. 1n it 1 have traced the ahaadeeth to their sources, e$ploring their various versions and routes of narration. Along with this, 1 have commented on their isnaads and supporting narrations, with authenticating and disparaging remarks on narrators, whether authentic or weak, !udged according to the rules of the science of (adeeth. Cften, one route of narration has additional words which are not found in other routes, so 1 have inserted these into the original hadeeth in the main te$t whenever it is possible to do so without destroying the fluency, enclosing the addition in s9uare brackets% D...E, usually without stating which of the sources were alone in containing that addition. &his has been done only if the hadeeth is originally on the authority of the same +ompanion, otherwise 1 have given it separately, e.g. in the opening supplications etc. &his insertion of additional wordings is a tremendous advantage which you will not find in many books ' Praise be to Allaah, by #hose Favour good actions are completed. ;e$t, 1 have mentioned in the subsidiary te$t the madhhabs of the scholars regarding the hadeeth traced, as well as the evidence and counter'evidence for each view, along with the strengths and weaknesses of each argument. #e have then selected out of that the correct view which we have given in the main te$t. Also in the subsidiary te$t, we have given some issues for which there is no te$t in the 5unnah, but which re9uire i!tihaad, and do not come under the title of this book.

5ince the publication of this book with both main and subsidiary te$ts is not feasible right now due to various reasons, we have decided to publish only the main te$t of the book ,along with brief footnotes. by Allaah-s #ill, and named it B5ifah 5alaah an';abi ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., min at'takbeer ilaa at'tasleem ka-annaka taraahaa ,&he Prophet-s Prayer /escribed, from beginning to end, as though you were watching it.B. 1 ask Allaah to make this work sincerely for (is Face, and to help my brothers in faith to benefit from it, for (e is the (earer, the Answerer.

Methodolo&y of this Book

5ince the purpose of this book is to convey the guidance of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. regarding Prayer, it was elementary that 1 would not limit myself to a particular "adhhab, for the reasons mentioned previously. &herefore, 1 would give whatever is authentically proved from him ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., as has always been the way of the scholars of (adeeth @), whether of old or of the recent past@4, as the e$cellent saying goes% &he People of (adeeth are the People of the "essenger, although &hey accompany him not, they are with his every movement.@3 &hus this book would, Allaah #illing, gather whatever is relevant to each topic from the various contents of the books of (adeeth and the books on the differences between the "adhhabs, such that the correct verdicts found in this book would not be found totally in any one "adhhab. (ence the one acting on it, Allaah #illing, would be among those whom Allaah had guided "by His

Grace to the Truth concerning that in which they differed, for Allaah guides whom He will to a path that is straight."@6
#hen 1 adopted these principles for myself, i.e. to adhere to the authentic 5unnah, and to implement them in this book as well as others, 1 knew for sure that this would not satisfy every group of people or sect; in fact, it would result in some, if not most of them, insulting or criticising me. &his does not matter to me, for 1 also know that to please everyone is an unattainable notion, and that EHe )ho #leases the #eo#le by an&erin& Allaah7 Allaah )ill entrust him to the #eo#leE, as the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said. @8 &he reward is with Allaah for the author of the following lines% ;or could 1 ever escape from abuse, Even were 1 in a cave in a rugged mountain; For who can escape from the people unharmed, Even if he hides behind the eagle-s wingsG 1t is enough for me that 1 believe that this is the most upright way, which Allaah has commanded the believers to take; which our Prophet "uhammad ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., +hief of the "essengers, has e$plained. &his is the path which was trodden by the Pious Predecessors% the +ompanions, their 5uccessors and those after them, including the four 1maams to whose "adhhabs the ma!ority of "uslims today attribute themselves. All of them were agreed on the obligation to stick to the 5unnah and to refer to it; to ignore every view contradictory to it, no matter how great the holder or propounder of that view, for the status of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. is far greater, and his e$ample is far truer. 4ecause of this, 1 have acted on their guidance, followed in their footsteps and carried out their commands to stick to the authentic hadeeth, even if this opposes their view. &hese commands of theirs have influenced me

greatly in my perusal of this path, and my re!ection of blind ta9leed ,following of opinion.. 1 ask Allaah E$alted to reward them greatly.

Sayin&s $f The maams "e&ardin& (ollo)in& The Sunnah And &norin& Their *ie)s Contradi!tory To t
1t would be beneficial if we gave some of these here, for perhaps this will admonish or remind those who follow the opinion of the 1maams ' nay, of those far below the 1maams in rank ' blindly@>, sticking to their madhhabs or views as if these had descended from the heavens7 4ut Allaah, "ighty and 5ublime, says%

"%o!!ow (& men') the reve!ation given to you from your (ord, and fo!!ow not, as friends and protectors, other than )im# (itt!e is it you remem*er of admonition#"@?
1+ Abu Haneefah ,rahimahullaah+ &he first of them is Abu (aneefah ;u-maan ibn &haabit, whose companions have narrated from him various sayings and diverse warnings, all of them leading to one thing% the obligation to accept the (adeeth, and to give up following the opinions of the imaams which contradict it% @. B#hen a hadeeth is found to be saheeh, then that is my madhhab.B 2A 2. B1t is not permitted2@ for anyone to accept our views if they do not know from where we got them.B22 1n one narration, B1t is prohibited2) for someone who does not know my evidence to give verdicts 24 on the basis of my words.B Another narration adds, B... for we are mortals% we say one thing one day, and take it back the ne$t day.B 1n another narration, B#oe to you, C Ha-9ub237 /o not write down everything you hear from me, for it happens that 1 hold one opinion today and re!ect it tomorrow, or hold one opinion tomorrow and re!ect it the day after tomorrow.B26 ). B#hen 1 say something contradicting the 4ook of Allaah the E$alted or what is narrated from the "essenger ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., then ignore my saying.B 28 %+ Maalik ibn Anas ,rahimahullaah+ As for 1maam "aalik ibn Anas, he said% @. B&ruly 1 am only a mortal% 1 make mistakes ,sometimes. and 1 am correct ,sometimes.. &herefore, look into my opinions% all that agrees with the 4ook and the 5unnah, accept it; and all that does not agree with the 4ook and the 5unnah, ignore it.B 2>

2. BEveryone after the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. will have his sayings accepted and re!ected ' not so the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam..B 2? ). 1bn #ahb said% B1 heard "aalik being asked about cleaning between the toes during ablution. (e said, -&he people do not have to do that.- 1 did not approach him until the crowd had lessened, when 1 said to him, -#e know of a sunnah about that.- (e said, -#hat is that G- 1 said, -Iaith ibn 5a-d, 1bn Iahee-ah and -Amr ibn al'(aarith narrated to us from Ha2eed ibn -Amr al'"a-aafiri from Abu -Abdur'<ahman al'(ubuli from "ustawrid ibn 5haddaad al':urashi who said, -1 saw the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. rubbing between his toes with his little finger.(e said, -&his hadeeth is sound; 1 had not heard of it at all until now.- Afterwards, 1 heard him being asked about the same thing, on which he ordered cleaning between the toes.B )A '+ Shaafi-i ,rahimahullaah+ As for 1maam 5haafi-i, the 9uotations from him are most numerous and beautiful )@, and his followers were the best in sticking to them% @. B&he sunnahs of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. reach, as well as escape from, every one of us. 5o whenever 1 voice my opinion, or formulate a principle, where something contrary to my view e$ists on the authority of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., then the correct view is what the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. has said, and it is my view.B )2 2. B&he "uslims are unanimously agreed that if a sunnah of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. is made clear to someone, it is not permitted )) for him to leave it for the saying of anyone else.B)4 ). B1f you find in my writings something different to the 5unnah of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., then speak on the basis of the 5unnah of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., and leave what 1 have said.B 1n one narration% B... then follow it ,the 5unnah., and do not look sideways at anyone else-s saying.B)3 4. B#hen a hadeeth is found to be saheeh, then that is my madhhab.B )6 3. BHou)8 are more knowledgeable about (adeeth than 1, so when a hadeeth is saheeh, inform me of it, whether it is from ufah, 4asrah or 5yria, so that 1 may take the view of the hadeeth, as long as it is saheeh.B)> 6. B1n every issue where the people of narration find a report from the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. to be saheeh which is contrary to what 1 have said, then 1 take my saying back, whether during my life or after my death.B )? 8. B1f you see me saying something, and contrary to it is authentically'reported from the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., then know that my intelligence has departed.B 4A >. BFor everything 1 say, if there is something authentic from the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. contrary to my saying, then the hadeeth of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. comes first, so do not follow my opinion.B4@ ?. BEvery statement on the authority of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. is also my view, even if you do not hear it from me.B42

.+ Ahmad ibn Hanbal ,rahimahullaah+ 1maam Ahmad was the foremost among the 1maams in collecting the 5unnah and sticking to it, so much so that he even Bdisliked that a book consisting of deductions and opinions be written.B 4) 4ecause of this he said% @. B/o not follow my opinion; neither follow the opinion of "aalik, nor 5haafi-i, nor Aw2aa-i, nor &hawri, but take from where they took.B44 1n one narration% B/o not copy your /een from anyone of these, but whatever comes from the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. and his +ompanions, take it; ne$t are their 5uccessors, where a man has a choice.B Cnce he said% BFollowing43 means that a man follows what comes from the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. and his +ompanions; after the 5uccessors, he has a choice.B 46 2. B&he opinion of Aw2aa-i, the opinion of "aalik, the opinion of Abu (aneefah% all of it is opinion, and it is all e9ual in my eyes. (owever, the proof is in the narrations ,from the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. and his +ompanions..B 48 ). B#hoever re!ects a statement of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. is on the brink of destruction.B4>

&hese are the clear, lucid sayings of the 1maams ,Allaah E$alted be pleased with them. about sticking to the (adeeth and forbidding the following of their opinion without clearly' visible evidence, such that mere opinion and interpretation is not acceptable. (ence, whoever adhered to whatever of the 5unnah that was proved authentic, even if it opposed some of the 1maams- sayings, he would not be conflicting with their madhhab, nor straying from their path; rather, such a person would be following all of them and would be grasping the most trustworthy hand'hold, which never breaks. (owever, this would not be the case with the one who abandoned any of the authentic 5unnah simply because it contradicted their views; nay, such a person would be being disobedient to them and opposing their above mentioned sayings, while Allaah says%

"+ut no, *y ,our (ord, they can have no (rea!) faith, unti! they ma-e you $udge in a!! disputes *etween them, and find in their sou!s no resistance against your decisions, *ut accept them with the fu!!est conviction#"4?#
(e also says%

".hen !et those *eware who withstand the Messenger's order, !est some tria! *efa!! them or a grievous pena!ty *e inf!icted on them#"3A
(aafi2 1bn <a!ab al'(anbali ,rahimahullaah. says% B&herefore it is obligatory on anyone who hears of a command of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. or knows it, to e$plain it to the Jmmah, advise them sincerely, and order them to follow his command, even if it contradicts the opinion of someone great. &his is because the authority of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. has the most right to be respected and followed, over and above the opinion of anyone great who has unknowingly

contradicted the "essenger-s command in any matter. &his is why the +ompanions and those after would refute anyone who contradicted the authentic 5unnah, sometimes being very stern in their refutation3@, not out of hatred for that person, for they loved and respected him, but because the "essenger of Allaah was more beloved to them, and his command was superior to the command of any other created being. (ence, when the order of the "essenger and that of someone else conflicted, the order of the "essenger would be more fitting to be enforced and followed. ;one of this would stop them respecting the person they had opposed because they knew that he would be forgiven32; in fact, the latter would not mind his instruction being opposed when the command of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. was clearly shown to be opposite.B3) 1ndeed, how could they mind that, when they had ordered their followers to do so, as we have seen, and had en!oined on them to abandon any of their views which contradicted the 5unnah. 1n fact, 1maam 5haafi-i ,rahimahullaah. told his companions to attribute the authentic 5unnah to him also, even if he had not adopted it or had adopted something contradictory to it. (ence, when the analyst 1bn /a9ee9 al'-Eid ,rahimahullaah. collected together, in a bulky volume, the issues in which one or more of the four 1maams- madhhabs had contradicted the authentic hadeeth, he wrote at the beginning of it, B1t is prohibited to attribute these answers to the "u!tahid 1maams, and obligatory on the !urists who follow their opinions to know of these so that they do not 9uote them regarding these and thus lie against them.B 34 The maams- (ollo)ers 0ea1in& their *ie)s if these Contradi!ted the Sunnah /ue to all that we have mentioned, the disciples of the 1maams, a number of people from those of old, and a few from those of later time33, would not accept all of their 1maam-s views; they actually ignored many when they found them to be clearly against the 5unnah. Even the two 1maams, "uhammad ibn al'(asan and Abu Hoosuf ,rahimahullaah. differed from their shaikh Abu (aneefah Bin about a third of the "adhhabB36, as the books of masaa-il prove. 5imilarly is said about 1maam al' "u2ani38 and other followers of 5haafi-i and other 1maams; were we to start giving e$amples, the discussion would become e$ceedingly, long, and we would digress from what we set out to do in this 1ntroduction, so we shall limit ourselves to two instances% @. 1maam "uhammad says in his "uwatta-3>,p. @3>., BAs for Abu (aneefah, he did not regard there being a prayer to ask for rain, but we hold that the imaam prays two rak-ahs and then supplicates and holds out his wrapping garment ...B 2. #e have -1saam ibn Hoosuf al'4alkhi, one of the companions of 1maam "uhammad 3? and a servant of 1maam Abu Hoosuf6A, who Bwould give verdicts contrary to 1maam Abu (aneefah because he did not know the latter-s evidence, and other evidence would present itself to him, so he would give verdicts using that.B6@ (ence, Bhe would raise his hands on bowing ,in prayer. and on rising from itB62, as is the mutawaatir sunnah of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.; the fact that his three 1maams ,i.e. Abu (aneefah, Abu Hoosuf and "uhammad. said otherwise did not prevent him from practising this sunnah. &his is the approach which every "uslim is obliged to have, as we have already seen from the testimony of the Four 1maams, and others. &o sum up% 1 sincerely hope that no follower of an 1maam will race to condemn the principles of this book and abandon benefiting from the sunnahs of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. which it contains, with the argument that they are contrary to his "adhhab. 1 hope that such a person will instead consider what we have given of the e$hortations of the 1maams towards the obligation to act on the 5unnah and ignore their sayings contradictory to it. 1 hope also that he will realise that to condemn the attitude of this book is to condemn whichever 1maam he is following, for we have taken these principles from those 1maams, as we have e$plained. &herefore, whoever refuses to be guided by them on this path is in great danger, for such refusal necessitates turning away from the 5unnah, the 5unnah to which we have been ordered to refer in cases of difference of opinion and on which we have been commanded to depend.

1 ask Allaah to make us among those about whom (e says,

".he answer of the *e!ievers, when summoned to A!!aah and )is Messenger, in order that he may $udge *etweeen them, is no other than this/ they say, "We hear and we o*ey" 0 it is such as these that wi!! attain Success# 1t is those who o*ey A!!aah and )is Messenger, and fear A!!aah, and -eep their duty to )im, who wi!! triumph#"23

Mis!on!e#tions Cleared
&he preceding 1ntroduction was written ten years ago, during which time it has become apparent to us that our words have had a positive effect on "uslim youth in guiding them towards the obligation in matters of their /een and worship to return to the pure sources of 1slaam% the 4ook and the 5unnah. Among them, there was an increase in the ranks of of those who practised the 5unnah and devoted themselves to it, ' Praise be to Allaah ' such that they became conspicuous for it. (owever, 1 still found among some of them a steadfastness in failing to practise the 5unnah% not due to any doubt about its obligation after reading the :ur-aanic verses and narrations from the 1maams about going back to the 5unnah, but because of some ob!ections and misconceptions which they had heard from some mu9allid shaikhs. &herefore, 1 decided to mention these incorrect notions and refute them, so that perhaps ths would encourage more people to practise the 5unnah and thus be among the 5aved 5ect, Allaah #illing.

Mis!on!e#tion $ne
5ome of them say, B&here is no doubt that it is obligatory to return to the guidance of our Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. in the matters of our /een, especially in the recommended acts of worship such as Prayer, where there is no room for opinion or i!tihaad, due to their immutable nature. (owever, we hardly hear any of the mu9allid shaikhs propounding this; in fact, we find them upholding difference of opinion, which they regard as fle$ibility for the Jmmah. &heir proof for this is the hadeeth which they repeatedly 9uote in such circumstances, when refuting the helpers of the 5unnah, -The differen!e of o#inion ,ikhtilaaf+ amon& my Ummah is a mer!y ,rahmah+-. 1t seems to us that this hadeeth contradicts the principles to which you invite and based on which you have compiled this book and others. 5o, what do you say about this hadeeth GB Answer% &he answer is from two angles% A. Firstly% This hadeeth is not authenti!D in fact, it is false and without foundation. -Allaamah 5ubki said, B1 have not come across an authentic or weak or fabricated chain of narration for itB, i.e. no chain of narrators e$ists for this BhadeethB7 1t has also been related with the wordings% B... the difference of opinion among my +ompanions is a mercy for youB and B"y +ompanions are like the stars, so whichever of them you follow, you will be guided.B 4oth of these are not authentic% the former is very feeble; the latter is fabricated. ,5ee Appendi$ @. 4. 5econdly% This hadeeth !ontradi!ts the :lorious =ur-aan7 for the aayaat forbidding division in the /een and en!oining unity are too well'known to need reminding. (owever, there is no harm in giving some of them by way of e$ample% Allaah says,

"### and do not fa!! into disputes, !est you !ose heart and your power depart" @4
"And do not *e among those $oin deities with A!!aah, those who sp!it up their Deen and *ecome sects 0 each party re$oicing with what it has '" 2; "+ut they wi!! not cease to differ, e cept those on whom your (ord *estows )is Mercy" ). &herefore, if those on whom your Iord has mercy do not differ, and the people of falsehood differ, how can it make sense that differing is a mercyG7 (ence, it is established that this hadeeth is not authentic, neither in the chain of narration, nor in meaning; therefore, it is clear and obvious that it cannot be used to !ustify resistance towards acting on the 4ook and the 5unnah, which is what our 1maams have commanded us anyway.

Mis!on!e#tion T)o
Cthers say, B1f differing in the /een is forbidden, what do you say about the differences among the +ompanions and among the 1maams after themG 1s there any distinction between their differing and that of later generations GB Answer% Hes, there is a big difference between these two e$amples of differing, which manifests itself in two ways% firstly, in cause; secondly, in effect.

A. As for the differing among the +ompanions, that was unavoidable, natural difference of understanding% they did not differ by choice. Cther factors of their time contributed to this, necessitating difference of opinion, but these vanished after their era. 4 &his type of differing is impossible to totally remove and such people cannot be blamed in the light of the above mentioned aayaat because of the absence of the appropriate conditions, i.e. differing on purpose and insisting on it. (owever, as for the differing found among the mu9allideen today, there is no overriding e$cuse for it. &o one of them, the proof from the 4ook and the 5unnah is shown, which happens to support a "adhhab other than his usual one, so he puts the proof aside for no other reason e$cept that it is against his "adhhab. 1t is as though his "adhhab is the original, or it is the /een which "uhammad ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. brought, while other "adhhabs are separate /eens which have been abrogated7 Cthers take the opposite e$treme, regarding the "adhhabs ' for all their differences ' as parallel codes of Iaw, as some of their later adherents e$plain 3% there is no harm in a "uslim taking what he likes from them and leaving what he likes, because they are all valid codes of Iaw 7 4oth these categories of people !ustify their remaining divided by this false hadeeth, B&he differing among my Jmmah is a mercyB ' so many of them we hear using this as evidence7 5ome of them give the reason behind this hadeeth and its purpose by saying that it ensures fle$ibility for the Jmmah7 Apart from the fact that this BreasonB is contrary to the clear :ur-aanic verses and to the meanings of the 1maam-s words mentioned, there is also te$t fom some 1maams to refute it. 1bn al':aasim said,

B1 heard "aalik and Iaith saying about the differing of the +ompanions of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., -1t is not as people say% B&here is fle$ibility in itB; no, it is not like that, but it is a matter of some being mistaken and some being correct-.B 6 Ashhab said, B"aalik was asked about the person who accepted a hadeeth narrated by reliable people in the authority of the +ompanions of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.% -/o you see any fle$ibility thereG- (e said, -;o, by Allaah, so that he may be on the truth. &ruth can only be one. &wo contradictory views, can both be correctG7 &ruth and right are only one.B 8 1maam "u2ani, a companion of 1maam 5haafi-i said, B&he +ompanions of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. indeed differed, and some of them corrected others. 5ome scrutinised others- views and found fault with them. 1f all their views had been correct, they would not have done so. -Jmar ibn al' hattab became angry at the dispute between Jbayy ibn a-b and 1bn "as-ood about prayer in a single garment. Jbayy said, -Prayer in one garment is good and fine; 1bn "as-ood said, -&hat is only if one does not have many clothes.- 5o -Jmar came out in anger, saying, -&wo men from among the companions of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., who are looked up to and learnt from, disputingG Jbayy has spoken the truth and not cared about 1bn "as-ood. 4ut if 1 hear anyone disputing about it after this 1 will do such'and'such to him-.B> 1maam "u2ani also said, B&here is the one who allows differing and thinks that if two scholars make i!tihaad on a problem and one says, -(alaal-, while the other says, -(araam-, then both have arrived at the truth with their i!tihad7 1t can be said to such a person, -1s this view of yours based on the sources or on 9iyaas ,analogy. G- 1f he says, -Cn the sources-, it can be said, -(ow can it be based on the sources, when the :ur-aan negates differing G- And if he says, -Cn analogy-, it can be said, -(ow can the sources negate differing, and it be allowed for you to reason by analogy that differing is allowedG7 &his is unacceptable to anyone intelligent, let alone to a man of learning.B ? 1f it is said further% B#hat you have 9uoted from 1maam "aalik that truth is only one, not plural, is contradicted by what is found in Al'"adkhal al'Fi9hi by 5haikh =ar9aa- ,@K>?., B&he +aliphs Abu 0a-far al'"ansoor and later ar' <asheed proposed to select the "adhhab of 1maam "aalik and his book Al'"uwatta- as the official code of Iaw for the -Abbaasi empire, but "aalik forbade them from this, saying, B1ndeed, the +ompanions of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. differed in the non' fundamental issues and were scattered in various towns, but ea!h of them )as !orre!t.B 1 say% &his incident of 1maam "aalik ,rahimahullaah. is well' known, but his saying at the end, Bbut each of them was correctB is one for which 1 find no basis in any of the narrations or sources 1 have come across@A, by Allaah, e$cept for one narration collected by Abu ;u-aim in (ilyah al' Awliyaa- ,6K))2., but with a chain of narrators which includes al'"i9daam ibn /aawood who is classified among the weak narrators by /hahabi in ad'/u-afaa-; not only this, but the wording of it is, B... but ea!h of them )as !orre!t in his o)n eyes.B (ence the phrase Bin his own eyesB shows that the narration in "adkhal is fabricated; indeed, how could it be otherwise, when it contradicts what has been reported on reliable authority from 1maam "aalik that truth is only one and not plural, as we have mentioned, and this is agreed on by all the 1maams of the +ompanions and the 5uccessors as well as the four "u!tahid 1maams and others. 1bn -Abdul 4arr says, B1f the conflicting views could both be right, the 5alaf would not have corrected each other-s i!tihaad,

!udgments, and verdicts. 5imple reasoning forbids that something and its opposite can both be correct; as the fine saying goes, &o prove two opposites simultaneously is the most hideous absurity.B @@ 1f it is said further, B*iven that this narration from 1maam "aalik is false, why did he forbid al' "ansoor from bringing the people together on his book Al'"uwatta- rather than acceding to the +aliph-s wish GB 1 say% &he best that 1 have found in answer to this is what (aafi2 1bn atheer has mentioned in his 5harh 1khtisaar -Jloom al'(adeeth ,p.)@., that 1maam "aalik said, B1ndeed the people have come together on, and know of, things which we are not ac9uainted with.B &his was part of the e$cellence of his wisdom and impartiality, as 1bn atheer ,rahimahullaah. says. (ence, it is proved that all differing is bad, not a mercy7 (owever, one type of differing is reprehensible, such as that of staunch followers of the "adhhabs, while another type is not blameworthy, such as the differing of the +ompanions and the 1maams who succeeded them ' "ay Allaah raise us in their company, and give us the capability to tread their path. &herefore, it is clear that the differing of the +ompanions was not like that of the mu9allideen. 4riefly% the +ompanions only differed when it was inevitable, but they used to hate disputes, and would avoid them whenever possible; as for the mu9allideen, even though it is possible in a great many cases to avoid differing, they do not agree nor strive towards unity; in fact, they uphold differing. (ence there is an enormous gulf between these two types of people in their difference of opinion. &his was from the point of view of cause.

4. &he difference in effect is more obvious. &he +ompanions ,radi Allaahu -anhum., despite their well' known differing in non'fundamental issues, were e$tremely careful to preserve outward unity, staying well'away from anything which would divide them and split their ranks. For e$ample, there were among them those who approved of saying the basmalah loudly ,in prayer. and those who did not; there were those who held that raising the hands ,in prayer. was recommended and those who did not; there were those who held that touching a woman nullified ablution, and those who did not; ' but despite all that, they would all pray together behind one imaam, and none of them would disdain from praying behind an imaam due to difference of opinion. As for the mu9allideen, their differing is totally opposite, for it has caused "uslims to be divided inthe mightiest pillar of faith after the two testifications of faith% none other than the 5alaah ,Prayer.. &hey refuse to pray together behind one imaam, arguing that the imaam-s prayer is invalid, or at least detestable, for someone of a different "adhhab. &his we have heard and seen, as others beside us have seen@2; how can it not be, when nowadays some famous books of the "adhhabs rule such cases of invalidity or detestability. &he result of this has been that you find four "ihraabs ,alcoves. in some large congregational mos9ues, in which four imaams successively lead the Prayer, and you find people waiting for their imaam while another imaam is already standing in Prayer777 1n fact, to some mu9allideen, the difference between the "adhhabs has reached a worse state than that, such as a ban in marriage between (anafees and 5haafi-is; one well known (anafi scholar, later nicknamed "ufti ath'&ha9alayn ,&he "ufti for (umans and 0inn., issued a fatwaa

allowing a (anafi man to marry a 5haafi-i woman, because Bher position is like that of the People of the 4ookB@) 7 &his implies ' and implied meanings are acceptable to them ' that the reverse case is not allowed, i.e. a (anafi woman marrying a 5haafi-i man, !ust as a "uslim woman cannot marry a 0ew or +hristianG77 &hese two e$amples, out of many, are enough to illustrate to anyone intelligent the evil effects of the differing of the later generations and their insistence upon it, unlike the differing of the earlier generations ,the 5alaf., which did not have any adverse effect on the Jmmah. 4ecause of this, the latter are e$empt from the verses prohibiting division in the /een, unlike the later generations. "ay Allaah guide us all to the 5traight Path. Further, how we wish that the harm caused by such differing be limited to among themselves and not e$tend to the other peoples being given da-wah, for then it would not be that bad, but it is so sad when they allow it to reach the non' believers in many areas around the world, and their differing obstructs the entry of people in large numbers into the /een of Allaah7 &he book =alaam min al'*harb by "uhammad al' *ha2aali ,p. 2AA. records the following incident, B1t so happened during a conference held at the Jniversity of Princeton in America that one of the speakers raised a 9uestion, one which is a favourite of the Crientalists and the attackers of 1slaam% -#hich teachings do the "uslims advance to the world in order to specify the 1slaam towards which they are inviting G 1s it 1slamic teachings as understood by the 5unnisG Cr is it as understood by the 1maami or =aidi 5hee-ahsG "oreover, all of these are divided further amongst themselves, and further, some of them believe in limited progression in thought, while others believe obstinately in fi$ed ideas.&he result was that the inviters to 1slaam left those being invited in confusion, for they were themselves utterly confused.B@4 1n the Preface to (adiyyah as'5ultaan ilaa "uslimee 4ilaad 0aabaan by -Allaamah 5ultaan al' "a-soomi ,rahimahullaah., the author says, A 9uery was posed to me by the "uslims from 0apan, from the cities of &okyo and Csaka in the far east, B#hat is the actual /een of 1slaamG #hat is a "adhhabG 1s it necessary for one ennobled by the /een of 1slaam to adhere to one of the four "adhhabsG &hat is, should he be "aaliki, (anafi, 5haafi-i or (anbali, or is it not necessaryGB &his was because a ma!or differing, a filthy dispute, had occured here, when a number of groups of 0apanese intellectuals wanted to enter into the /een of 1slaam, and be ennobled by the nobility of Eeman. #hen they proposed this to some "uslims present in &okyo, some people from 1ndia said, B1t is best that they choose the "adhhab of Abu (aneefah, for he is the Iamp of the JmmahB; some people from 1ndonesia ,0ava. said, B;o, they should be 5haafi-i7B 5o when the 0apanese heard these statements, they were e$tremely perple$ed and were thrown off their original purpose. (ence the issue of the "adhhabs became a barrier in the path of their accepting 1slaam77

Mis!on!e#tion Three

Cthers have the idea that what we invite to, of following the 5unnah and not accepting the views of the 1maams contrary to it, means to completely abandon following their views and benefiting from their opinions and i!tihaad. Answer% &his idea is as far as can be from the truth ' it is false and obviously flawed, as is clearly evident from our previous discussion, all of which suggests otherwise. All that we are calling to is to stop treating the "adhhab as a /een, placing it in the position of the :ur-aan and the 5unnah, such that it is referred to in the case of dispute or when e$tracting a new !udgment for une$pected cirumstances, as the so'called !urists of this age do when setting new rules for personal matters, marriage, divorce, etc, instead of referring to the :ur-aan and the 5unnah to distinguish the right from the wrong, the truth from falsehood ' all of this on the basis of their B/iffering is a mercyB and their idea of pursuing every concession, ease and convenience7 (ow fine was the saying of 5ulaiman at'&aymi ,rahimahullaah.% #ere you to accept the concessions of every scholar, 1n you would gather every evil. <elated by 1bn -Abdul 4arr in 0aami- 4ayaan al'-1lm ,2K?@' ?@., who said after it, B&here is i!maa,consensus of opinion. on this% 1 know of no contrary view.B All this pursuing of concessions for the sake of it is what we re!ect, and it agrees with i!maa-, as you see. As for referring to the 1maams- views, benefiting from them, and being helped by them in understanding the truth where they have differed and there is no te$t in the :ur-aan and the 5unnah, or when there is need for clarification, we do not re!ect it. 1n fact, we en!oin it and stress upon it, for there is much benefit e$pected in this for whoever treads the path of being guided by the :ur-aan and the 5unnah. -Allaamah 1bn -Abdul 4arr ,rahimahullaah. says ,2K@>2., B(ence, my brother, you must preserve the fundamentals and pay attention to them. Hou should know that he who takes care over preserving the sunnahs and the commandments stated in the :ur-aan, considers the views of the !urists to assist him in his i!tihaad, open up different angles of approach and e$plain sunnahs which carry different possible meanings, does not blindly follow the opinion of anyone of them the way the 5unnah should be followed without analysis, nor ignores what the scholars themselves achieved in preserving and reflecting on the sunnahs, but follows them in discussion, understanding and analysis, is grateful to them for their efforts through which they have benefited him and alerted him about various points, praises them for their correct conclusions, as in the ma!ority of cases, but does not clear them of errors !ust as they did not clear themselves% such is the pursuer of knowledge who is adhering to the way of the pious predecessors; such is the really fortunate and truly guided; such is the follower of the 5unnah of his Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., and the guidance of the +ompanions ,radi Allaahu -anhum.. 4ut he who refrains from analysis, forsakes the method we have mentioned, disputes the sunnahs with his opinion and desires to accommadate them only where his own view allows% such a one is straying and leading others astray. Further, he who is ignorant of all we have mentioned, and plunges carelessly into giving verdicts without knowledge% such a one is even more blind, and on a path more astray.B

Mis!on!e#tion (our
&here e$ists another common misconception among mu9allideen which bars them from practising the 5unnah which it is apparent to them that their "adhhab is different to it in that issue% they think that practising that sunnah entails faulting the founder of the "adhhab. &o them, finding fault means insulting the 1maam; if it is not allowed to insult any individual "uslim, how can they insult one of their 1maams G Answer% &his reasoning is totally fallacious, and borne of not understanding the 5unnah; otherwise, how can an intelligent "uslim argue in such a wayG7 &he "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. himself said, 5hen the one makin& a 4ud&ment stri1es his outmost and arri1es at the !orre!t result7 he has t)o re)ardsD but if he 4ud&es7 stri1in& his utmost and #asses the )ron& 4ud&ment7 he has one re)ard. @3 &his hadeeth refutes the above argument and e$plains lucidly and without any obscurity that if someone says, B5o'and'so was wrongB, its meaning under the 5haree-ah is B5o'and'so has one reward.B 5o if he is rewarded in the eyes of the one finding fault, how can you accuse the latter of insulting himG7 &here is doubt that this type of accusation is baseless and anyone who makes it must retract it% otherwise it is he who is insulting "uslims, not !ust ordinary individuals among them, but their great 1maams among the +ompanions, 5uccessors the subse9uent "u!tahid 1maams and others. &his is because we know for sure that these illustrious personalities used to fault and refute each other@6; is it reasonable to say, B&hey used to insult each otherBG ;o7 1n fact, it is authentically' reported that the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. himself faulted Abu 4akr ,radi Allaahu -anhu. in his interpretation of a man-s dream, saying to him, EFou )ere ri&ht in some of it and )ron& in some of itE@8' so did he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. insult Abu 4akr by these wordsG7 Cne of the astonishing effects this misconception has on its holders is that it prevents them from following the 5unnah when it is different to their "adhhab, since to them practising it means insulting the 1maam, whereas following him, even when contrary to the 5unnah, means respecting and loving him7 (ence they insist on following his opinion to escape from this supposed disrespect. &hese people have forgotten ' 1 am not saying% ... pretended to forget ' that because of this notion, they have landed in something far worse than that from which they were fleeing. 1t should be said to them, B1f to follow someone means that you are respecting him, and to oppose him means that you are insulting him, then how do you allow yourselves to oppose the e$ample of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. and not follow it, preferring to follow the 1maam of the "adhhab in a path different to the 5unnah, when the 1maam is not infallible and insulting him is not ufrG7 1f you interpret opposing the 1maam as insulting him, then opposing the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. is more obviously insulting him; in fact, it is open ufr, from which we seek refuge with Allaah7B 1f this is said to them, they cannot answer to it, by Allaah, e$cept one retort which we hear time and time again from some of them% B#e have left this sunnah trusting in the 1maam of the "adhhab, and he was more learned about the 5unnah than us.B Cur answer to this is from many angles, which have already been discussed at length in this 1ntroduction. &his is why 1 shall briefly limit myself to one approach, a decisive reply by the permission of Allaah. 1 say% B&he 1maam of your "adhhab is not the only one who was more learned about the 5unnah than you% in fact, there are do2ens, nay hundreds, of 1maams who too were more knowledgeable about the 5unnah than you. &herefore, if an authentic sunnah happens to differ from your

"adhhab, and it was taken by one of these other 1maams, it is definitely essential that you accept this sunnah in this circumstance. &his is because your above' mentioned argument is of no use here, for the one opposing you will reply, -#e have accepted this 5unnah trusting in our 1maam, who accepted it- ' in this instance, to follow the latter 1maam is preferable to following the 1maam who has differed from the 5unnah.B &his is clear and not confusing to anyone, Allaah #illing. 4ecause of all of the above, 1 am able to say% 5ince this book of ours has collected the authentic sunnahs reported from the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. about the description of his Prayer, there is no e$cuse for anyone to not act on it, for there is nothing in it which the scholars have unanimously re!ected, as they would never do. 1n fact, in every instance several of them have adopted the authentic sunnah; any one of them who did not do so is e$cused and rewarded once, because the te$t was not conveyed to him at all, or it was conveyed but in such a way that to him it did not constitute proof, or due to other reasons which are well'known among the scholars. (owever, those after him in front of whom the te$t is firmly established have no e$cuse for following his opinion; rather, it is obligatory to follow the infallible te$t. &his message has been the purpose of this 1ntroduction. Allaah, "ighty and 5ublime, says,

"& you who *e!ieve' 5ive your response to A!!aah and )is Messenger when he ca!!s you to that which wi!! give you !ife, and -now that A!!aah comes in *etween a man and his heart, and it is )e to whom you sha!! a!! *e gathered#"@>
Allaah says the &ruth; (e shows the #ay; and (e is the 4est to Protect and the 4est to (elp. "ay Allaah send prayers and peace on "uhammad, and on his family and his +ompanions. Praise be to Allaah, Iord of the #orlds.

Muhammad 6aasirud0Deen a!0A!*aani

Damas!us %9G1?G1'9> AH

&he Prophet-s ,saws.Prayer /escribed

(a!in& The 3a-bah

#hen the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. stood for prayer, he would face the a-bah in both obligatory and voluntary prayers , and he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. ordered that, saying to the Bone who prayed badlyB
@

% #hen you stand for prayer, perform ablution prefectly, then face the 9iblah and say takbeer.
)

B/uring a !ourney, he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would pray voluntary prayers and witr on his mount, wherever it faced carrying him Deast or westE.B
4

&he saying of Allaah, the E$alted, B#herever you turn, there is the Face of AllaahB ,4a9arah, 2%@@3. applies to this.
3

BD5ometimesE when he intended to pray non'obligatory prayers on his she'camel, he would make it face the 9iblah, say takbeer, and pray towards wherever his mount turned its face.B
6

B(e would make rukoo- and sa!dah on his mount by lowering his head, making the sa!dah lower than the rukoo-.B
8

B#hen he intended to pray obligatory prayers, he would dismount and face the 9iblah.B
>

1n prayer during severe fear, he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. set the e$ample for his ummah to pray Bon foot, standing on their feet, or mounted; facing the 9iblah or not facing itB , and he also said, 5hen they ,the armies+ meet7 then it ,i.e. the #rayer+ is takbeer and indi!ation )ith the head.
? @A

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. also used to say% 5hat is bet)een the east and the )est is Biblah.
@@

0aabir ,radiallaahu -anhu. said% BCnce, when we were with the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. on an e$pedition, the sky was cloudy, so we tried to find the :ibla but we differed, so each one of us prayed in a different direction, and each of us drew marks in front of him in order to mark our positions. 1n the morning, we looked at it and found that we had not prayed towards the :iblah. 5o we mentioned this to the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. Dbut he did not order us to repeat ,the prayer.E and he said% Four #rayer )as suffi!ient.B
@2

B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to pray towards 4ait al'"u9addas Dwith the a-bah in front of himE before the following verse was revealed% B We see the

turning of your faces to the heavens; now shall we turn you to a Qiblah that shall please you: turn then your faces in the direction of the Sacred Mosque" ,4a9arah 2%@44.. #hen it was revealed he faced the a-bah.

&here were people at :ubaa- praying Fa!r when someone came to them and said, -Lerily the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. has had some of the :ur-aan revealed to him last night and he has been ordered to face the

a-bah, DverilyE so face it-. &heir faces were towards 5haam, so they turned round Dand their 1maam turned round to face the 9iblah along with themE.B
@)

Standin& in 2rayer
(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to stand in prayer for both obligatory and voluntary prayers, carrying out the command of the E$alted%

EAnd stand before Allaah devoutly." ,BaBarah7 %C%'9+

As for during a !ourney, he would pray voluntary prayers on his riding beast. (e set the e$ample for his ummah to pray during severe fear on foot or while mounted, as has been mentioned, and that is the purpose of the saying of Allaah%

"5uard strict!y your (ha*it of) prayers, especia!!y the Midd!e Prayer"7, and
stand before Allaah devoutly. If you fear (an enemy then pray on foot, or while riding. !ut when you are in security, celebrate Allaah"s praises in the manner He has taught you, which you did not #now before." ,BaBarah7 %C%'9->+ (e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. prayed sitting during the illness of which he died.B @3 (e also prayed sitting on another occasion before that, when he was in!ured, and the people behind him prayed standing; so he indicated to them to sit, so they sat ,and prayed.. #hen he finished, he said, Fou )ere &oin& to do as the 2ersians and the "omans doC stand for their kin&s )ho sit. So do not do so7 for the maam is there to be follo)edC )hen he makes rukoo-7 make rukoo-7 )hen he rises7 riseD and )hen he #rays sittin&7 #ray sittin& Hall of youI.@6

The 2rayer of a Si!k 2erson in a Sittin& 2osition

-1mran ibn (usain ,radiallaahu -anhu. said, B1 was suffering from haemorrhoids ,piles., so 1 asked the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. and he said, 2ray standin&D if you are not able7 then sittin& do)nD if you are not able to do so7 then #ray lyin& do)n. @8 -1mraan ibn (usain also said, B1 asked him ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. about the prayer of a man while sitting, so he said% He )ho #rays standin&7 that is betterD he )ho #rays sittin&7 his re)ard is half that of the former. He )ho #rays lyin& do)n ,and in another narrationC re!linin&+7 has half the re)ard of the one )ho sits.@>&his applies to the sick person, for Anas ,radiallaahu -anhu. said, B&he "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. came out to the people while they were praying sitting due to illness, so he said% *erily7 the #rayer of one )ho sits is ,)orth+ half of the #rayer of the one )ho stands. @? Cnce Bhe ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. visited a sick person and saw him praying ,leaning. on a pillow, so he took it and cast it aside. 5o the man took a stick to pray ,leaning. on it, but he took it and cast it aside and said% 2ray on the &round if you !an7 but other)ise make mo1ements )ith your head7 makin& your su4ood lo)er than your rukoo.B2A

2rayer on a Shi#
(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. was asked about prayer on a ship, so he said, 2ray on it standin&7 unless you are afraid of dro)nin&.2@ #hen he grew old he took a support at his place of prayer to lean on 22.

Sittin& and Standin& in the Ni&ht 2rayer ,Taha44ud+

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., used to pray long through the night standing, and long through the night sitting, and if he recited standing, he would bow standing, and if he recited sitting, he would bow sitting.B2) 5ometimes, B(e would pray sitting, so he would recite sitting until about thirty or forty verses of his recitation wre left; he would then stand up to recite these standing and then bow and prostrate, and he would do likewise in the second raka-ah.B 24 1n fact, Bhe prayed as'subhah23 sitting down towards the end of his life when he had grown old, and that was a year before his death.B26 Also Bhe would sit cross'legged.B28

2rayer 5earin& Shoes and the !ommand to do so

B(e used to stand ,in prayer. bare'footed sometimes and wearing shoes sometimes.B 2> (e allowed this for his ummah, saying% 5hen one of you #rays7 he should )ear his shoes or take them off and #ut them bet)een his feet7 and not harm others )ith them.2? (e encouraged prayer wearing them sometimes, saying% Be different from the Je)s7 for they do not #ray in their shoes nor in their khuffs ,leather so!ks+.)A Cccasionally he would remove them from his feet while in prayer and then continue his prayer, as Abu 5a-eed al' hudri has said% B&he "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. prayed with us one day. #hilst he was engaged in the prayer he took off his shoes and placed them on his left. #hen the people saw this, they took off their shoes. #hen he finished his prayer he said, 5hy did you take your shoes offK &hey said, -#e saw you taking your shoes off, so we took our shoes off.- (e said, *erily Jibreel !ame to me and informed me that there )as dirt - or he saidC somethin& harmful - ,in another narrationC filth+on my shoes7 so took them off. Therefore7 )hen one of you &oes to the mosBue7 he should look at his shoesC if he sees in them dirt - or he saidC somethin& harmful - ,in another narrationC filth+ he should )i#e them and #ray in them.)@

B#hen he removed them, he would place them on his leftB)2 and he would also say% #hen one of you prays, he should not place his shoes on his right nor on his left, where they will be on someone else-s right, e$cept if there is no one on his left, but he should place them between his feet.))

2rayer on the 2ul#it ,Minbar+

BCnce he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. prayed on the pulpit ,in another narration% -... which had three steps-.)4. (ence Dhe stood on it and said takbeer and the people behind him said takbeer while he was on the pulpit,E Dthen he made rukoo- on the pulpit,E then he rose and descended backwards to make sa!dah at the foot of the pulpit. &hen he returned, Dand did on it as he had done in the first rak-ahE, until he completed his prayer. (e then turned to the people and said% $ #eo#leL ha1e done this so that you may follo) me and learn my #rayer. )3

The Sutrah 7 and the $bli&ation to ha1e one

'6

B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to stand near to the sutrah, so that there was ,a distance of. three cubits between him and the wallB )8 and Bbetween the place of his prostration and the wall, ,there was. enough space for a sheep to pass.B )> (e used to say% EDo not #ray e<!e#t to)ards a sutrah7 and do not let anyone #ass in front of you7 but if someone !ontinues ,to try to #ass+ then fi&ht him7 for he has a !om#anion ,i.e. a shaytaan+ )ith him.E)? (e would also say% B5hen one of you #rays to)ards a sutrah7 he should &et !lose to it so that Shaytaan !annot break his #rayer.E4A 5ometimes Bhe would seek to pray at the pillar which was in his mos9ue.B 4@ B#hen he prayed Din an open space where there was nothing to use as sutrahE he would plant a spear in the ground in front of him and pray towards it with the people behind himB 42; 5ometimes Bhe would to set his mount sideways and pray towards itB 4) but this is not the same as prayer in the resting'place of camels44, which Bhe forbadeB43, and sometimes Bhe would take his saddle; set it lengthways and pray towards its end.B46 (e would say% 5hen one of you #la!es in front of him somethin& su!h as the sti!k on the end of a saddle7 he should #ray and not mind anyone )ho #asses beyond it.48 Cnce Bhe prayed towards a treeB4> and sometimes Bhe would pray towards the bed on which -Aa-ishah ,radi Allaahu anhaa. was lying Dunder her sheetE.B 4? (e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., would not let anything pass between him and his sutrah, hence once Bhe was praying, when a sheep came running in front of him, so he raced it until he pressed his belly against the wall Dand it passed behind himE.B 3A

Also, once Bwhile praying an obligatory prayer, he clenched his fist ,during it., so when he had finished, the people said% -C "essenger of Allaah, did something happen during the prayerG- (e said% No7 e<!e#t that the de1il )anted to #ass in front of me7 so stran&led him until !ould feel the !oldness of his ton&ue on my hand By AllaahL Had my brother Sulaimaan not beaten me to it3@, )ould ha1e tied him ,the de1il+ to one of the #illars of the mosBue so that the !hildren of Madinah !ould )alk round him. D5o whoever can prevent something intervening between him and the 9iblah, he must do soE.B 32 (e also used to say% 5hen one of you #rays to)ards somethin& )hi!h is a sutrah bet)een him and the #eo#le and someone intends to !ross in front of him7 then he should #ush him in the throat Hand re#el7 as mu!h as he !anI7 ,in one narrationC he should sto# him7 t)i!e+ but if he refuses ,to not #ass+ then he should fi&ht him7 for 1erily he is a de1il.3) (e also used to say% 1f the person who passed in front of someone praying knew ,the sin. on him, it would be better for him to wait forty than to pass in front. ,Abu an';adr said, B1 do not remember e$actly whether he said forty days, months or years.B.. 34

5hat Breaks the 2rayer

(e used to say% A man-s #rayer is !ut off )hen there is nothin& su!h as the end of a saddle in front of him7 byC a Hmenstruatin&I33 )oman7 a donkey or a bla!k do&. Abu /harr said, -1 said% BC "essenger of Allaah, why the black dog rather than the red oneGB (e said, The bla!k do& is a shaytaan.36

2rohibition of 2rayer (a!in& the :ra1e

(e used to forbid prayer facing the grave, saying% Do not #ray to)ards the &ra1es7 and do not sit on them.38

ntention
Takbeer

/9

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to say% All a!tions are by intention7 and e1ery man shall ha1e )hat he intended.
3?

&hen he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would commence the prayer by saying%

Allaah is the :reatest6A (e ordered Bthe man who prayed badlyB to do likewise as has been mentioned, and he said to him% *erily7 the #rayer of a #erson is not !om#lete until he has made an ablution )hi!h has in!luded the ne!essary #arts of the body and has then saidC -Allaahu Akbar-. 6@ (e would also used to say% The key to the #rayer is #urifi!ation7 it is entered by takbeer and e<ited by tasleem.62 Also, Bhe used to raise his voice for the takbeer such that those behind him could hear.B 6) 4ut, Bwhen he fell ill Abu 4akr used to raise his voice to convey the takbeer of the "essenger ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. to the people.B64 (e would also say% 5hen the maam saysC Allaahu Akbar7 then sayC Allaahu Akbar.63

"aisin& the Hands

(e would raise his hands sometimes with the takbeer, 66 sometimes after the takbeer,68 and sometimes before it.6> B(e would raise them with fingers apart Dnot spaced out, nor togetherEB, 6? and Bhe would put them level with his shouldersB8A, although occasionally, Bhe would raise them until they were level with Dthe tops ofE his ears.B8@

To 2la!e the "i&ht Arm on the 0eft Arm7 and the !ommand for it
B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to place his right arm on his left armB 82, and he used to say% 5e7 the !om#any of #ro#hets7 ha1e been !ommanded to hasten the breakin& of the fast7 to delay the meal before the fast7 and to #la!e our ri&ht arms on our left arms durin& #rayer. 8) Also Bhe passed by a man who was praying and had placed his left arm on his right, so he pulled them apart and placed the right on the left.B 84

To 2la!e the Hands on the Chest

B(e used to place the right arm on the back of his left palm, wrist and forearmB 83, Band he commanded his companions to do likewiseB86, and ,sometimes. Bhe would grasp his left arm with his right.B88 B(e used to place them on his chest.B8> Also Bhe used to forbid putting one-s hand on the waist during prayer Dand he put his hand on his waist ,to demonstrate.EB8?. And this is the BsilbB which he used to forbid.>A

To 0ook at the 2la!e of 2rostration7 and Humility

B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to incline his head during prayer and fi$ his sight towards the groundB>@' Bwhile he was in the a-bah, his sight did not leave the place of his prostration until he came out from itB>2; and he said, 1t is not fittin& that there should be anythin& in the House )hi!h disturbs the #erson #rayin&.>) B(e used to forbid looking up at the skyB >4, and he emphasised this prohibition so much that he said% 2eo#le must refrain from lookin& u# at the sky in #rayer7 or their si&ht )ill not return to them ,and in one narrationC or their si&ht )ill be #lu!ked a)ay+. >3 1n another hadeeth% So )hen you #ray7 do not look here and there7 for Allaah sets His (a!e for the fa!e of his sla1e in his #rayer as lon& as he does not look a)ay>6, and he also said about looking here and there, Eit is a snat!hin& a)ay )hi!h the de1il steals from the sla1e durin& #rayer.E >8 (e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. also said% Allaah does not !ease to turn to a sla1e in his #rayer as lon& as he is not lookin& aroundD )hen he turns his fa!e a)ay7 Allaah turns a)ay from him>>; he Bforbade three things% pecking like a hen, s9uatting ,i9-aa-., like a dog and looking around like a fo$B>?; he also used to say, 2ray a fare)ell #rayer as if you see Him7 but if you do not see Him7 surely He sees you?A; and, Any #erson )ho7 )hen an obli&atory #rayer is due7 e<!els in its ablution7 humility and bo)in&s7 )ill ha1e it as a remission for his #re1ious minor sins as lon& as he does not !ommit a ma4or sin7 and this ,o##ortunity+ is for all times. ?@ Cnce he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., prayed in a khameesah ?2 and ,during the prayer. he looked at its marks. 5o when he finished, he said% Take this khameesah of mine to Abu Jahm and brin& me his anbi4aaniyyah?), for it has di1erted my attention from the #rayer ,in one narration% for ha1e looked at its marks durin& the #rayer and it almost #ut me to trial ..?4 Also B-Aaishah had a cloth with pictures spread towards a sahwah ?3, towards which the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. prayed and then said% Take it a)ay from me Hfor its #i!tures did not !ease to th)art me in my #rayerI.?6 (e would also say% 2rayer is not 1alid )hen the food has been ser1ed7 nor )hen it is time to relie1e oneself of the t)o filths.?8

$#enin& Su##li!ations ,Du-aa-s+

;e$t, he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would commence his recitation with many kinds of supplications in which he would praise Allaah the E$alted, and glorify and e$tol (im. (e in fact ordered Bthe man who prayed badlyB to do so, saying to him% No #erson-s #rayer is !om#lete unless he says takbeer7 #raises Allaah the Mi&hty and Sublime and e<tols Him7 re!ites of the =ur-aan )hat is easy for him ...?>

(e would say any one of the following supplications% '

@.

$ AllaahL Se#arate me ,far+ from my sins as you ha1e se#arated ,far+ the ;ast and 5est. $ AllaahL Cleanse me of my sins as )hite !loth is !leansed from dirt. $ AllaahL 5ash me of my sins )ith )ater7 i!e and sno). (e used to say this in obligatory prayers. ??

2.

ha1e set my fa!e to)ards the $ri&inator of the hea1ens and the earth sin!erely Hin slamI and am not amon& the Mushrikeen. ndeed my #rayer7 my sa!rifi!e7 my li1in& and my dyin& are for Allaah7 the 0ord of the 5orldsC no #artner has He. 5ith this ha1e been !ommanded7 and am the first of the Muslims ,those )ho submit to Him+.@AA $ AllaahL Fou are the 3in&7 none has the ri&ht to br )orshi##ed but Fou7 HFou are the Most 2erfe!t A all 2raise is for FouI Fou are my 0ord and am Four sla1e@A@. ha1e )ron&ed myself7 and ha1e a!kno)led&ed my sins7 so for&i1e all my sins7 for noone for&i1es sins e<!e#t Fou. :uide me to the best of !hara!ters7 to )hi!h no- one !an &uide e<!e#t Fou7 and sa1e me from the )orst of !hara!ters7 from )hi!h no-one !an sa1e e<!e#t Fou. am here and ha##y to ser1e you@A2. All &ood is in your Hands7 and e1il is not from Fou.@A) HThe &uided one is he )ho is &uided by you.I e<ist by your )ill and belon& to Fou. HThere is no es!a#e or shelter from Fou e<!e#t to Fou.I Fou are blessed and e<alted. seek Four for&i1eness and re#ent to Fou. (e used to say this in obligatory and voluntary prayers @A4. ). 5imilar to the above, without

Fou are my 0ord and am Four sla1e to the end, with the following addition%

$ AllaahL Fou are the 3in&7 there is no ,true+ deity e<!e#t Fou7 &lorified be Fou and #raised.@A3 4. 5imilar to no. 2 until

and am the first of the Muslims, adding%

$ Allaah7 &uide me to the best of !hara!ters and the best of a!tions7 no one to )hi!h !an &uide e<!e#t Fou7 and sa1e me from the e1il !hara!ters and a!tions7 from )hi!h no one e<!e#t Fou !an sa1e ,others+ e<!e#t Fou@A6.

3.

Fou are :lorified@A87 $ Allaah7 and 2raised@A>D Four Name is Blessed@A?D Four Ma4esty@@A is ;<alted7 and none has the ri&ht to )orshi##ed but Fou.@@@ (e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. also said, ndeed7 the )ords most lo1ed by Allaah are )hen His sla1e saysC Fou are &lorified7 $ Allaah@@2 6. 5imilar to the above, adding in prayer at night%

There is no true &od e<!e#t Allaah7 three times, and

Allaah is the :reatest7 *ery :reat7 three times.

8.

Allaah is the :reatest7 1ery &reat. 2raise be to Allaah7 a&ain and a&ain. :lorified is Allaah mornin& and e1enin& ' one of the +ompanions commenced with this, to which the "essenger ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said% 5onderful for it ,the supplication. is that the doors of the hea1ens )ere o#ened for it.@@)

>.

2raise be to Allaah7 many7 #ure7 blessed #raises. Another man commenced with this, to which he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said% sa) t)el1e an&els !om#etin& as to )hi!h of them )ould take it u#.@@4

?.

$ Allaah7 to Fou belon&s all 2raise. Fou are the 0i&ht@@3 of the hea1ens and the earth and all those in themD to Fou belon&s all 2raise. Fou are the Maintainer @@6 of the hea1ens and the earth and all those in themD Hto Fou belon&s all 2raise. Fou are the 3in& of the hea1ens and the earth and all those in themI to Fou belon&s all 2raise. Fou are the HaBB@@8D Four #romise is haBBD Four sayin& is haBBD meetin& Fou is haBBD 2aradise is haBBD the (ire is haBBD the Hour is haBBD the 2ro#hets are haBBD Muhammad is haBB. $ AllaahL to Fou ha1e submittedD in Fou ha1e #la!ed my trustD in Fou ha1e belie1edD to Fou ha1e turnedD for Four sake ha1e fou&htD to Fou ha1e referred for 4ud&ementD HFou are our 0ord and to Fou is the end of all 4ourneysC so for&i1e me my earlier and later sins7 )hat ha1e !on!ealed and )hat ha1e sho)edI Hand )hate1er else Fou kno) about more than .I Fou are the Brin&er- (or)ard and Fou are the DelayerD HFou are my deityDI and none has the ri&ht to )orshi##ed but Fou.@@> Hand there is no mi&ht nor #o)er e<!e#t )ith FouI. (e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to say this in prayer at night, as he did the following supplications%@@?

@A.

$ Allaah7 0ord of Jibraa-eel7 Meekaa-eel and sraafeel7 Creator of the hea1ens and the earth7 3no)er of all that is hidden and o#enL t is Fou that )ill 4ud&e bet)een Four ser1ants in those matters about )hi!h they used to differ. :uide me by Four :ra!e to the Truth !on!ernin& that about )hi!h they differed7 for indeed Fou &uide )homsoe1er Fou )ish to a #ath that is strai&ht.@2A @@. (e would say takbeer, tahmeed, tasbeeh, tahleel and istighfaar ten times each, and then say,

$ AllaahL for&i1e me and &uide me and &i1e me sustenan!e and Ho1erlook my sinsI ten times, and then say%

$ AllaahL seek refu&e )ith Fou from the distress of the Day of A!!ount ten times.@2@

@2.

EAllaah is the :reatest Hthree timesI7 2ossessor of 3in&dom7 2o)er7 Ma&nifi!en!e and Mi&ht.E@22

"e!itation
;e$t, he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would seek refuge with Allaah the E$alted, saying%

seek refu&e )ith Allaah from the ;1il $ne7 the "e4e!ted7 from his madness @2)7 his arro&an!e7 and his #oetry@24. 5ometimes he would add to this, saying%

seek refu&e )ith Allaah7 the all-Hearin&7 the all-3no)in&7 from the ;1il $ne ...@23 &hen he would recite,

n the Name of Allaah7 the Most Mer!iful7 the Besto)er of Mer!y7 but not loudly@26.

"e!itation of one *erse at a Time

;e$t, he would recite 5oorah al'Faatihah and divide his recitation, reciting one verse at a time. (e would say%

D(ere he would pause, and then say%E

D&hen he would pause, and then say%E

D&hen he would pause, and then say%E

... and so on, until the end of the soorah. &he rest of his recitation was also like this% stopping at the end of the verse and not !oining it with the one after. @28 5ometimes, he would recite,

,3in& of the Day of Jud&ment. instead of

,Master of the Day of Jud&ment..@2>

The Ne!essity of al-(aatihah7 and its ;<!ellen!e

(e would vehemently emphasise the importance of this soorah, saying% B There is no #rayer for the one )ho did not re!ite Hin itI the o#enin& !ha#ter Hat leastIB@2?, and in another saying% That #rayer is not suffi!ient in )hi!h a man does not re!ite the $#enin& of the Book @)A. (e also said% He )ho #erforms a #rayer in )hi!h he does not re!ite the $#enin& of the Book7 then it ,i.e. the #rayer+ is defi!ient7 it is defi!ient7 it is defi!ient7 in!om#lete. @)@. (e also said% Allaah the Blessed and ;<alted has saidC BI have divided the prayer"38 between $yself and $y servant, into two halves% half of it is for $e and half is for $y servant, and $y servant shall have what he has as#ed for." &hen the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said% "e!iteL The ser1ant says E2raise be to Allaah7 the 0ord of the 5orldsED Allaah the ;<alted says "$y servant has praised $e". The ser1ant says7 EThe Most Mer!iful7 the Besto)er of Mer!yED Allaah says7 "$y servant has e&tolled $e". The ser1ant says EMaster of the Day of Jud&mentED Allaah the ;<alted says7 "$y servant has glorified $e". The ser1ant says7 E t is Fou ,alone+ )e )orshi# and it is Fou ,alone+ )e ask for hel#ED HHe saysCI7

"This is between $e and $y servant, and $y servant shall have what he has as#ed for". The ser1ant says7 E:uide us to the Strai&ht 2ath7
the 2ath of those )hom Fou ha1e fa1oured7 not of those )ho re!ei1e Four an&er7 nor of those )ho &o astrayE. HHe saysCI7 EAll these are for $y servant, and $y servant shall have what he has as#ed for."@)) (e also used to say% Allaah did not re1eal in the Torah or the :os#el anythin& like the Mother of the =ur-aan. t is the Se1en $ft-"e#eated@)4Hand the :rand "e!itation )hi!h ha1e been besto)ed u#on meI.@)3 (e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. commanded Bthe one who prayed badlyB to recite it in his prayer@)6, but said to one who could not remember it, SayC

, de!lare Allaah free from all defe!tsD all 2raise be to AllaahD none has the ri&ht to be )orshi##ed but AllaahD Allaah is the :reatestD there is no mi&ht or #o)er e<!e#t by Allaah+ @)8. (e also said to Bthe one who prayed badlyB% f you kno) some of the =ur-aan7 then re!ite it7 other)ise #raise Allaah7 de!lare His :reatness and de!lare that none has the ri&ht to be )orshi##ed but AllaahD@)>

The Abro&ation of "e!itation behind the maam in the 0oud 2rayers

(e had given permission for those being led by the 1maam to recite 5oorah al'Faatihah in the loud prayers, when once% Bhe was praying Fa!r and the recitation became difficult for him. #hen he finished, he said% 2erha#s you re!ite behind your imaam. #e said% BHes, 9uickly@)?, C "essenger of Allaah.B (e said% Do not do so7 e<!e#t for Hea!h of you re!itin&I the o#enin& !ha#ter of the Book7 for the #rayer is not 1alid of the one )ho does not re!ite it.@4A Iater, he forbade them from reciting in the loud prayers at all, when% B(e finished a prayer in which he was reciting loudly ,in one narration% it was the dawn prayer. and said% 5ere any of you re!itin& )ith me 4ust no)KL A man said% BHes, 1 was, C "essenger of AllaahB. (e said% say7 )hy am !ontended )ithK DAbu (urairah said%E 5o the people stopped reciting with the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. when he was reciting loudly after hearing that from him Dbut they recited to themselves 9uietly when the imaam was not reciting loudlyE.B@4@ (e also made silence during the imaam-s recitation part of the completeness of following the imaam, saying% The imaam is there to be follo)ed7 so )hen he says takbeer7 say takbeer7 and )hen he re!ites7 be silent@42, !ust as he made listening to the imaam-s recitation enough to not have to recite behind him, saying% He )ho has an imaam7 then the re!itation of the imaam is re!itation for him@4) ' this applying in the loud prayers.

The $bli&ation to "e!ite in the =uiet 2rayers

As for the 9uiet prayers, he urged them to recite during them; 0aabir said, B#e used to recite behind the imaam in =uhr and -Asr% soorah al'Faatihah and another soorah in the first two rak-ahs, and soorah al'Fatihah in the last two.B @44 (owever, he dissuaded them from confusing him with their recitation, when% Bhe prayed =uhr with his +ompanions and said ,afterwards.% 5hi!h of you re!ited E:lorify the name of your 0ord the Most Hi&hE ,soorah al'A-laa, >8.K 5omeone said% 1t was 1 Dbut 1 was only intending nothing but good by doing soE. 5o he said% kne) that someone )as !ontendin& )ith me by it.@43 1n another hadeeth% B&hey used to recite behind the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. DloudlyE, so he said% Fou ha1e mi<ed u# my ,re!itation of the+ =ur-aan. @46 (e also said% Truly7 the #erson #rayin& is #ri1ately !onsultin& his 0ord7 so he should be !areful about )hat he !onsults him )ith7 and you should not re!ite the =ur-aan loudly o1er ea!h other.@48 (e also used to say% 5hoe1er re!ited a harf ,letter+ from the Book of Allaah7 it )ill !ount for him as one &ood deed7 and a &ood deed is )orth ten times o1er. do not mean that Ealif laam meemE is a harf7 but EalifE is a harf7 ElaamE is a harf7 and EmeemE is a harf.@4>

The aameen7 and the maam-s sayin& it 0oudly

#hen he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. finished reciting al' Faatihah, he would say%

,BaameenB. loudly, prolonging his voice.@4? (e also used to order the congregation to say aameen% 5hen the imaam says7

ENot of those )ho re!ei1e ,Four+ an&er7 nor of those )ho &o astrayE7 then say EaameenE Hfor the an&els say EaameenE and the imaam says aameenEI ,in another narration% )hen the imaam says EaameenE say EaameenE+7 so he )hose aameen !oin!ides )ith the aameen of the an&els ,in another narration% )hen one of you says EaameenE in #rayer and the an&els in the sky say EaameenE7 and they !oin!ide+7 his #ast sins are for&i1en.@3A 1n another hadeeth% ... then say aameenD Allaah )ill ans)er you.@3@ (e also used to say% &he Je)s do not en1y you o1er anythin& as mu!h as they en1y you o1er the salutation and aameen Hbehind the imaamI.@32

The "e!itation after al-(aatihah

;e$t, he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would recite another soorah after al'Faatihah, making it long sometimes, and on other occasions making it short because of travel, cough, illness or the crying of infants. Anas ibn "aalik ,may Allaah be pleased with him. said% B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. made it Di.e. the recitationE short one day in the dawn prayer.B ,1n another hadeeth% he prayed the morning prayer and recited the two shortest soorahs in the :ur-aan.. 5o it was said% BC "essenger of Allaah, why did you make it shortGB (e said% heard the !ryin& of a !hild7 and su##osed that his mother )as #rayin& )ith us7 so )anted to free his mother for him.@3) (e also used to say% enter into #rayer intendin& to len&then it7 but hear the !ryin& of a !hild so shorten my #rayer be!ause kno) ho) dee#ly his mother feels about his !ryin&.@34 (e used to start from the beginnning of a soorah, completing it most of the time. @33 (e used to say% :i1e e1ery soorah its share of rukoo- and su4ood.@36 1n another narration% ;1ery soorah should ha1e a rak-ah.@38 5ometimes he would divide the soorah into two rak-ahs @3> and sometimes he would repeat the whole soorah in the second rak-ah@3?. 5ometimes he would combine two or more soorahs in one rak-ah. @6A

Cne of the Ansaar used to lead them in the mos9ue of :ubaa-, and every time he recited a soorah@6@ for them, he would begin with "Say: He is llaah! the "ne and "nly " ,soorah al' 1khlaas, @@2. until its end, and then recite another soorah with it, and he would do this in every rak-ah. 4ecause of this, his people spoke to him, saying% BHou begin with this soorah, and then you do not regard it as enough until you recite another one% you should either recite it ,only. or leave it and recite another one. (e said% B1 will not leave it% if you do not mind me leading you with it, 1 shall carry on, but if you do not like it, 1 shall leave you.B &hey knew that he was one of their best, and they did not like to be led by anyone else, so when the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. came to them, they told him the story. (e said% $ so- and-so7 )hat sto#s you from doin& )hat your #eo#le ask you toK 5hat makes you re!ite this soorah in e1ery rak-ahK (e said% B1 love this soorah.B (e said% Four lo1e for it )ill enter you into the :arden. @62

Combinin& Similar Soorahs and others in $ne "ak-ah

(e used to combine the pairs@6) of the mufassal@64 soorahs, so he used to recite one of the following pairs of soorahs in one rak-ah@63% ar'<ahmaan ,33%8>.@66 M an';a!m ,3)%62.; al':amar ,34%33. M al'(aa99ah ,6?%32.; at'&oor ,32%4?. M /haariyaat ,3@%6A.; al'#aa9i-ah ,36%?6. M al':alam ,6>%32.; al'"a-aari! ,8A%44. M an';aa2i-aat ,8?%46.; al'"utaffifeen ,>)%)6. M -Abasa ,>A%42.; al'"uddaththir ,84%36 . M al'"u22ammil ,8)%2A.; ad'/ahr ,86%)@. M al':iyaamah ,83%4A.; an';aba ,8>%4A. M al'"ursalaat ,88%3A.; ad'/ukhaan ,44%3?. M at'&akweer ,>@%2?.. 5ometimes he would combine soorahs from the seven tiwaal ,long soorahs., such as al'4a9arah, an';isaa- and aal'1mraan in one rak-ah during night prayer ,below.. (e used to say% & he most e<!ellent #rayer is one )ith lon& standin&.@68 #hen he recited, "#oes He not have the power to give life to the dead$" ,:iyaamah 83%4A., he would say,

,:lory be to Fou7 of !ourseL+ and when he recited,"%lorify the na&e of your 'ord Most High" ,A-laa >8%@., he would say,

,:lorified be my 0ord Most Hi&h+.@6>

The 2ermissibility of "e!itin& al-(aatihah only

"u-aadh ibn 0abal used to pray -1shaa- Dthe lastE with the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., and then return and lead his people in prayer. Cne night when he returned and prayed with them, a young man Dcalled 5ulaim, of the 4anu 5alamahE from his people prayed, but when it became too long for him, he Dwent away andE prayed Din the corner of the mos9ueE, then came out, took the reins of his camel and departed. #hen "u-aadh had prayed, this was mentioned to him, so he said% B(e surely has some hypocrisy in him7 1 will surely tell the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. what he has done.B &he young man said% BAnd 1 will tell the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. what he has done.B 5o in the morning they came to the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., and "u-aadh informed him of what the young man had done. &he young man said% BC "essenger of Allaah7 (e stays a long time with you, and then he returns and lengthens it for us.B 5o the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said% Are you one )ho !auses &reat trouble7 Mu-aadhKL and he said to the young man@6?% 5hat do you do )hen you #ray7 son of my brotherK (e said% B1 recite the opening chapter of the 4ook, then 1 ask Allaah for the *arden, and seek refuge with (im from the Fire. 1 know neither your dandanah@8A nor the dandanah of "u-aadh7B 5o the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said% and Mu-aadh are similar in this. &he narrator said% &he young man said, B4ut "u-aadh will know ,about me. on going to the people when they will have been informed that the enemy has arrived.B &he narrator said% 5o the enemy came, and the young man attained shahaadah ,martyrdom.. 5o after that the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said to "u-aadh, 5hat did the one dis#utin& )ith me and you doK (e said, BC "essenger of Allaah, he was true to Allaah, and 1 spoke falsely ' he was martyred.B@8@

=uiet and 0oud "e!itation in the (i1e 2rayers and others

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to recite loudly in the morning prayer and in the first two rak-ahs of "aghrib and -1shaa-, and 9uietly in =uhr, -Asr, the third rak-ah of "aghrib and the last two rak-ahs of 1shaa-.@82 &hey could tell when he was reciting 9uietly from the movement of his beard @8), and because he would let them hear an aayah or so sometimes@84. (e also recited loudly in Friday prayer and the two -Eid prayers @83, in the prayer for rain@86, and in the eclipse prayer@88.

=uiet and 0oud "e!itation in the Ni&ht 2rayer ,Taha44ud+189

As for night prayer, he would sometimes recite 9uietly and sometimes loudly @8?, and Bhe used to recite in his house such that he could be heard in the courtyard.B @>A BCccasionally he would raise his voice more than that until someone lying in bed could hear himB @>@ ,i.e. from outside the courtyard.. (e ordered Abu 4akr and -Jmar ,Allaah be pleased with them. likewise, when% Bhe came out at night to find Abu 4akr ,Allaah be pleased with him. praying in a low voice, and he passed by -Jmar ibn al' hattaab ,Allaah be pleased with him. who was praying in a loud voice. Iater, when they gathered around the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said% $ Abu Bakr7 #assed by you and you )ere #rayin& in a lo) 1oi!eK (e said% B1 let (im whom 1 was consulting hear, C "essenger of Allaah.B (e said to -Jmar% #assed by you and you )ere #rayin& raisin& your 1oi!eK 5o he said% BC "essenger of Allaah, 1 repel drowsiness and keep the devil away.B &he Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said% $ Abu Bakr7 raise your 1oi!e a little bit and to -UmarC lo)er your 1oi!e a little bit.@>2 (e used to say% The one )ho re!ites the =ur-aan loudly is like the one )ho &i1es !harity loudly7 and the one )ho re!ites the =ur-aan Buietly is like the one )ho &i1es !harity Buietly .@>)

5hat he ,sallallaahu -alaihi )a sallam+ used to "e!ite in the Different 2rayers

As for which soorahs and aayaat he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to recite in prayer, this varied according to the different prayers. &he details now follow, beginning with the first of the five prayers% 1 - (a4r 2rayer (e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to recite the longer mufassal @>4 surahs@>3, hence Bhe ,sometimes. recited al'#aa9i-ah ,36%?6. and similar surahs in two rak-ahsB @>6. (e recited from soorah at'&oor ,32%4?. during the Farewell Pilgrimage. @>8 5ometimes Bhe would recite soorah :aaf ,3A%43. or similar Din the first rak-ahE.B @>> 5ometimes Bhe would recite the shorter mufassal surahs, such as B When the sun is folded upB ,at'&akweer >@%2?..B@>? Cnce, he recited BWhen the (arth is sha)enB ,=il2aal ??%>. in both rak-ahs, so that the narrator said, B1 do not know whether the "essenger of Allaah forgot or recited it on purpose.B @?A

Cnce, on a !ourney, he recited BSay: * see) refuge with the 'ord of the #aybrea)B ,Fala9 @@)%3. and BSay: * see) refuge with the 'ord of Man)indB ,;aas @@4%6..@?@ (e also said to -J9bah ibn -Aamir ,may Allaah be pleased with him.% "e!ite the mu-a))adhatain@?2 in your #rayer7 for no seeker of refu&e has sou&ht refu&e by means of anythin& like them.@?) 5ometimes he used to recite more than that% Bhe would recite si$ty aayaat or moreB @?4 ' one of the narrators said, B1 do not know whether this was in each rak-ah or in total.B (e used to recite soorah ar'<oom ,)A%6A.@?3 and sometimes soorah Haa 5in ,)6%>).@?6. Cnce, Bhe prayed the 5ubh Di.e. Fa!r PrayerE in "akkah and started reciting soorah al'"u-minoon ,2)%@@>. until, when he got to the mention of "oosaa and (aaroon or the mention of -1sa @?8 ' one of the narrators was not sure ' he started coughing and so made rukoo-.B @?> 5ometimes, Bhe would lead them in Fa!r with as'5aaffaatB ,88%@>2.. @?? B1n Fa!r on Friday, he would recite as'5a!dah ,)2%)A. Din the first rak-ah, and, in the second,E ad' /ahrB ,86%)@..2AA (e used to make the first rak-ah longer than the second. 2A@ "e!itation in the Sunnah #rayer before (a4r (is recitation in the two rak-ahs of sunnah in Fa!r used to be e$tremely short 2A2, so much so that -Aa-ishah ,may Allaah be pleased with her. used to say% B(as he recited soorah al' Faatihah or not GB2A) 5ometimes, after al'Faatihah, he would recite the aayah B Say: We believe in llaah and the revelation given to us...B ,4a9arah 2%@)6. in the first rak-ah; in the second, the aayah BSay: " +eople of the ,oo)- .o&e to co&&on ter&s as between us and you...B ,aal'-1mraan )%64..2A4 Cccasionally, he would recite instead of the latter, B When /*sa found unbelief on their part...B ,aal'-1mraan )%32..2A3 5ometimes he would recite soorah al' aafiroon ,@A?%6. in the first rak-ah, and soorah al'1khlaas ,@@2%4. in the second;2A6 also, he used to say% An e<!ellent #air of soorahs they areL2A8 (e heard a man reciting the former soorah in the first rak-ah, so he said, This is a sla1e )ho belie1es in his 0ord. &hen the man recited the latter soorah in the second rak-ah, so he said, This is a sla1e )ho kno)s his 0ord.2A> %- @uhr 2rayer B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to recite al'Faatihah and two soorahs in the first two rak-ahs, making the first one longer than the second.B 2A? 5ometimes he would make lengthen it to the e$tent that Bthe =uhr prayer would have started, and someone could go to a plain% al'4a9i,- fulfil his need, Dcome back to his place,E make his ablution, and then come ,to the mos9ue. while the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. was still in the first rak-ah, it was that long.B 2@A. Also, Bthey used to think that he did it so that the people could catch the first rak-ah.B2@@ B(e used to recite in each of these two rak-ah about thirty aayaat, such as al'Faatihah followed by soorah as'5a!dah ,)2%)A..B2@2

5ometimes Bhe would recite B,y the S)y and the 0ight12isitantB ,&aari9, >6%@8., B,y the S)y! 3displaying4 the .onstellationsB ,4uroo!, >3%22., B,y the 0ight as it concealsB ,Iayl, ?2%2@. and similar soorahs.B2@) Cccasionally, he recited BWhen the S)y is rent asunderB ,1nshi9aa9 >4%23. and similar ones.2@4 B&hey could tell that he was reciting in =uhr and -Asr from the movement of his beard.B 2@3 "e!itation of Aayaat after al-(aatihah in the last t)o "ak-ahs B(e used to make the last two rak-ahs about half as long as the first two, about fifteen aayaat 2@6, and sometimes he would recite only al'Faatihah in them.B 2@8 5ometimes Bhe would let them hear an aayah or so.B 2@> B&hey would hear the tones of his recitation of B%lorify the na&e of your 'ord Most HighB ,A-laa >8%@?. and BHas the story reached you of the "verwhel&ing $B ,*haashiyah >>%26..B2@? 5ometimes Bhe would recite B,y the S)y and the 0ight12isitantB ,&aari9, >6%@8., B,y the S)y! 3displaying4 the .onstellationsB ,4uroo!, >3%22., and similar soorahs.B22A 5ometimes Bhe would recite B,y the 0ight as it concealsB ,Iayl ?2%2@. and similar soorahs.B22@ '- -Asr #rayer B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to recite al'Faatihah and two ,other. soorahs in the first two rak-ahs, making the first one longer than the secondB 222, and Bthey used to think that he did it so that the people could catch the rak-ah.B 22) B(e used to recite about fifteen aayaat in each of the first two rak-ahs, about half as much as he recited in each of the first two rak-ahs of =uhr, and he used to make the last two rak-ahs about half as long the first two.B224 B(e used to recite al'Faatihah in the last two.B 223 B(e would let them hear an aayah or so sometimes.B 226 (e used to recite the surahs mentioned under B=uhr prayerB above. .- Ma&hrib #rayer B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to ,sometimes. recite the short mufassal soorahsB 228, so that Bwhen they had finished praying with him, they could go away and ,it was possible to. shoot an arrow and see where it landed.B22> Cnce, Bwhile on a !ourney, he recited B,y the 5ig and the "liveB ,&een ?3%>. in the second rak-ah.B22? 4ut sometimes he would recite the long or medium mufassal surahs, hence Bhe would recite B6hose who disbelieve and hinder 3&en4 fro& the +ath of llaahB ,"uhammad 48%4>.;B2)A or soorah at'&oor ,32%4?.;2)@ or soorah al'"ursalaat ,88%3A., which he recited in the last prayer he prayed.2)2

5ometimes Bhe would recite the longer of the two long surahs 2)) ,A-raaf 8%2A6. Din two rak-ahsE.B2)4 Cr he would recite al' Anfaal ,>%83. in two rak-ahs. 2)3 "e!itation in the sunnah #rayer after Ma&hrib 1n this prayer, Bhe used to recite BSay: " you who re7ect faithB , aafiroon @A?%6. and B5ay% (e is Allaah, the Cne and CnlyB ,1khlaas @@2%4..B 2)6 /- - shaa- #rayer (e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would recite the medium mufassal surahs in the first two rak-ahs2)8, hence Bhe used to recite B,y the Sun and his splendourB ,5hams ?@%@3. and surahs like it.B2)> Cr Bhe would recite BWhen the S)y is rent asunderB ,1nshi9aa9 >4%23. and make sa!dah during it.B2)? Also, Bhe once recited B,y the 5ig and the "liveB ,&een ?3%>. Din the first rak-ahE while on a !ourney.B24A (e forbade prolonging of recitation in -1shaa-, and that was when% "u-aadh ibn 0abal led his people in -1shaa- prayer, and made it very long for them, so one of the Ansaar left and prayed ,alone.. #hen "u-aadh was informed about this, he said% B(e is surely a hypocriteB. #hen the man heard of this, he went to the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. and told him what "u-aadh had said, so the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said to him% BDo you )ant to be on )ho !auses a lot of trouble7 Mu-aadhKL 5hen you lead the #eo#le7 re!ite EBy the Sun and his splendourE ,5hams ?@%@3. or EGlorify the Name of your Lord Most HighE ,A-laa 88%@?. or "Read in the Name of your Lord" ,-Ala9 ?6%@?. or EBy the Night as it concealsE ,Iayl ?2%2@. Hbe!ause the old7 the )eak and those )ho ha1e a need to fulfil #ray behind youI.E24@ 6- Ni&ht #rayer ,Taha44ud+ (e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would sometimes recite loudly in it and sometimes 9uietly, 242 (e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would shorten his recitation in this sometimes and lengthen it sometimes, occasionally making it so e$ceedingly long that -Abdullaah ibn "as-ood ,radi Allaahu -anhu. once said% B1 prayed with the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. one night, and he carried on standing for so long that 1 was struck by a wrong idea.B (e was asked, B#hat was this ideaGB (e said% B1 thought 1 would sit down and leave the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.7B24) Also (udhaifah ibn al'Hamaan said% B1 prayed with the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. that night when he started soorah al' 4a9arah ,2%2>6.. 5o 1 said ,to myself., B(e will make rukoo- after one hundred aayaatB. 4ut he carried on after that, so 1 thought, B(e will finish it ,the soorah. in two rak-ahsB. 4ut he carried on, so 1 thought, B(e will make rukoo- when he has finished it.B &hen he started soorah an';isaa,4%@86. and recited it all, then he started soorah aal'-1mraan ,)%2AA. 244 and recited it all. (e was reciting slowly; when he came to an aayah in which there was glorification of Allaah, he glorified Allaah; at an aayah which had something to be asked for, he asked for it; at mention of seeking refuge, he sought refuge ,with Allaah.. &hen he made rukoo- ... B to the end of the hadeeth. 243 Also, Bone night when he was ill he recited the 5even Iong surahs.B 246 Also, Bhe would ,sometimes. recite one of these surahs in each rak-ah.B 248

B1t was DtotallyE unknown for him to recite the whole :ur-aan in one night.B 24> 1n fact, he did not recommend it for -Abdullaah ibn -Amr ,may Allaah be pleased with him. when he said to him% "e!ite the )hole =ur-aan in ea!h month. 1 said% B1 have the power ,to do more than that..B He saidC "e!ite it in t)enty ni&hts. 1 said% B1 have the power to do moreB. (e said% Then re!ite it in se1en days and do not &o beyond that.24? &hen Bhe allowed him to recite it in five days.B 23A &hen Bhe allowed him to recite it in three days.B 23@ Further, he forbade him from reciting it in less time than that232, and he gave a reason for that by saying to him% 5hoe1er re!ites the =ur-aan in less than three days does not understand it.23) 1n another version% He does not understand7 the one )ho re!ites the =ur-aan in less than three days.234 Also when he said to him% (or e1ery )orshi##er has a ,#eriod of+ keenness233 and e1ery ,#eriod of+ keenness has a la#se2367 either to)ards a sunnah or to)ards a bid-ah ,inno1ation+D so he )hose la#se is to)ards a sunnah has found &uidan!e7 and he )hose la#se is to)ards other than that has been destroyed. 238 For this reason, Bhe ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would not recite the whole :ur-aan in less than three days.B23> (e used to say% 5hoe1er #rays at ni&ht re!itin& t)o hundred aayaat )ill be )ritten do)n as one of the sin!ere de1otees.23? Also, Bhe used to recite soorah 4ani 1sraa-eel ,@8%@@@. and soorah a2'=umar ,)?%83. every night.B26A (e also used to say% 5hoe1er #rays at ni&ht re!itin& a hundred aayaat )ill not be )ritten do)n as one of the heedless. 26@ 5ometimes Bhe would recite about fifty aayaat or more in each rak-ahB262, or he Bwould recite about as much as soorah al' "u22ammil ,8)%2A..B26) B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would not pray all through the nightB 264 e$cept rarely, for once% B -Abdullaah ibn habbaab ibn al'Arat ' who was present at ,the 4attle of. 4adr with the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. ' stayed up the whole night with the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. ,in another version% a night when he prayed throughout it. until it was dawn. 5o when he finished his prayer, habbaab said to him% BC "essenger of Allaah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you7 &onight, you have prayed a prayer the like of which 1 have never seenGB (e said% Fes7 it )as a #rayer of ho#e and fearD HindeedI asked my 0ord7 Mi&hty and Sublime7 three thin&sD He &ranted me t)o7 but refused me one. asked my 0ord that He )ould not destroy us the )ay the nations before us )ere ,in another 1ersionC that He )ould not destroy my ummah )ith famine+ and He &ranted me thisD asked my 0ord7 Mi&hty and Sublime7 that He )ould not im#ose on us an enemy from outside us7 and He &ranted me thisD and asked my 0ord not to !o1er us )ith !onfusion in #arty strife7 but He refused me this.B B263 Also, one night he stood ,in prayer. repeating one aayah until it was dawn% B*f 8ou do punish the&! they are 8our servants; if 8ou do forgive the&! 8ou are indeed the (9alted in +ower! the Wise.B ,"aa-idah 3%@2@. Dwith it he bowed, with it he prostrated, and with it he supplicatedE, Dso in the morning Abu /harr ,radi Allaahu -anhu. said to him% BC "essenger of Allaah, you did not stop reciting this aayah until it was morning; you bowed with it and you prostrated with itE Dand you supplicated with it,E Dwhereas Allaah has taught you the whole :ur-aan;E Dif one of us were to do this, we would be stern with himGE D(e said% ndeed asked my 0ord7 the Mi&hty and Sublime7 for inter!ession for my ummahC He &ranted me it7 and it )ill be #ossible if Allaah )ills for )hoe1er does not asso!iate any #artners )ith Allaah.266 A man said to him% BC "essenger of Allaah, 1 have a neighbour who stands ,in prayer. at night and does not recite anything e$cept BSay: He is llaah the "ne and "nlyB ,1khlaas @@2%4., Drepeating it,E Dnot adding anything else,E as if he considers it little.B 5o the Prophet

,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said% By Him in 5hose Hand is my soul7 it is )orth a third of the =ur-aan.268 8- 5itr #rayer B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to recite B%lorify the 0a&e of 8our 'ord Most HighB ,al'A-laa >8%@?. in the first rak-ah, BSay: " you who disbelieveB , aafiroon @A?%6. in the second, and BSay: He is llaah the "ne and "nlyB ,1khlaas @@2%4. in the third.26> 5ometimes he would add on to the last one B Say: * see) refuge with the 'ord of #aybrea)B ,Fala9 @@)%3. and BSay: * see) refuge with the 'ord of Man)indB ,;aas @@4%6..26? Cnce, Bhe recited a hundred aayaat from soorah an';isaa- ,4%@86. in the third rak-ah.B 28A As for the two rak-ahs after witr28@, he used to recite BWhen the earth is sha)en B ,=il2aal ??%>. and BSay: " you who disbelieveB , aafiroon @A?%6. in them.282 9- (riday 2rayer (e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would sometimes recite soorah al'0umu-ah ,62%@@. in the first rak-ah and BWhen the hypocrites co&e to youB ,"unaafi9oon 6)%@@.28) in the second, sometimes reciting BHas the story reached you of the "verwhel&ing$B ,*haashiyah >>%26. instead of the latter.284 Cr sometimes Bhe would recite B%lorify the 0a&e of your 'ord Most HighB ,A-laa >8%@?. in the first rak-ah and BHas the story reached youB ,*haashiyah >>%26. in the second.B283 >--;id 2rayer B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would ,sometimes. recite B %lorify the 0a&e of your 'ord Most HighB ,A-laa >8%@?. in the first rak-ah and BHas the story reached youB ,*haashiyah >>%26. in the second.B286 Cr sometimes Bhe would recite in them BQaaaaf. ,y the %lorious Qur/aan.B ,:aaf 3A%43. and B6he Hour has drawn nearB ,:amar 34%33..B288 1?- (uneral 2rayer B&he 5unnah is to recite al'Faatihah28> Dand another soorahE in it.B28? Also, Bhe would be silent for a while, after the first takbeer.B2>A

Tarteel ,"e!itation in slo)7 rhythmi! tones+7 A Makin& the *oi!e Beautiful )hen "e!itin&
(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to recite the :ur-aan in slow, measured rythmic tones as Allaah had instructed him, not racing or hurrying; rather, his was Ba recitation clearly' distinguishing each letterB@, so much so that Bhe would recite a soorah in such slow rhythmic tones that it would be longer than would seem possible.B 2 (e also used to say% t )ill be said to the re!iter of the =ur-aan ,on the Day of Jud&ment+7 -"e!ite and as!endD re!ite slo)ly and rhythmi!ally as you used to do in the #re1ious )orldD your #la!e )ill be at the last aayah you re!ite.) (e Bused to prolong his recitation ,at a letter which can be prolonged., such as at bismil'laah, at ar'rahmaan, and at ar' raheemB4, and at BnadeedB ,:aaf 3A%@A.3 M their like.

(e used to stop at the end of an aayah, as has already been e$plained. 6 5ometimes Bhe would recite in an attractive vibrating tone 8, as he did on the /ay of the +on9uest of "akkah, when, while on his she'camel, he recited soorah al'Fath ,4>%2?. Dvery softlyE >, and -Abdullaah ibn "ughaffal narrated this attractive tone thus % aaa.B ? (e used to command making one-s voice beautiful when reciting the :ur-aan, saying Beautify the =ur-aan )ith your 1oi!es Hfor a fine 1oi!e in!reases the =ur-aan in beautyI @A and Truly7 the one )ho has one of the finest 1oi!es amon& the #eo#le for re!itin& the =ur-aan is the one )hom you think fears Allaah )hen you hear him re!ite. @@ (e also used to command recitation of the :ur-aan in a pleasant tone, saying% Study the Book of AllaahD re!ite it re#eatedlyD a!Buire ,memorise+ itD and re!ite it in a melodious tone7 for by Him in )hose Hand is my soul7 it runs a)ay Bui!ker than !amels from their tyin& ro#es. @2 He also used to say7 He )ho does not re!ite the =ur-aan in a #leasant tone is not of us @) and Allaah does not listen to anythin& as he listens ,in some 1ersionsC as he is listenin&+ to a #ro#het H)ith a ni!e 1oi!e7 and in one 1ersionC )ith a ni!e melodyI )ho re!ites the =ur-aan in a #leasant tone@4 HloudlyI.@3 (e said to Abu "oosaa al'Ash-ari ,radi Allaahu -anhu., Had you seen me )hile )as listenin& to your re!itation yesterdayL Fou ha1e surely been &i1en one of the musi!al )ind- instruments@6 of the family of Daa)oodL D5o Abu "oosaa said% B(ad 1 known you were there, 1 would have made my voice more pleasant and emotional for youE.B@8

Corre!tin& the maam

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. set the e$ample of correcting the imaam when his recitation becomes mi$ed up, when once Bhe prayed, reciting loudly, and his recitation became mi$ed up, so when he finished, he said to Jbayy% Did you #ray )ith usK (e replied, -Hes.- (e said, So )hat #re1ented you Hfrom !orre!tin& meIKE@>

Seekin& "efu&e A S#ittin& 0i&htly durin& 2rayer in order to "e#el Tem#tation

-Jthmaan ibn Abi l'-Aas ,radi Allaahu -anhu. said to him, BC "essenger of Allaah7 &he devil comes between me and my prayer and confuses me in my recitation7B 5o the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said, That is a de1il !alled 3hinMab7 so )hen you dete!t him7 seek refu&e )ith Allaah from him7 and s#it li&htly@? on your left three times. (e said, B5o when 1 did that, Allaah caused him to go away from me.B 2A

The "ukoo- ,Bo)in&+

After completing his recitation, he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would pause for a moment 2@, then raise his hands22 in the way described earlier under the BCpening &akbeerB, say takbeer 2), and make rukoo-.24 (e also ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB likewise, saying to him, ndeed7 the #rayer of one of you is not !om#lete until he makes an e<!ellent ablution as Allaah has !ommanded him to ... then he !elebrates Allaah-s &reatness7 #raises and &lorifies Him7 then re!ites the =ur-aan as mu!h as is easy for him from )hat Allaah has tau&ht him and allo)ed him7 then says takbeer and makes rukoo- Hand #la!es his hands on his kneesI until his 4oints are at ease and rela<ed 23

The "ukoo- Des!ribed

B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would place his palms on his kneesB 26, and Bwould order them to do likewiseB28, as he ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB in the afore'mentioned hadeeth. B(e would put his hands firmly on his knees Das though he were grasping themEB 2>, and Bwould space his fingers outB2?, ordering Bthe one who prayed badlyB likewise, saying% 5hen you make rukoo-7 #la!e your #alms on your knees7 then s#a!e your fin&ers out7 then remain ,like that+ until e1ery limb takes its ,#ro#er+ #la!e.)A B(e used to spread himself ,i.e., not be in a compact position., and keep his elbows away from his sides.B)@ B#hen he made rukoo-, he would spread his back and make it levelB )2, Bsuch that if water were poured on it, it ,the water. would stay there ,i.e., not run off..B )) (e also said to Bthe one who prayed badlyB, 5hen you make rukoo-7 #ut your #alms on your knees7 s#read your ba!k ,flat+ and hold firm in your rukoo-.)4 B(e would neither let his head droop nor raise it ,i.e. higher than his back.B )3, but it would be in between.)6

The $bli&ation of Bein& at ;ase in "ukoo(e used to be at ease in his rukoo-, and ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB to be so, as has been mentioned in the first section on rukoo-. (e used to say, Com#lete the rukoo- and su4ood7 for by Him in )hose Hand is my soul7 surely see you behind my ba!k)8 )hen you make rukoo- and su4ood.)>

B(e saw a man praying not completing his rukoo- properly, and pecking in his su!ood, so he said, 5ere this man to die in this state7 he )ould die on a faith other than that of Muhammad7 H#e!kin& in his #rayer as a !ro) #e!ks at bloodD he )ho does not make rukoo- !om#letely and #e!ks in his su4ood is like the hun&ry #erson )ho eats one or t)o dates7 )hi!h are of no use to him at all.)? Abu (urairah ,radi Allaahu -anhu. said, B"y close friend ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. forbade me from pecking in my prayer like a cockerel, from looking around like a fo$, and from s9uatting like a monkey.B4A &he "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. also used to say, The )orst thief amon& men is the one )ho steals from his #rayer. &hey said, BC "essenger of Allaah, how does he steal from his prayerGB (e said, He does not !om#lete its rukoo- and su4ood.4@ Cnce, Bhe was praying, when he glanced out of the corner of his eye at a man not settling his backbone in rukoo- and su!ood. #hen he finished, he said, $ assembly of MuslimsL *erily7 the #rayer is not 1alid of the one )ho does not settle his s#ine in rukoo- and su4ood. B42 (e said in another hadeeth, The #rayer of a man does not !ount unless he strai&htens his ba!k in rukoo- and su4ood.4)

The Adhkaar of "ukoo(e would say different types of remembrance of Allaah and supplication, any one of the following at a time%

@.

Ho) 2erfe!t is my 0ord7 the Su#remeL7 three times.44 4ut sometimes, he would repeat it more than that.43 Cnce, in night prayer, he repeated it so much that his rukoo- became nearly as long as his standing before it, in which he had recited three of the Iong 5oorahs% 4a9arah, ;isaa- and aal' -1mraan. &his prayer was full of supplication M seeking forgiveness, and the hadeeth has already been mentioned under B<ecitation in ;ight Prayer.B

2.

Ho) 2erfe!t is my 0ord7 the Su#reme7 and 2raised be He7 three times.46

).

2erfe!t7 Blessed748 0ord of the An&els and the S#irit.4>

4.

Ho) 2erfe!t Fou are $ Allaah7 and 2raises are for Fou. $ Allaah7 for&i1e me. (e would say it often in his rukoo- and su!ood, implementing ,the order of. the :ur-aan. 4?

3.

$ AllaahL To Fou ha1e bo)edD in Fou ha1e belie1edD to Fou ha1e submittedD HFou are my 0ordID humbled for Fou are my hearin&7 my seein&7 my marro)7 my bone ,in one narration% my bones.7 my sine)s7 Hand )hate1er my feet !arry3A ,are humbled+ for Allaah7 0ord of the 5orldsI.3@

6.

$ AllaahL to Fou ha1e bo)edD in Fou ha1e belie1edD to Fou ha1e submittedD in Fou ha1e #la!ed my trustD Fou are my 0ordD my hearin&7 my seein&7 my blood7 my flesh7 my bones7 and my sine)s are humbled for Allaah7 0ord of the 5orlds.32

8.

Ho) 2erfe!t is He 5ho has all 2o)er7 3in&dom7 Ma&nifi!en!e and Su#remity7 which he used to say in night prayer.

0en&thenin& the "ukooB(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to make his rukoo-, his standing after rukoo-, his su!ood, and his sitting in between the two sa!dahs, nearly e9ual in length.B 3)

(orbiddan!e of "e!itin& the =ur-aan in "ukooB(e used to forbid recitation of the :ur-aan in rukoo- and su!ood.B 34 Further, he used to say, *erily7 ha1e indeed been forbidden from re!itin& the =ur-aan in rukoo- or su4ood. n the rukoo-7 therefore7 &lorify the Su#remity of the 0ord7 Mi&hty and Sublime7 in itD as for the su4ood7 e<ert yoursel1es in su##li!ation in it7 for it is most likely that you )ill be ans)ered. 33

Strai&htenin& u# from the "ukoo-7 A )hat is to be said then

;e$t, Bhe ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would straighten up his back out of rukoo-, saying,

,Allaah listens to the one )ho #raises Him..36 (e also ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB to do that, when he said to him% ;o person-s prayer is complete until ... he has said takbeer ... then made rukoo- ... then has said BAllaah listens to the one who praises (imB until he is standing straight.B 38 #hen he raised his head, he would stand straight until every vertebra returned to its place. 3> ;e$t, Bhe would say while standing%

,$ur 0ord7 HandI to Fou be all 2raise..3? (e has commanded all worshippers, whether behind an imaam or not, to do the above on rising from rukoo-, by saying 2ray as you ha1e seen me #rayin&.6A (e also used to say, The imaam is there to be follo)ed ... )hen he has said -Allaah listens to the one )ho #raises Him- then say7 -H$ AllaahLI $ur 0ord7 and to Fou be all 2raise-D Allaah )ill listen to you7 for indeed7 Allaah7 Blessed and ;<alted7 has said 1ia the ton&ue of His 2ro#het ,sallallaahu -alaihi )a sallam+C Allaah listens to the one )ho #raises Him.-6@ (e also gave a reason for this command in another hadeeth, saying% for he )hose sayin& !oin!ides )ith that of the an&els )ill ha1e his #ast sins for&i1en. 62 (e used to raise his hands when straightening up6), in the ways described under the Cpening &akbeer. #hile standing, he would say, as previously'mentioned,

@.

$ur 0ord7 and to Fou be all 2raise64; or

2.

$ur 0ord7 to Fou be all 2raise.63 5ometimes, he would add at the beginning of either of these%

).

$ AllaahL ...66 (e used to order others to do this, saying, B#hen the imaam says% Allaah listens to the one )ho #raises Him7 then say% $ AllaahL $ur 0ord7 to Fou be all 2raise7 for he whose saying coincides with that of the angels will have his past sins forgiven.B 68 5ometimes, he would add either%

4.

... (illin& the hea1ens7 fillin& the earth7 and fillin& )hate1er else Fou )ish 6>, or

3.

... (illin& the hea1ens7 Hfillin&I the earth7 )hate1er is bet)een them7 and fillin& )hate1er else Fou )ish.6? 5ometimes, he would add even further%

6.

0ord of :lory A Ma4estyL None !an )ithhold )hat Fou &rant7 and none !an &rant )hat Fou )ithholdD nor !an the #ossessions of an o)ner benefit him in front of Fou. 8A Cr, sometimes, the addition would be%

8.

(illin& the hea1ens7 fillin& the earth7 and fillin& )hate1er else Fou )ish. 0ord of :lory and Ma4estyL - The truest thin& a sla1e has said7 and )e are all sla1es to Fou. H$ AllaahLI None !an )ithhold )hat Fou &rant7 Hand none !an &rant )hat Fou )ithhold7I nor !an the #ossessions of an o)ner benefit him in front of Fou.8@ 5ometimes, he would say the following during night prayer%

>.

To my 0ord be all 2raise7 to my 0ord be all 2raise, repeating it until his standing was about as long as his rukoo-, which had been nearly as long as his first standing, in which he had recited soorah al'4a9arah.82

?.

$ur 0ord7 and to Fou be all 2raise7 so mu!h #ure #raise7 inherently blessed7 He<ternally blessed7 as our 0ord lo1es and is #leased )ithI.8) A man praying behind him ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said this after he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. had raised his head from rukoo- and said% Allaah listens to the one )ho #raises Him. #hen the "essenger of Allaah had finished his prayer, he said, 5ho )as the one s#eakin& 4ust no)K &he man said, B1t was 1, C "essenger of Allaah.B 5o the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said, sa) o1er thirty an&els hurryin& to be the first one to )rite it do)n.84

0en&thenin& this Standin&7 A the $bli&ation to be at ;ase in it

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to make this standing about as long as his rukoo-, as has been mentioned; in fact, Bhe would stand ,for so long. sometimes that one would say, -(e has forgotten-, Dbecause of his standing for so long.EB 83 (e used to instruct them to be at ease in it; hence, he said to Bthe one who prayed badlyB, ... Ne<t7 raise your head until you are standin& strai&ht Hand e1ery bone has taken its #ro#er

#la!eI ' in another narration, 5hen you rise7 make your s#ine u#ri&ht and raise your head7 until the bones return to their 4oints.86 (e also reminded him% that no'one-s prayer is complete unless he does that, and used to say% Allaah7 Mi&hty and Sublime7 does not look at the #rayer of the sla1e )ho does not make his ba!kbone u#ri&ht in bet)een his bo)in&s and #rostrations.88

The Su4ood ,2rostration+

;e$t, Bhe ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would say takbeer and go down into sa!dahB 8>, and he ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB to do so, saying to him, No one-s #rayer is !om#lete unless ... he saysC Allaah listens to the one )ho #raises Him and stands u# strai&ht7 then saysC Allaah is the :reatest and #rostrates su!h that his 4oints are at rest.8? Also, Bwhen he wanted to perform sa!dah, he would say takbeer, Dseparate his hands from his sides,E and then perform sa!dah.B>A 5ometimes, Bhe would raise his hands when performing sa!dah.B >@

:oin& Do)n into the Sa4dah on the Hands

B(e used to place his hands on the ground before his knees.B >2 (e used to instruct likewise, saying, #hen one of you performs sa!dah, he should not kneel like a camel, but should place his hands before his knees.>) (e also used to say, *erily7 the hands #rostrate as the fa!e #rostrates7 so )hen one of you #la!es his fa!e ,on the &round+7 he should #la!e his hands7 and )hen he raises it7 he should raise them.>4

The Sa4dah Des!ribed

B(e would support himself on his palms Dand spread themEB >3, Bput his fingers togetherB>6, and Bpoint them towards the 9iblah.B>8 Also, Bhe would put them ,his palms. level with his shouldersB >>, and sometimes Blevel with his earsB>?. B(e would put his nose and forehead firmly on the ground.B ?A (e said to Bthe one who prayed badlyB, 5hen you #rostrate7 then be firm in your #rostration?@; in one narration% 5hen you #rostrate7 #ut your fa!e and hands do)n firmly7 until all of your bones are rela<ed in their #ro#er #la!es.?2 (e also used to say, BThere is no #rayer for the one )hose nose does not feel as mu!h of the &round as the forehead.B?)

B(e used to put his knees and toes down firmlyB ?4, Bpoint with the front of the toes towards the 9iblahB?3, Bput his heels togetherB?6, Bkeep his feet uprightB?8, and Bordered likewise.B?> (ence, these are the seven limbs on which he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would prostrate% the palms, the knees, the feet, and the forehead and nose ' counting the last two as one limb in prostration, as he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said% ha1e been ordered to #rostrate ,in one narrationC )e ha1e been ordered to #rostrate+ on se1en bonesC on the forehead ...7 and he indicated by moving his hand?? around his nose, the hands ,in one version% the #alms.7 the knees and the toes7 and not to tu!k u#@AA the &arments and hair.@A@ (e also used to say, 5hen a sla1e #rostrates7 se1en limbs #rostrate )ith himC his fa!e7 his #alms7 his knees and his feet.@A2 (e said about a man who was praying with his hair tied @A) behind him, His e<am#le is surely like that of someone )ho #rays )ith his hands bound ,behind his ba!k+.@A4 (e also said, That is the saddle of the de1il7 i.e. where the devil sits, referring to the knots in the hair. @A3 B(e would not rest his fore'arms on the groundB@A6, but Bwould raise them above the ground, and keep them away from his sides such that the whiteness of his armpits could be seen from behindB@A8, and also Bsuch that if a small lamb or kid wanted to pass under his arms, it would have been able to do so.B@A> (e would do this to such an e$tent that one of his +ompanions said, B#e used to feel sorry for the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. because of the way he kept his hands away from his sides.B@A? (e used to order likewise, saying, 5hen you #erform sa4dah7 #la!e your #alms ,on the &round+ and raise your elbo)s@@A, and Be le1el in su4ood7 and none of you should s#read his fore- arms like the s#readin& of a do& ,in one narration% like a do& s#reads them.@@@. 1n a separate hadeeth, None of you should rest arms on the &round the )ay a do& rests them.@@2 (e also used to say, Do not s#read your arms Hthe )ay a beast of #rey doesI7 rest on your #alms and kee# your u##er arms a#art7 for )hen you do all that7 e1ery one of your limbs #rostrates )ith you.@@)

The $bli&ation to be at ;ase in Su4ood

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to command the completion of rukoo- and su!ood, comparing someone not doing so to the hungry man who eats one or two dates, which are of no use to him, and also saying about him, he is indeed one of the )orst thie1es amon& the #eo#le. (e also ruled that the prayer of one who does not straighten his spine fully in rukoo- and su!ood is invalid, as has been mentioned under B<ukoo-B, and ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB to be at ease in his su!ood, as mentioned before.

The Adhkaar of Su4ood

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would say any one of the following remembrances of Allaah and supplications in this posture%

@.

Ho) 2erfe!t is my 0ord7 the Most Hi&h7 three times.@@4 5ometimes, Bhe would repeat it more times than that.B @@3 Cnce, he repeated it so much that his su!ood were nearly as long as his standing, in which he had recited three of the Iong 5oorahs% al'4a9arah, an';isaa- and aal'-1mraan. &hat prayer was full of supplication and seeking of forgiveness, as mentioned before under B;ight PrayerB.

2.

Ho) 2erfe!t is my 0ord7 the Most Hi&h7 and 2raised be He, three times.@@6

).

2erfe!t7 Blessed7 0ord of the An&els and the S#irit. @@8

4.

Ho) #erfe!t Fou are $ Allaah7 our 0ord7 and 2raised. $ AllaahL (or&i1e me7 which he would say often in his rukoo- and su!ood, implementing the order of the :ur-aan. @@>

3.

$ AllaahL (or you ha1e #rostratedD in Fou ha1e belie1edD to Fou ha1e submittedD HFou are my 0ordDI my fa!e has #rostrated for the $ne 5ho !reated it and sha#ed it 7 Hsha#ed it e<!ellently7I then brou&ht forth its hearin& and 1isionC HsoI blessed be Allaah7 the Best to CreateL@@?

6.

$ AllaahL (or&i1e me all my sinsC the minor and the ma4or7 the first and the last7 the o#en and the hidden.@2A

8.

My #erson and my shado) ha1e #rostrated to FouD my heart has belie1ed in FouD a!kno)led&e Four fa1ours to)ards meC here are my hands and )hate1er ha1e earned a&ainst myself.@2@

>.

Ho) 2erfe!t is He 5ho has all 2o)er7 3in&dom7 Ma&nifi!en!e and Su#remity @22, which he would say in night prayer, as with the following ones%

?.

Ho) #erfe!t Fou are H$ AllaahI and 2raised. None has the ri&ht to be )orshi##ed e<!e#t you.@2)

@A.

$ AllaahL (or&i1e me )hat ,sins+ ha1e !on!ealed and )hat ,sins+ ha1e done o#enly.@24

@@.

$ AllaahL 2la!e li&ht in my heartD Hand li&ht in my ton&ueDI and #la!e li&ht in my hearin&D and #la!e li&ht in my seein&D and #la!e li&ht from belo) meD and #la!e li&ht from abo1e me7 and li&ht on my ri&ht7 and li&ht on my leftD and #la!e li&ht ahead of meD and #la!e li&ht behind meD Hand #la!e li&ht in my selfDI and make the li&ht &reater for me.@23

@2.

H$ AllaahLI H ndeedI seek refu&e )ith Four 2leasure from Four An&erD H seek refu&eI )ith Four 2ardons from Four 2unishmentD seek refu&e )ith Fou from Fou. !annot !ount all e<ultations u#on FouD Fou are as Fou ha1e e<tolled Fourself. @26

(orbiddan!e of "e!itin& the =ur-aan in Su4ood

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to forbid recitation of the :ur-aan in rukoo- and su!ood, and commanded striving in, and a lot of, supplication in this posture, as e$plained previously under B<ukoo-B. (e also used to say, The sla1e is !losest to his 0ord )hen he is #rostratin&7 so in!rease su##li!ation Hin itI.@28

0en&thenin& the Sa4dah

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would make his su!ood about as long as his rukoo-, and sometimes he would make it e$tremely long due to the circumstances, as one of his +ompanions said% B&he "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. came out to us for one of the two later prayers, D=uhr or -Asr,E carrying (asan or (usain. &he Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. then came to the front and put him down Dne$t to his right footE, said takbeer for the prayer and commenced praying. /uring the prayer, he performed a very long prostration, so 1 raised my head Dfrom among the peopleE, and there was the child, on the back of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., who was in prostration. 1 then returned to my prostration. #hen the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. had offered the prayer, the people said, -C "essenger of Allaah7 1n the middle of DthisE your prayer, you performed a prostration and lengthened it so much that we thought either something had happened, or that you were receiving revelation7- (e said, Neither of those )as the !aseC a!tually7 my son made me his mount7 so did not )ant to hurry him until he had satisfied his )ish B@2> 1n another hadeeth, B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. was praying. #hen he performed sa!dah, al'(asan and al'(usain !umped onto his back. #hen the people tried to stop them, he gestured to them to leave the two alone. After offering his prayer, he placed them in his lap and said, 5hoe1er lo1es me should lo1e these t)o.B@2?

The ;<!ellen!e of the Sa4dah

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to say, There is no one amon& my ummah )hom )ill not re!o&nise on the Day of "esurre!tion. &hey said, B(ow will you recognise them, C "essenger of Allaah, among the multitude of created beingsGB (e said, Do you not see that )ere one of you to enter an en!losure in )hi!h there )as a 4et bla!k@)A steed and a horse )ith a )hite forehead and le&s@)@7 )ould you not re!o&nise the latter from the formerK &hey said, BCf course.B (e said, Thus7 my ummah on that day )ill surely ha1e )hite fa!es@)2 be!ause of su4ood7 and )hite arms and feet@)) be!ause of ablution.@)4 (e would also say, 5hen Allaah intends to ha1e mer!y on )homsoe1er he )ishes of the #eo#le of the (ire7 He )ill order the an&els to brin& out )hoe1er used to )orshi# AllaahD so they )ill brin& them out7 re!o&nisin& them from the marks of su4ood7 for Allaah has #rohibited the (ire from de1ourin& the marks of su4ood. Thus7 they )ill be brou&ht out from the (ire7 for the (ire de1ours all of a son of Aadam e<!e#t the marks of su4ood.@)3

Sa4dah on the :round7 and on Mats

1'6

(e would often prostrate on the ,bare. ground.@)8 B(is +ompanions would pray with him in the intense heat, so when one of them could not press his forehead against the ground, he would spread his robe and prostrate on that.B @)> (e also used to say, the )hole earth has been made a #la!e of )orshi# ,mas4id+ and a #urifi!ation for me and my ummahD so )here1er #rayer be!omes due on someone of my ummah7 he has his #la!e of )orshi# ,mas4id+ and his #urifi!ation ne<t to him. Those before me used to think that this )as too mu!hC indeed7 they )ould only #ray in their !hur!hes and syna&o&ues.@)? 5ometimes, he would prostrate in mud and water, and that happened to him once at dawn on the twenty'first night of <amadaan, when it rained and the roof of the mos9ue, which was made of palm'branches, was washed away. 5o he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. prostrated in mud and water; Abu 5a-eed al' hudri said, B5o 1 saw, with my own eyes, the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., with traces of mud and water on his forehead and nose.B @4A Also, Bhe would pray on a khumrahB@4@ sometimes, or Bon a matB@42 sometimes, and Bhe prayed on it once when it had become blackened due to prolonged use.B @4)

"isin& from Sa4dah

;e$t, Bhe ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would raise his head from prostration while saying takbeerB@44, and he ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB to do that, saying, The #rayer of any #erson is not !om#lete until ... he #rostrates until his limbs are at rest7 then he says7 -Allah is the :reatest- and raises his head until he is sittin& strai&ht.@43 Also, Bhe would raise his hands with this takbeerB sometimes.@46

To sit muftarishan bet)een the T)o Sa4dahs

;e$t, Bhe would lay his left foot along the ground and sit on it Drela$edEB @48, and he ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB thus, saying to him, 5hen you #rostrate7 #rostrate firmly7 then )hen you rise7 sit on your left thi&h.@4> B(e would have his right foot uprightB@4?, and Bpoint its toes towards the 9iblah.B@3A D5ee diagram ' 9ssE

B-aa- Bet)een the T)o Sa4dahs

B(e would sometimes practise i9-aa- Dresting on both his heels and ,all. his toesE.B @3@

The $bli&ation of Bein& at ;ase bet)een the T)o Sa4dahs

B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would be rela$ed until every bone returned to its ,proper. positionB@32, and he ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB likewise, and said to him, The #rayer of any of you is not !om#lete until he does this.@3)

0en&thenin& the Sittin& bet)een the T)o Sa4dahs

Also, Bhe would lengthen it until it was about almost as long as his sa!dahB @34, and sometimes, Bhe would remain ,in this position. until one would say% (e has forgotten.B @33

The Adhkaar bet)een the T)o Sa4dahs

1n this sitting, he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would say%

@.

$ AllaahL ,in one version% $ my 0ordL. (or&i1e meD ha1e mer!y on meD Hstren&then meDI Hraise my rankDI &uide meD H#ardon meDI sustain me.@36 Cr sometimes, he would say%

2.

$ my 0ordL (or&i1e me7 for&i1e me.@38 (e would say the above two in night prayer also. @3>

The Se!ond Sa4dah

;e$t, Bhe would say takbeer and prostrate for the second time.B @3? (e also ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB to do so, saying to him after he had ordered him to be at ease between sa!dahs, then say -Allaah is the :reatest- and #rostrate until your 4oints are rela<ed Hand do that in all your #rayerI.@6A (e would perform this sa!dah e$actly as he performed the first one. Also, Bhe would raise his hands with this takbeerB sometimes.@6@ ;e$t, Bhe would raise his head while saying takbeerB @62, and he ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB to do likewise, saying to him after ordering him to prostrate for the second time, B then raise your head and say takbeerB@6). (e also said to him, BHthen do that in all your bo)in&s and #rostrations7I for if you do that7 your #rayer )ill be !om#lete7 and if you fall short in any of this7 you )ill be defi!ient in your #rayer.B@64 Also, Bhe would raise his handsB@63 sometimes with this takbeer.

The Sittin& of "est

;e$t, Bhe would sit straight Don his left foot, upright, until every bone returned to its positionE.B @66

Su##ortin& $neself )ith the Hands on "isin& for the Ne<t "ak-ah
;e$t, Bhe ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would get up for the second rak-ah, supporting himself on the ground.B@68 Also, Bhe would clench his fists@6> during prayer% supporting himself with his hands when getting up.B@6?

The Se!ond "ak-ah

B#hen he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. got up for the second rak-ah, he would commence with All Praise be to Allaah ,Faatihah @%@., without pausing.B @8A (e would perform this rak-ah e$actly as he performed the first, e$cept that he would make it shorter than the first, as before.

The $bli&ation of "e!itin& Soorah al-(aatihah in e1ery "ak-ah

(e ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB to recite al'Faatihah in every rak-ah, when he said to him after ordering him to recite it in the first rak-ah @8@, then do that throu&hout your #rayer@82 ,in one narration% in e1ery rak-ah..@8) (e also used to say, There is re!itation in e1ery rak-ah.@84

The (irst Tashahhud

;e$t, he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would sit for tashahhud after finishing the second rak-ah. 1n a two'rak-ah prayer such as Fa!r, Bhe would sit muftarishanB @83, as he used to sit between the two sa!dahs, and Bhe would sit in the first tashahhud similarlyB @86 in a three' or four'rak-ah prayer. Dsee diagram ' 9ssE (e also ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB thus, saying to him, 5hen you sit in the middle of the #rayer7 then be !alm7 s#read your left thi&h and #erform tashahhud. @88 Abu (urairah ,radi Allaahu -anhu. said, B"y friend ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. forbade me from s9uatting ,i9-aa-. like a dogB@8>; in another hadeeth, Bhe used to forbid the s9uatting of the devil.B @8? B#hen he sat in tashahhud, he would place his right palm on his right thigh ,in one narration% knee., and his left palm on his left thigh ,in one narration% knee, spreading it upon it.B @>A; and Bhe would put the end of his right elbow on his right thigh.B @>@ Also, Bhe forbade a man who was sitting in prayer resting on his left hand, and said% *erily7 that is the #rayer of the Je)s@>2; in one wording, Do not sit like this7 for indeed this is the )ay of sittin& of those )ho are #unished@>); in another hadeeth, t is the sittin& #osture of those )ho in!urred ,Allaah-s+ an&er.@>4

Mo1in& the (in&er in Tashahhud

B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would spread his left palm on his left knee, clench all the fingers of his right hand, point with the finger ad!acent to the thumb towards the 9iblah, and fi$ his sight on it ,i.e. the finger..B@>3 Also, Bwhen he pointed with his finger, he would put his thumb on his middle fingerB @>6, and sometimes Bhe would make a circle with these two.B @>8 B#hen he raised his finger, he would move it, supplicating with itB @>>, and he used to say, B t is surely more #o)erful a&ainst the de1il than iron7 meanin& the forefin&er. B@>? Also, Bthe +ompanions of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to remind each other, that is, about pointing with the finger when supplicating.B @?A

Cnce, Bhe saw a man supplicating with two fingers, so he said, B Make it one7 Hmake it one7IB and indicated with his forefinger.B@?@ B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would do this in both tashahhuds.B @?2

The $bli&ation of the (irst Tashahhud7 A the*alidity of Su##li!ation durin& it

B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would recite the &ahiyyah after every two rak-ahsB @?); Bthe first thing he would say in this sitting would be% All !om#liments be to Allaah.B@?4 B#hen he forgot to perform the tashahhud after the first two rak-ahs, he would prostrate ,twice. for forgetfulness.B@?3 (e used to order them to perform tashahhud, saying, 5hen you sit after e1ery t)o rak-ahs7 then sayC All !om#liments ... and then ea!h of you should sele!t the su##li!ation he likes best and su##li!ate Allaah7 Mi&hty and Sublime7 H)ith itI@?6; in another version% Say7 All !om#liments ... in e1ery sittin&@?8, and he also ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB to do so, as has been mentioned. B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would teach them the tashahhud the way he taught them 5oorahs of the :ur-aanB@?>, and Bthe 5unnah is to say it 9uietly.B@??

The Manner of Tashahhud

(e taught several ways of tashahhud% @. &he tashahhud of 1bn "as-ood, who said, B&he "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. taught me the tashahhud, DwithE my palm between his palms, the way he taught me 5oorahs of the :ur-aan%

All !om#liments2AA, #rayers2A@ and #ure )ords2A2 are due to Allaah. 2ea!e2A) be on you7 $ 2ro#het7 and also the mer!y of Allaah and His blessin&s2A4. 2ea!e be on us7 and on the ri&hteous sla1es of Allaah. H(or )hen one says that7 it in!ludes e1ery ri&hteous sla1e in the hea1en and the earth.I bear )itness that none has the ri&ht to be )orshi##ed e<!e#t Allaah7 and bear )itness that Muhammad is His sla1e and messen&er. D&his was while he was among us, but after he was taken, we would say%

DPeace be on the ProphetE.B2A3 2. &he tashahhud of 1bn -Abbaas% B&he "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to teach us the tashahhud the way he taught us Dsoorahs ofE the :ur-aan; he used to say,

All !om#liments7 blessed )ords7 #rayers7 #ure )ords are due to Allaah. 2ea!e be on you7 $ 2ro#het7 and also the mer!y of Allaah and His blessin&s. 2ea!e be on us and on the ri&hteous sla1es of Allaah. bear )itness that none has the ri&ht to be )orshi##ed e<!e#t Allaah7 and H bear )itnessI that Muhammad is the Messen&er of Allaah ,in one narration% ... is His sla1e and messen&er+.B2A6 ). &he tashahhud of 1bn -Jmar, who reported the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. as saying in the tashahhud%

All !om#liments7 #rayers and &ood )ords are due to Allaah. 2ea!e be on you7 $ 2ro#het7 and also the mer!y of Allaah ' 1bn -Jmar said, B1 add%B2A8 ... and His blessin&s. 2ea!e be on us and on the ri&hteous sla1es of Allaah. bear )itness that none has the ri&ht to be )orshi##ed e<!e#t Allaah ' 1bn -Jmar said, B1 add%B2A> ... alone7 He has no #artner7 - and bear )itness that Muhammad is His sla1e and messen&er.2A? 4. &he tashahhud of Abu "oosaa al'Ash-ari, who said that the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said, ... when you are sitting, the first thing each of you says should be%

All !om#liments7 &ood )ords and #rayers are due to Allaah. 2ea!e be on you7 $ 2ro#het7 and also the mer!y of Allaah and His blessin&s. 2ea!e be on us7 and on the ri&hteous sla1es of Allaah. bear )itness that none has the ri&ht to be )orshi##ed e<!e#t Allaah Halone7 He has no #artnerI7 and bear )itness that Muhammad is His sla1e and messen&er - se1en #hrases7 and they are the &reetin&s in the #rayer. B2@A 3. &he tashahhud of -Jmar ibn al' hattaab, who would teach the people the tashahhud while on the pulpit, saying, B5ay%

All !om#liments are due to AllaahD all #ure titles are due to AllaahD all &ood )ords Hare due to AllaahID all #rayers are due to Allaah. 2ea!e be on you7 $ 2ro#het7 and also the mer!y of Allaah and His blessin&s. 2ea!e be on us and on the ri&hteous sla1es of Allaah. bear )itness that none has the ri&ht to be )orshi##ed e<!e#t Allaah7 and bear )itness that Muhammad is His sla1e and messen&er.2@@

As-Salaah -alaa an-Nabiyy,Sendin& 2rayers on the 2ro#het+ - ts 2la!e A Manner

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to send prayers on himself in the first tashahhud as well as the other.2@2 (e also established it for his ummah, ordering them to send prayers on him after sending peace on him2@), and he taught them several ways of doing so%

@.

$ AllaahL send #rayers on Muhammad2@47 and on his household7 and on his )i1es and #ro&eny7 as you sent #rayers on the family of braaheemD Fou are indeed 5orthy of 2raise7 (ull of :lory. And send blessin&s on Muhammad2@37 and his household7 and his )i1es and #ro&eny7 as you sent blessin&s on the family of braaheemD Fou are indeed 5orthy of 2raise7 (ull of :lory. &his supplication he would use himself.2@6

2.

$ AllaahL send #rayers on Muhammad7 and on the family of Muhammad7 as you sent #rayers on H braaheem7 and onI2@8 the family of braaheemD Fou are indeed 5orthy of 2raise7 (ull of :lory. $ AllaahL send blessin&s on Muhammad7 and on the family of Muhammad7 as you sent blessin&s on H braaheem7 and onI2@> the family of braaheemD Fou are indeed 5orthy of 2raise7 (ull of :lory.2@?

).

$ AllaahL send #rayers on Muhammad7 and on the family of Muhammad7 as you sent #rayers on braaheem7 Hand the family of braaheemID Fou are indeed 5orthy of 2raise7 (ull of :lory. And send blessin&s on Muhammad7 and on the family of Muhammad7 as you sent blessin&s on H braaheem7 andI the family of braaheemD Fou are indeed 5orthy of 2raise7 (ull of :lory.22A

4.

$ AllaahL send #rayers on Muhammad Hthe Unlettered 2ro#hetI7 and on the family of

Muhammad7 as you sent #rayers on Hthe family ofI braaheemD and send blessin&s on Muhammad Hthe Unlettered 2ro#hetI and the family of Muhammad7 as you sent blessin&s on Hthe family ofI braaheem amon& the nationsD Fou are indeed 5orthy of 2raise7 (ull of :lory.22@

3.

$ AllaahL send #rayers on Muhammad7 Four sla1e and messen&er7 as Fou sent #rayers on Hthe family ofI braaheem. And send blessin&s on Muhammad HFour sla1e and messen&erI7 Hand the family of Muhammad7I as you sent blessin&s on braaheem Hand on the famly of braaheemI.222

6.

$ AllaahL send #rayers on Muhammad and HonI his )i1es and #ro&eny7 as Fou sent #rayers on Hthe family of braaheemI. And send blessin&s on Muhammad7 and HonI his )i1es and #ro&eny7 as Fou sent blessin&s on Hthe family ofI braaheemD Fou are indeed 5orthy of 2raise7 (ull of :lory.22)

8.

$ AllaahL send #rayers on Muhammad7 and on the family of Muhammad7 and send blessin&s on Muhammad7 and on the family of Muhammad7 as you sent #rayers and sent blessin&s on braaheem and the family of braaheemD Fou are indeed 5orthy of 2raise7 (ull of :lory.224

m#ortant Notes about as-Salaah -alaa an-Nabiyy Sendin& 2rayers on the 2ro#het of the Ummah
@. 1t can be seen that in most of these ways of sending prayers on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., there is no mention of 1braaheem separate from his family, the wording being, B... as you have sent prayers on the family of 1braaheem.B &he reason for this is that in -Arabic, the family of a man includes the man as well as his dependants, e.g. in the words of the E$alted,

BAllaah has chosen Aadam, 'ooh, the family of Ibraaheem and the family of "Imraan above all peopleB ,al-- mraan 'C''+;
B(e

sent against them a violent tornado with showers of stones, e&cept the family of )oot * (e delivered them by early dawnB ,:amar 34%)4.; similar is his saying ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., $ AllaahL
send #rayers on the family of Abu A)faa. &he phrase Ahl al'4ayt ,people of the house. is also like this, e.g. BAllaah"s grace and His blessings be on you, + people houseB ,(oud @@%8).. (ence, 1braaheem is included in Bthe family of 1braaheemB. 5haikh'ul'1slaam 1bn &aymiyyah says, B"ost of the versions have, -as you sent prayers on the family of 1braaheem- and -as you sent blessings on the family of 1braaheem-; some have -1braaheem- himself. &his is because he is the cause of all prayers and purifications on them; the rest of his family are secondary recipients of all that. &o show these two points, both wordings have been employed separately.B Further, there is a well'known 9uestion among the people of knowledge% about the nature of the comparison in his statement, Bas you sent prayers on ...B, for it is true that the model for comparison is normally superior to the one being compared; here, the opposite is the case, since "uhammad ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. is greater than 1braaheem, and so his superiority dictates that the prayers re9uested are more e$cellent than any prayers received or to be received by anyone else. &he people of knowledge have provided many answers to this, and these can be found in Fath al'4aari and 0alaa- al'1fhaam. &hey amount to about ten views, all of which are unsubstantiated, some weaker than others, e$cept one, a well'supported view, and adopted by 5haikh'ul'1slaam 1bn &aymiyyah and 1bn al':ayyim. &his view is% B&he family of 1braaheem includes many prophets; none like them is found in the family of "uhammad. &herefore, when prayers on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. and his family are sought similar to that bestowed on 1braaheem and his family, which includes prophets, the family of "uhammad receives out of that what is appropriate for them. 5ince the family of "uhammad does not reach the rank of the prophets, the e$tra blessings and benefit given to the prophets, including 1braaheem, are left for "uhammad ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.. &hus he gains a distinguished position which others cannot reach.B 1bn al':ayyim says, B&his is the best of all the previous views% that "uhammad ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. is one of the family of 1braaheem; in fact, he is the best of the family of 1braaheem, as -Ali ibn &alhah has related from 1bn -Abbaas ,radi Allaahu -anhu. about the saying of the E$alted, B Allaah has

of the

chosen Aadam, 'ooh, the family of Ibraaheem and the family

of "Imraan above all peopleB ,aal'-1mraan )%)).; 1bn -Abbaas said, B"uhammad is
among the family of 1braaheemB. &his is te$t for the fact that if other prophets descended from 1braaheem are included in his family, then the inclusion of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. is more fitting. (ence our saying, B... as you sent prayers on the family of 1braaheemB, includes the prayers sent on him and on the rest of the prophets descended from 1braaheem. Allaah has then ordered us to specifically send prayers on "uhammad and his family, as much as we send prayers on him, along with the rest of 1braaheem-s family generally. &herefore, the Prophet-s family receives out of that what is appropriate for them, leaving all of the remainder to him ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.. &here is no doubt that the total amount of prayers received by 1braaheem-s family, with the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. among them, is greater than that received by the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. alone. &herefore, what is sought for him is such a great favour, definitely superior than that sought for 1braaheem. (ence, the nature of the comparison and its consistency become clear. &he prayers sought for him with these words are greater than those re9uested any other way, since what is re9uested with the supplication is that it be as much as the model of comparison, and that the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. receive a large portion% the comparison dictates that what is re9uested is more than what was given to 1braaheem and others. &hus, the e$cellence and nobility of "uhammad ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., over and above 1braaheem and his family, which includes many prophets, is evident, and is as he deserves. &his sending of prayers on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. becomes evidence for this e$cellence of his, and this is no more than he deserves. 5o, may Allaah send prayers on him and on his family, and send peace on them, many greetings of peace, and reward him from our supplications better than (e has rewarded any prophet from his people. C Allaah7 send prayers on "uhammad, and on the family of "uhammad, as you sent prayers on the family of 1braaheem; Hou are indeed #orthy of Praise, Full of *lory. And send blessings on "uhammad, and on the family of "uhammad, as you sent blessings on the family of 1braaheem; Hou are indeed #orthy of Praise, Full of *lory.B 2. &he reader will see that this part of the Prayer, with all its different types, is always a sending of prayers on the family of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.% on his wives and children as well as himself. &herefore, it is neither from the 5unnah, nor carrying out the Prophet-s command, to leave it at BC Allaah7 send prayers on "uhammadB only. <ather, one of these complete types of supplication must be used, as is reported from his action ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., whether in the first or the last tashahhud. &here is te$t about this from 1maam 5haafi-i in al'Jmm% B&he tashahhud in the first and second instance is the same thing; by -tashahhud-, 1 mean the bearing of witness and the sending of prayers on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.% neither will suffice without the other.B 1n fact, one of the most ama2ing things to arise from this age and its intellectual anarchy is that one person, "uhammad 1s-aaf ;ashaasheebi, in his book al'1slaam as'5aheeh ,B&he +orrect 1slaamB., has the audacity to re!ect the sending of prayers on the family of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. when sending prayers on him, despite it being firmly established in the 5aheehs of al'4ukhaari and "uslim, and elsewhere, on the authority of several +ompanions, e.g. a-b ibn -J!rah, Abu (umaid as'5aa-idi, Abu 5a-eed al' hudri, Abu "as-ood al'Ansaari, Abu (urairah and &alhah ibn -Jbaidullaah7 1n their ahaadeeth, it is found that they asked the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., B(ow do we send prayers on youGB, so he taught them this way of doing so. ;ashaasheebi-s argument for his view is that Allaah the E$alted did not mention anyone else with the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. in (is saying% B+

you who believe, -end prayers on him, and salute him with all respect.B ,Ah2aab ))%36. (e then goes on to say in his refutation that the +ompanions
asked him ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. that 9uestion because the meaning of BsalaahB was known to them as BsupplicationB, so they were asking% B(ow can we supplicate to youGB7 &his is a clear deception, for their 9uestion was not about the meaning of BsalaahB on him, in which case he would have a point, but it was about the manner of doing the salaah on him, as is found in the narrations to which we have referred. &hus it all fits, for they asked him about the

way of doing it according to the 5haree-ah, something which they could not possibly find out e$cept from the guidance of the All' nowing, All'#ise, *iver of the 5haree-ah. 5imilarly, they could also ask him about the way of performing the 5alaah made obligatory by words of the E$alted such as B.stablish the -alaah (/rayer B; for their knowledge of the literal meaning of B5alaahB could not remove their need to ask about its manner according to the 5haree-ah, and this is crystal clear. As for ;ashaasheebi-s argument referred to, it is of no conse9uence, for it is well'known among the "uslims that the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. is the e$pounder of the words of the Iord of the #orlds, as (e says% BAnd

(e have sent down to you the $essage that you may e&plain clearly to the people what is sent for themB ,;ahl @6%44..
(ence, the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. e$plained the way of doing salaah on him, and it included mention of his family, so it is compulsory to accept that from him, due to Allaah-s saying%

So ta-e what the Messenger gives you ,(ashr 3?%8., and the well'known authentic
hadeeth, *erily7 ha1e been &i1en the =ur-aan and somethin& similar to it. 223 1 really wonder what ;ashaasheebi and those taken in by his pompous words would say if someone were to re!ect the tashahhud in prayer altogether, or re!ect the menstruating woman-s abstaining from prayer and fasting, all with the argument that Allaah the E$alted did not mention the tashahhud in the :ur-aan; (e only mentioned bowing and prostration, and (e did not e$empt a menstruating woman from prayer and fasting in the :ur-aan77 5o, do they agree with such arguments, which are along the lines of his original one, or notG 1f they do, and we hope not, then they have strayed far, far away from guidance, and have left the mainstream of the "uslims; if they do not, then they are correct in agreeing with us, and their reasons for re!ecting those arguments are e$actly the same as our reasons for re!ecting ;ashaasheebi-s original pronouncement, which we have e$plained clearly. &herefore beware, C "uslims, of attempting to understand the :ur-aan without recourse to the 5unnah, for you will never be able to do that, even if you were the 5eebawaih 226 of the age, the e$pert of the age in the -Arabic language. (ere is an e$ample in front of you, for this ;ashaasheebi is one of the leading scholars of the -Arabic language of this period; you have seen how he has strayed, after being deceived by his knowledge of the language, by not seeking the aid of the 5unnah in understanding the :ur-aan; in fact he has re!ected this aid, as you know. &here are many other e$amples of this ' there is not enough room here to mention them, but what we have mentioned will suffice, and Allaah is the *ranter of all capability. ). &he reader will also see that in none of these types of salaah on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. is there the word sayyid ,chief, leader.. &he later scholars have differed about the validity of its inclusion in the 1braaheemee salaah. /ue to lack of space we will not go into the details of that nor make mention of those who re!ected its validity in keeping with the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.-s complete teaching to his ummah when he instructed, B5ay% C Allaah7 send prayers on "uhammad ...B on being asked about the manner of salaah on him, but we will 9uote the (aafidh 1bn (a!r al'-As9alaani on this, bearing in mind his position as one of the great 5haafi-i scholars of both hadeeth and fi9h, for contradiction of this teaching of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. has become widespread among 5haafi-i scholars7 (aafi2 "uhammad ibn "uhammad ibn "uhammad al'*huraabeeli ,8?A' >)3 A(., a companion of 1bn (a!r, said, and 1 9uote from his manuscript228%

(e ,i.e. 1bn (a!r., may Allaah benefit us with his life, was asked about the features of salaah on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., whether during prayer or outside it, compulsory or recommended% 1s one of its conditions that the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. be attributed with sayaadah ,leadership., e.g. -C Allaah7 send prayers on sayyidinaa ,our leader. "uhammad ...- or -the foremost of creation-, or -the leader of the children of Aadam- etc.G Cr should one stick to -C Allaah7 send prayers on "uhammad-G #hich of these two is the better approach% including the word sayyid, due to it being an established attribute of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., or leaving it out due to the absence of it in the narrationsG (e ,1bn (a!r., may Allaah be pleased with him, replied% BHes, to follow the narrated wording is superior. 1t cannot be said, B"aybe the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. himself did not say it out of modesty, !ust as he did not say ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. on mention of his name, although his ummah has been encouraged to do soB ' for we say that if that were superior, it would have been 9uoted from the +ompanions and then from the 5uccessors, but we do not come across it in any narrations from any +ompanion or 5uccessor. &his is despite the volume of 9uotations from them. #e have 1maam 5haafi-i, may Allaah e$alt his rank, one of the foremost among men in his respect for the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., saying in the preface to his book which is a base for the people of his madhhab% BC Allaah7 send prayers on "uhammad ...B etc. until the end of what his !udgment dictated, B... every time one of the rememberers remembers him, and every time one of the heedless fails to remember himB, which he seems to have deduced from the authentic hadeeth which has in it that the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. saw the "other of the 4elievers engaging in long and numerous glorifications, so he said to her, BHou have said words which, if weighed against the following, would be balanced% *lorified be Allaah, as many times as the number of (is creationB; he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to like supplications which were concise, but e$haustive in meaning. :aadi -1yaad set out a chapter about salaah on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. in his book ash' 5hifaa- ,&he 4ook of +ure., 9uoting in it narrations from the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. on the authority of several +ompanions and 5uccessors; in none of these is the word sayyid reported% a. &he hadith of -Ali, that he used to teach them the manner of salaah on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. by saying, $ Allaah7 S#reader of 2lains7 $ri&inator of Hei&hts7 send the foremost of Four #rayers7 the most fertile of Four blessin&s7 and any remainin& !om#liments7 on Muhammad7 Four sla1e and messen&er7 the o#ener of )hat is !losed. b. Again from -Ali, that he used to say, B&he prayers of Allaah, the 4eneficent, the "erciful, of the Angels nearest ,to Allaah., of the Prophets, of the 5incere ones, of the #itnesses, of the <ighteous, and of whatever glorifies Hou, C Iord of the #orlds, be on "uhammad son of -Abdullaah, 5eal of the Prophets, 1maam of the *odfearers, ... etc.B c. Cn the authority of -Abdullaah ibn "as-ood, that he used to say, BC Allaah7 send Hour prayers, Hour blessings and Hour mercy, on "uhammad, Hour slave and messenger, the imaam of goodness, the messenger of mercy, ...B etc. d. From al'(asan al'4asri, that he used to say, B#hoever wants to drink from the cup which 9uenches, from the fount of the al'"ustafaa, should say% C Allaah7 send prayers on "uhammad, and on his family, his +ompanions, his wives, his children, his descendants, his household, his in' laws, his helpers, his followers, and all those who love him.B &his is what he ,:aadi -1yaad. has written in ash' 5hifaa-, regarding the manner of salaah on the Prophet, on the authority of the +ompanions and those who succeeded them, and he also mentioned other things in it. Hes, it is related in a hadeeth of 1bn "as-ood that in his salaah on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., he would say, BC Allaah7 send the best of Hour prayers, mercy and blessings on the leader ,sayyid. of the messengers ...B etc., transmitted by 1bn "aa!ah, but its isnaad is weak, so the hadeeth of -Ali, transmitted by &abaraani with a acceptable isnaad, takes precedence. &his hadeeth has difficult words, which 1 have reported and e$plained in the book Fadl an';abi ,E$cellence of the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.B. by Abul (asan ibn al'Faaris. 5ome 5haafi-is have said that if a man took an oath to send the best salaah on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., the way to fulfil his oath would be to say, BC Allaah7 send prayers on "uhammad every time the rememberers remember him or the heedless fail to remember himB; ;awawi said, B&he one which is most fitting to be designated as correct is that one should say% C Allaah7 send prayers on "uhammad, and on the family of "uhammad, as you sent prayers on 1braaheem ...B 5everal of the later scholars have replied to this by saying that in neither of the two

ways mentioned above is there anything to prove which is superior as regards narration, but as regards the meaning, then the former is clearly superior. &his issue is well'known in the books of fi9h, and of all the scholars of fi9h who addressed this issue, without e$ception, in none of their words does the word sayyid appear. (ad this additional word been commendable, it would not have escaped all of them, leaving them ignorant of it. All good is in following what is narrated, and Allaah knows best.B 1bn (a!r-s view of the unacceptability of describing the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. as sayyid during the salaah on him in accordance with the :ur-aanic order, is also that of the (anafi scholars. 1t is the view which must be adhered to, for it is a true indication of love for him, ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.; B-ay%

If you do love Allaah, then follow me% Allaah will love you.B ,aal'-1mraan )%)@.
4ecause of this, 1maam ;awawi said in <awdah at'&aalibeen ,@K263., B&he most complete salaah on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. is% C Allaah7 send your prayers on "uhammad ...B etc., corresponding to type no. ) given, in which there is no mention of sayyid7 4. 1t should be known that types nos. @ and 4 are the ones which the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. taught his +ompanions when they asked about the manner of salaah on him, so this has been used as evidence that these are the best ways of doing the salaah on him, for he would not choose anything for them or himself e$cept the best and noblest. 1maam ;awawi, as mentioned, endorsed ,in <awdah at' &aalibeen. that if a man were to take an oath to do the best possible salaah on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., this could not be fulfilled e$cept in these ways. 5ubki has given another reason% whoever does salaah with those types has made salaah on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. with certainty, and whoever does so with other words is in doubt whether or not he has performed the prayers as re9uested. &his is because they said, B(ow do we send prayers on youGB and he replied, B5ay% ...B, thus defining their salaah on him as their saying such'and'such. &his was mentioned by (aitami in ad'/arr al'"andood ,23K2.; he then said ,28K@. that the ob!ective is achieved with all the types which have occurred in authentic ahaadeeth. 3. 1t should be known that it is not valid to combine all these way into one way of salaah, and the same goes for the different tashahhuds given previously. 1n fact, that would be an innovation in the religion; the 5unnah is to say different ones at different times, as 5haikh'ul'1slaam 1bn &aymiyyah has e$plained in his discussion of the takbeers of the two -Eids ,"a!moo- al'Fataawaa 2?K23)K@.. 6. -Allaamah 5iddee9 (asan haan says in his book ;u2ul al' Abraar bil -1lm al'"a-thoor min al' Ad-iyah wal'Adhkaar, after giving many ahaadeeth about the e$cellence of repeated salaah on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. ,p. @6@.% B&here is no doubt that the foremost among the "uslims in sending salaah on him ,sall'Allaahu -alaihi wa sallam. are the People of (adeeth and the narrators of the purified 5unnah, for it is one of their duties in this noble branch of learning to make salaah on him before every hadeeth, and so their tongues are always engaged in his mention, may Allah grant him mercy and peace. &here is no book of 5unnah or collection of hadeeth, be it a !aami-, musnad, mu-!am, !u2-, etc., e$cept that it comprises thousands of ahaadeeth; even one of the least bulky ones, 5uyooti-s al' 0aami- as'5agheer, contains ten thousand ahaadeeth, and the rest of the collections are no different. 5o this is the 5aved 5ect% the body of the People of (adeeth, who will be the closest among men to the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. on the /ay of <esurrection, and the most likely to be rewarded by his intercession ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., may my

mother and father be sacrificed for him7 &his e$cellence of the People of (adeeth cannot be surpassed by anyone unless he does more than what they do, something which is well'nigh impossible. &herefore, C desirer of good, seeker of salvation, no matter what, you should either be a muhaddith, or be close to the muhadditheen; do not be otherwise ... for apart from that there is nothing which will benefit you.B 1 ask Allaah, 4lessed and E$alted, to make me one of these People of (adeeth, who are the closest among men to the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam.; perhaps this book will be a testimony to that. "ay Allaah shower (is mercy on 1maam Ahmad, who recited% &he religion of "uhammad is in narrations, &he best mounts for a young man are the traditions; &urn not away from (adeeth and its people, For Cpinion is night, while (adeeth is day, A young man can be ignorant of the guidance ... Although the sun is shining in all its splendour 7

Du-aa- in the (irst Tashahhud

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. also set the guidance of du-aa in this tashahhud as well, saying, 5hen you sit after e1ery t)o rak-ahs7 then sayC All !om#liments are due to Allaah ... ,till the end of that supplication, and then said%. ... then he should sele!t of the su##li!ations )hat is most #leasin& to him.22>

Standin& u# for the Third7 and then the (ourth7 "ak-ah

;e$t, he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would get up for the third rak-ah with takbeer 22?, and he ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB to do so% &hen do that in every rak-ah, as before. B#hen he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. stood from the sitting position, he would say takbeer, and then stand upB2)A; and Bhe ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would raise his handsB 2)@ with this takbeer sometimes. B#hen he wanted to stand up for the fourth rak-ah, he would say% Allaah is the *reatestB 2)2, and he ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB likewise, as before, and Bhe ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would raise his handsB2)) with this takbeer sometimes. B(e would sit up straight on his left foot, at ease, until every bone returned to its proper place, then stand up, supporting himself on the ground; and he would clench his fists 2)4% supporting himself with his hands when standing up.B2)3 (e would recite al'Faatihah in both these rak-ahs, and he ordered Bthe one who prayed badlyB to do that. 1n =uhr prayer, he would sometimes add a few aayaat to this, as has been e$plained under B<ecitation in =uhr PrayerB.

=unoot in the (i1e 2rayers be!ause of a Calamity

B#hen he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. wanted to supplicate against someone, or supplicate for someone, he would perform 9unoot2)6 in the last rak-ah, after rukoo-; after having said% Allaah listens to the one who praises (im.2)8 B(e would supplicate loudlyB2)>, Braise his handsB2)?, and Bthose behind him would say% aameenB24A. B(e was known to perform 9unoot in all five prayersB 24@, although Bhe would only perform 9unoot in them when he supplicated for a people or supplicated against a peopleB 242. For e$ample, he once said, $ AllaahL res!ue al-5aleed ibn al- 5aleed7 and Salamah ibn Hishaam7 and -Ayyaash ibn Abi "abee-ah. $ AllaahL harden Four #enalty on ,the tribe of+ Mudar7 and !ause for it years ,of famine+ like the years of Foosuf. H$ AllaahL !urse 0ahyaan7 and "u-l7 and Dhak)aan7 and -Usayyah7 )ho disobeyed Allaah and His Messen&erLI24) &hen, Bhe would say% Allaah is the :reatest when he had finished 9unoot and prostrate.B 244

=unoot in 5itr 2rayer

B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to perform 9unoot in the ,odd. rak-ah of the #itr prayerB 243 sometimes246, and Bhe would perform it before rukoo-.B248 (e taught al'(asan ibn -Ali ,radi Allaahu -anhu. to say Dafter finishing his recitation in #itrE%

B$ AllaahL &uide me amon& those )hom Fou ha1e &uidedD and #ardon me amon& those )ho Fou ha1e #ardonedD and turn on me in friendshi# amon& those on )hom Fou ha1e turned in friendshi#D and bless me in )hat Fou ha1e besto)edD and sa1e me from the e1il of )hat Fou ha1e de!reedD HforI indeed Fou de!ree7 and none !an influen!e FouD HandI he is not humiliated )hom Fou ha1e befriendedD Hnor is he honoured )ho is Four enemy.I Blessed are Fou7 $ 0ord7 and ;<alted. HThere is no #la!e of safety from Fou e<!e#t to)ards Fou.IB24>

The (inal Tashahhud

The $bli&ation of this Tashahhud

;e$t, after completing the fourth rak-ah, he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would sit for the last tashahhud. (e would instruct regarding it, and do in it, !ust as he did in the first tashahhud, e$cept that Bhe would sit mutawarrikanB 24?, Bwith his left upper thigh on the ground, and both his feet protruding from one ,i.e. the right. side.B23A B(e would have his left foot under his ,right. thigh and shinB23@, Bhis right foot uprightB232 or occasionally Bhe would lay it along the ground.B 23) B(is left palm would cover his ,left. knee, leaning heavily on it.B 234 Dsee diagram ' 9ssE (e set the e$ample of sending prayers on him ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. in this tashahhud, as in the first tashahhud; the ways of sending prayer on him ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. narrated have been given in that section.

The $bli&ation of Sendin& 2rayers on the 2ro#het ,sallallaahu -alaihi )a sallam+ in this Tashahhud
Cnce, Bhe ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. heard a man supplicating in his prayer without glorifying the ma!esty of Allaah E$alted, nor sending prayers on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., so he said% This man has been hasty.B (e then called him and said to him and others, B5hen one of you #rays7 he should be&in )ith the #raise of his 0ord7 Sublime and Mi&hty7 and his e<ultation7 and then send #rayers ,in one narration% he should send #rayers. on the 2ro#het ,sallallaahu -alaihi )a sallam+7 and then su##li!ate as he )ishes.B233 Also, Bhe heard a man glorifying and praising Allaah, and sending prayers on the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. in prayer, so the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said to him% Su##li!ate7 and you )ill be ans)eredD ask7 and you )ill be &i1en. B236

The $bli&ation to Seek "efu&e from (our Thin&s before Su##li!atin&

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to say, B#hen one of you has finished the DlastE tashahhud, he should seek refuge with Allaah from four things; Dsaying%

$ AllaahL truly seek refu&e )ith FouI from the #unishment of Hellfire7 and from the #unishment of the &ra1e7 and from the trials of li1in& and dyin&7 and from the e1il HtrialsI of

the (alse Christ. D&hen he should supplicate for himself with what occurs to him.EB 238 ' B(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would supplicate with it in his own tashahhud.B 23> Also, Bhe used to teach the +ompanions ,radi Allaahu -anhum. this the way he taught them 5oorahs of the :ur-aan.B23?

Su##li!ation before the Salaam7 A its 1arious ty#es

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to use different supplications in his prayer 26A, supplicating with different ones at different times; he also endorsed other supplications, and Bordered the worshipper to select of them what he wishes.B 26@ &hey are%

@.

B$ AllaahL truly seek refu&e )ith Fou from the #unishment of the &ra1e7 and seek refu&e )ith you from the trials of the (alse Christ7 and seek refu&e )ith Fou from the trials of li1in& and dyin&. $ AllaahL truly seek refu&e )ith Fou from sin262 and burden26).B264

2.

B$ AllaahL truly seek refu&e )ith Fou from the e1il of )hat ha1e done7 and from the e1il of )hat ha1e not done263 HyetI.266

).

B$ AllaahL !all me to a!!ount )ith an easy re!konin&.B268

4.

B$ AllaahL H ask youI7 by Four kno)led&e of the Unseen7 and Four !ontrol o1er the !reationC &i1e me life as lon& as Fou kno) that life is best for me7 and take me )hen death is best for me. $ AllaahL also ask of Fou fear of Fou7 in se!ret and in o#enD ask of Fou the )ord of Truth ,in one narration% 5isdom. and 4usti!e in an&er and in #leasureD ask of Fou moderation in #o1erty and affluen!eD ask of Fou 4oy )hi!h does not fadeD ask of Fou #leasure H)hi!h does not #ass a)ay7 nor thatI )hi!h !easesD ask of Fou !ontentment )ith Four de!reeD ask of Fou !oolness of life after deathD ask of Fou the deli&ht of lookin& to)ards Four (a!eD and H ask of FouI ea&erness to)ards meetin& Fou7 not in harmful ad1ersity7 nor in misleadin& affli!tions. $ AllaahL adorn us )ith the de!oration of eemaan7 and make us those )ho &uide and are &uided.26> 3. (e taught Abu 4akr as'5iddee9 ,radi Allaahu -anhu. to say%

B$ AllaahL indeed ha1e )ron&ed myself &reatly7 and none !an for&i1e sins e<!e#t Fou7 so for&i1e me out of Four for&i1eness7 and ha1e mer!y on me. Truly7 Fou are the $ft- (or&i1in&7 the Most Mer!iful.B26? 6. (e instructed -Aa-ishah ,radi Allaahu -anhaa. to say%

B$ AllaahL indeed ask of Fou all :ood7 Hthe imminent and the far-off7I that of it )hi!h kno) and that )hi!h do not kno). seek refu&e )ith Fou from all ;1il7 Hthe imminent and the far-off7I that of it )hi!h kno) and that )hi!h do not kno). ask of Fou ,in one narration% $ AllaahL indeed ask of Fou. the :arden7 and )hate1er sayin& or deed )hi!h brin&s one near to itD seek refu&e )ith Fou from the (ire7 and ,from+ )hate1er sayin& or deed )hi!h brin&s one near to it. ask of Fou ,in one narration% $ AllaahL indeed ask of Fou. HtheI &ood of )hat )as asked of Fou by Four sla1e and messen&er HMuhammadD and seek refu&e )ith Fou from e1il of )hat Four sla1e and messen&er Muhammad ,sallallaahu -alaihi )a sallam+ sou&ht refu&e )ith FouI. H ask of FouI that )hate1er Fou ha1e de!reed for me7 its result Hfor meI be benefi!ial. 28A 8. (e said to a man, #hat do you say during the prayerG (e replied, B1 bear witness ,i.e. do the tashahhud., then 1 ask Allaah for the *arden, and 1 seek refuge with (im from the Fire. (owever, by Allaah, there is no murmuring28@ as good as yours or that of "u-aadh.B 5o he said, Cur murmuring is like yours.282 >. (e heard a man saying in his tashahhud%

B$ AllaahL indeed ask of Fou7 $ Allaah ,in one narration% by Allaah., the $ne7 the $nly7 the Absolute7 5ho be&ets not and nor is He be&otten7 and there is none like Him7 that Fou for&i1e me my sinsD indeed Fou are the $ft-(or&i1in&7 Most Mer!iful. Cn this, he ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said, He has been for&i1en7 he has been for&i1en.28) ?. (e heard another man say in his tashahhud%

B$ AllaahL ndeed7 ask of Fou7 by the fa!t that to Fou belon&s all 2raiseD there is no ,true+ &od e<!e#t Fou7 HFou alone7 Fou ha1e no #artnersDI the Besto)er of (a1oursD H$I $ri&inator of the Hea1ens and the ;arthD $ $ne that is (ull of Ma4esty and HonourD $ 0i1in& $ne7 $ ;ternal $neD Hindeed ask of FouI Hthe :arden7 and seek refu&e )ith Fou from the (ireI. D5o the Prophet ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. said to his +ompanions, Do you kno) )ith )hat he has su##li!atedK &hey said, BAllaah and (is "essenger know best.B (e said, By Him in 5hose Hand is my soul7I he has su##li!ated Allaah )ith His Mi&hty ,in one narration% Mi&htiest. name2847 )ith )hi!h if He is su##li!ated7 He ans)ers7 and )ith )hi!h if He is asked7 He &i1es. 283 @A. Cne of the last things he would say between the tashahhud and the tasleem would be%

B$ AllaahL (or&i1e me )hat ha1e done in the #ast7 and )hat )ill do in the future7 and )hat ha1e !on!ealed7 and )hat ha1e done o#enly7 and )hat ha1e e<!eeded in7 )hate1er Fou kno) about more kno) than . Fou are the Brin&er-(or)ard7 and Fou are the Delayer7 there is no ,true+ &od e<!e#t Fou.B286

The Tasleem ,Salutation of 2ea!e+

;e$t, Bhe ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. would salute to his right%

2ea!e and Allaah-s Mer!y be on you Dsuch that the whiteness of his right cheek was visible,E, and on his left%

2ea!e and Allaah-s Mer!y be on you Dsuch that the whiteness of his left cheek was visibleE.B 288 5ometimes, he would add to the greeting on the right%

... and His blessin&s ,be on you+.28> B#hen he said%

2ea!e and Allaah-s Mer!y be on you to his right, he would sometimes shorten the greeting on his left to%

2ea!e be on you.28? 5ometimes, Bhe would salute once only, D

2ea!e be on youE Din front of his face, turning to his right side a bit,E Dor a littleE.B 2>A B&hey used to gesture with their hands when saluting to the right and left; when the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. saw them, he said, -5hat is the matter )ith you7 &esturin& )ith your hands as if they are the tails of )ild horsesKL 5hen one of you salutes7 he should look to)ards his !om#anion and not indi!ate )ith his hand.- D5o when they prayed with him, they did not gesture.E ,1n one narration% t is enou&h for ea!h of you to #la!e his hand on his thi&h7 and then salute his brothers )ho are on his ri&ht and left..2>@

The $bli&ation of the Tasleem

(e ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. used to say, ... it ,the prayer. is e$ited by the tasleem. 2>2 &his is the last of what has been possible to compile regarding the description of the Prophet-s prayer ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. from the takbeer to the tasleem% 1 hope that Allaah will make it sincerely for (is Face, Full of (onour, and a guide to the 5unnah of (is kind and merciful Prophet.

*lorified be Allaah, and Praised. *lorified be Hou, C Allaah, and Praised. 1 bear witness that there is no true god e$cept Hou. 1 seek forgiveness from Hou and repent to Hou.

C Allaah7 send prayers on "uhammad, and on the family of "uhammad, and send blessings on "uhammad, and on the family of "uhammad, as Hou sent prayers on 1braaheem and the family of 1braaheem; Hou are indeed #orthy of Praise, Full of *lory. 2>)

Addendum
All that has been mentioned of the description of the Prophet-s prayer ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam. applies e9ually to men and women, for there is nothing in the 5unnah to necessitate the e$ception of women from any of these descriptions; in fact, the generality of his statement ,sallallaahu -alaihi wa sallam., B2ray as you ha1e seen me #rayin&B, includes women. &his is the view of 1braaheem an';akh-i, who said, BA woman-s actions in the prayer are the same as a man-sB ' transmitted by 1bn Abi 5haibah ,@K83K2., with a saheeh sanad from him. Also, 4ukhaari reported in at'&aareekh as'5agheer ,p. ?3. with a saheeh sanad from Jmm ad' /ardaa-, Bthat she used to sit in her prayer !ust as a man sits, and she was a woman of understanding.B &he hadeeth about the indimaam ,tucking up. of a woman in prostration, and that she is in that regard not like a man, is mursal and not authentic. Abu /aawood transmitted it in al' "araaseel on the authority of Ha2eed ibn Abi (abeeb. As for what 1maam Ahmad has reported, as in his son -Abdullaah-s "asaa-il, from 1bn -Jmar, that he used to instruct his wives to sit cross'legged in prayer, its sanad is not authentic, for it contains -Abdullaah ibn -Jmar al'-Amri, who is a da-eef ,weak. narrator.

A##endi< 1 The 5eakness of the Ahaadeeth endorsin& ikhtilaaf ,disa&reement7 differin&+

fromC Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth ad-DaNeefah )a-l-Ma)dooNah ,/9-6%+ by Shaykh al-Albaani

1+ EThe disa&reement amon& my Ummah is a mer!y.E

a. 0aa Asla 0ahu ,Baseless+. &he muhadditheen have tried to find an isnaad for it but have not found one, to the e$tent that 5uyooti said in his al'0aamiN as'5agheer, BPerhaps it was collected in one of the books of the huffaadh which did not reach usB7

&his suggestion is very far'fetched, since it would mean that some of the sayings of the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. have been lost to the ummah forever, something which is not permissible for a "uslim to believe. "anaawi 9uoted 5ubki as saying, B1t ,i.e. the saying. is not known to the muhadditheen and 1 cannot find any isnaad for it, whether saheeh, daNeef or mawdooNB, and this was endorsed by 5haykh =akareeyyah al'Ansaari in his notes on &afseer al'4aidaawi D?2K2E. Further, the meaning of this hadeeth is also incorrect as shown by the verifying scholars, hence 1bn (a2m says in al'1hkaam fi Jsool al'Ahkaam D3K64E after indicating that it is not a hadeeth, B&his is one of the most incorrect sayings possible, since if ikhtilaaf were a mercy, then agreement would be a punishment, something which no "uslim would say, because there can only be agreement or disagreement, and there can only be mercy or punishment.B "ore of 1bn (a2m-s words are 9uoted below.

b. t !ontradi!ts the =ur-aan, which has condemned ikhtilaaf in many places.

%+ EMy Com#anions are like the starsC )hi!he1er of them you follo)7 you )ill be ri&htly-&uided.E
Ma)dooN ,(abri!ated+. <elated by 1bn NAbdul'4arr in 0aamiN 4ayaan al'N1lm D2K?@E M 1bn (a2m in al'1hkaam D6K>2E via the route% 5allaam ibn 5ulaim, who said% al'(aarith ibn *hisseen narrated to us from al'ANmash from Abu 5ufyaan from 0aabir from the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.. 1bn NAbdul'4arr said, BProof cannot be established with this isnaad because al'(aarith ibn *hisseen is ma!hool ,unknown.B; 1bn (a2m said, B&his is a fallen narration. Abu 5ufyaan is weak; al'(aarith ibn *hisseen is Abu #ahb ath'&ha9afee; 5allaam ibn 5ulaimaan narrated fabricated ahaadeeth ' this is one of them without a doubt.B &o !udge this hadeeth on 5allaam ibn 5ulaim ' also known as 5allaam ibn 5ulaimaan ' is better, for he is agreed to be daNeef; in fact, 1bn hiraash said about him, BAn utter liarB and 1bn (ibbaan said, B(e narrated fabricated ahaadeeth.B As for Abu 5ufyaan, he is not weak as 1bn (a2m said, but rather he is reliable as 1bn (a!ar has said in at'&a9reeb, and "uslim narrates from him in his 5aheeh. Al'(aarith ibn *hisseen is unknown as 1bn (a2m said, as did 1bn NAbdul 4arr, even though 1bn (ibbaan does mention him in ath'&hi9aat ,&he <eliable ;arrators. (ence, Ahmad said, B&his hadeeth is not authenticB, as 9uoted in al'"untakhab D@AK@??K2E of 1bn :udaamah.

As for the saying of 5haNraani in al'"ee2aan D@K2>E, B&his hadeeth, although debatable in the eyes of the muhadditheen, is nevertheless authentic in the eyes of the people of ashfB, it is completely false and whimsical, and is not to be given any significance7 &his is because authenticating ahaadeeth by way of ashf ,BunveilingB, while in a state of trance. is a wicked innovation of the 5ufis, and depending upon it leads to the authentication of false, baseless ahaadeeth such as this one. &his is because, even at the best of times, ashf is like opinion, which is sometimes correct and sometimes wrong ' and that is if no personal desires enter into it7 #e ask Allaah to save us from it and from everything (e is not pleased with. 5imilar narrations to the above are as follows%

%.1+ EThe e<am#le of my Com#anions is that of the starsC he )ho follo)s any of them )ill be ri&htly-&uided.E
Ma)dooN ,(abri!ated+. <elated by :udaaNi ,@A?K2. via% 0aNfar ibn NAbdul #aahid, who said% #ahb ibn 0areer ibn (aa2im informed us from his father from al'ANmash from Abu 5alih from Abu (urairah from &he Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.. Cne of the muhadditheen, either 1bn al'"uhibb or /hahabi, wrote in the margin, B&his hadeeth is not at all authenticB, i.e. it is fabricated% the flaw in it is 0aNfar here, about whom /aara9utni said, B(e used to fabricate ahaadeethB; Abu =urNah said, B(e narrated baseless ahaadeethB; /hahabi gave some hadeeth because of which he disparaged him, among them being this one, and then said, B&his is one of his calamities7B

%.%+ E5hate1er you are &i1en from the Book of Allaah is to be a!ted u#onD there is no e<!use for anyone to lea1e it. f it is not in the Book of Allaah7 then ,a!t u#on+ a #re1ious e<am#le ,sunnah+ of mine. f there is no #re1ious e<am#le ,sunnah+ of mine7 then ,a!t u#on+ )hat my Com#anions sayC 1erily7 my Com#anions are of the station of the stars in the sky7 so )hi!he1er of them you take7 you )ill be &uided7 and the disa&reement of my Com#anions is a mer!y for you.E
Ma)dooN ,(abri!ated+. +ollected by hateeb in al' ifaayah fi N1lm ar'<iwaayah Dp.4>E and also by Abul'NAbbaas al'Asamm in the his (adeeth ,no. @42., M 1bn -Asaakir D8K)@3K2E by way of% 5ulaimaan ibn Abi areemah from 0uwaibir from ad'/ahhaak from 1bn NAbbaas from &he Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.. &his isnaad is daNeef !iddan ,very weak.. About 5ulaimaan ibn Abi areemah, 1bn Abi (aatim D2K@K@)>E reported from his father about him, B(e is weak in hadeeth.B 0uwaibir is 1bn 5aNeed al'A2adee, and is matrook ,abandoned. as /aara9utnee, ;asaaNi and others have said, and 1bn al'"adeeni declared him to be very weak. /ahhaak is 1bn "u2aahim al'(ilaalee, and he did not meet 1bn NAbbaas.

N1raa9i 9uoted the last part of the hadeeth in his &akhree! of *ha2aali-s 1hyaa- NJloom ad'/een D@K23E and then said, B1ts isnaad is daNeef.B &he isnaad is actually very weak due to what we have mentioned about 0uwaibir, as 5akhaawi said in al'"a9aasid . 1n meaning, however, the hadeeth is fabricated, as is clear from what has preceeded and what will follow. 5uyooti 9uoted the hadeeth in its entirety at the begining of his treatise 0a2eel al'"awaahib fi 1khtilaaf al'"adhaahib from the narration of 4ayha9i in al'"adkhal, and /ailami related it from this route, as occurs in al'"awdooNaat of NAli al':aari Dp.@?E. Cnce you know this, then the saying of 5uyooti in his aforementioned treatise is very strange% B... and this hadeeth contains several points to note; among them his ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. informing of the disagreements between the madhaahib in non'fundamental matters, and that is one of his miracles, since it is information about the Jnseen; also, his being pleased with that and approving of it, since he described it as a mercy, and that the burdened person may choose whichever of them he wishes.B 1t could be said to him% first establish the throne, and then sit. #hat he has mentioned about the choice is false% it is not possible for the "uslim to cling to it and act upon its generality, since it leads to breaking away from the restrictions of the 5hareeNah, as is not hard to see. 5ee also the discussion under 2.4 below.

%.'+ E asked my 0ord about that )hi!h my Com#anions )ould disa&ri about after me7 so Allaah ins#ired meC $ MuhammadL Four Com#anions are to Me of the station of the stars in the sky - some are bri&hter than othersD so )hoe1er takes from any of them in those matters )here they ha1e differed7 then to Me7 he is u#on &uidan!e.E
Ma)dooN ,(abri!ated+. <eported by 1bn 4attah in al'1baanah D4K@@K2E, hateeb, ;i2am al'"alik in al'Amaali D@)K2E, /iyaa- in al'"unta9aa Nan "asmooNaatihi bimaroo D@@6K2E M 1bn NAsaakir D6K)A)K@E by way of% ;uNaim ibn (ammaad, who said% NAbdur'<aheem ibn =aid narrated to us from his father from 5aNeed ibn al'"usayyib from NJmar ibn al' hattaab from the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.. &his isnaad is mawdooN. ;uNaim ibn (ammaad is weak% 1bn (a!ar said, B(e makes many mistakes.B About NAbdur'<aheem ibn =aid al'NAmmee, al'4ukhaari said, B(e was abandonedB; Abu (aatim said, B(is ahaadeeth are abandoned% he is unacceptable in hadeeth ' he used to undermine his father by narrating disasters from himB; 1bn "aNeen said, B(e was an utter, filthy liar.B About his father, =aid al'NAmmi ibn al'(awaaree, 1bn 5aNd said, B(e was weak in hadeeth.B 5uyooti recorded this hadeeth in al'0aamiN as'5agheer through the narration of 5i!i22i in al' 1baanah and 1bn NAsaakir from NJmar; "anaawi said in his commentary on al'0aamiN as' 5agheer %

1bn al'0aw2i said in his al'N1lal, B&his is not authentic. ;uNaim has been disparaged; 1bn "aNeen has described NAbdur'<aheem as an utter liar; it says in al'"ee2aan% &his hadeeth is false.B

%..+ E*erily7 my Com#anions are like the starsC so if you a!!e#t any of their sayin&s7 you )ill be &uided.E
Ma)dooN ,(abri!ated+. 1bn NAbdul'4arr reports it in muNalla9 ,suspended, i.e. an incomplete chain of narrators at the collector-s end. form and 1bn (a2m reports it from him; the complete chain was provided by NAbd ibn (umaid in al'"untakhab min al'"usnad ,>6K@.% Ahmad ibn Hoonus informed me% Abu 5hihaab al'(annaat narrated to us, from (am2ah al' 0a2ree, from ;aafeeN, from 1bn NJmar from the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.. Also, 1bn 4attah narrated it in al'1baanah D4K@@K2E by another chain from Abu 5hihaab. 1bn NAbdul'4arr said, B&his isnaad is not authentic; no one acceptable as proof has reported it from ;aafeeN.B &his (am2ah is 1bn Abi (am2ah; /aara9utni said about him, B"atrook ,abandoned.B; 1bn NAdi said, B(is narrations are mostly fabricatedB; 1bn (ibbaan said, B(e would be alone in narrating things which are fabricated from reliable narrators, to such an e$tent that it is as if he did so deliberately ' it is not permissible to narrate from himB; /hahabi 9uoted some of his fabricated ahaadeeth in al'"ee2aan, this being one of them. 1bn (a2m said in al'1hkaam ,6K>)., after declaring that this hadeeth ,no. 2, with all its versions. is undoubtedly a lie since it also contradicts many aayaat of the :ur-aan, e.g. ;a!m ,3)%)'4., ;isaa,4%>2., Anfaal ,>%46., the following% B... therefore, it is absurd that the "essenger ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. would command us to follow every view e$pressed by the +ompanions, may Allaah be pleased with them all, for there were among them those who permitted something while others prohibited it% if the above were the case, trading in into$icants would be permissible if one followed 5amurah ibn 0undub; it would be permissible for someone fasting to eat snow if one followed Abu &alhah, but prohibited by following others beside him; to not take a bath due to incomplete intercourse would be obligatory if one followed NAli, NJthmaan, &alhah, Abu Ayyoob and Jbayy ibn aNb, but prohibited if one followed NAa-ishah and 1bn NJmar; all these e$amples have been related to us with authentic chains of narration.B (e then went on to e$plain at length some opinions e$pressed by +ompanions in which they were wrong about the 5unnah, both during the lifetime of the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. and after his death. (e then said ,6K>6., B5o how can it be allowable to blindly follow the opinions of people who make mistakes as well as get it rightG7B 4efore that, he had e$plained, under the heading /iffering +ondemned ,3K64., the error of those who say, B/isagreement is a mercyB, using as evidence the hadeeth, EMy Com#anions are like the starsC )hi!he1er of them you follo)7 you )ill be ri&htly-&uidedE, by clarifying that the hadeeth is a lie for several reasons% ,i. it is not authentic with regard to its chain of narration;

,ii. further, the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. could not have commanded us to follow something which he himself had declared erroneous at times; e.g. he pointed out Abu 4akr-s mistake in interpreting a dream, NJmar-s error in another interpretation, and Abus'5anaabil-s going wrong in a verdict he gave; hence, it is not possible for him to order us to follow someone mistaken; ,iii. the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. never spoke falsehood; his words were always truth% the comparison with the stars is clearly flawed, since for e$ample, if someone intends to travel a certain route directed by the stars in the constellation of +apricorn, but instead follows the stars in +ancer, he will not be correctly'guided, but will stray far away from the correct path and err tremendously; therefore, it is obviously false to say that following any star will guide one correctly. 1bn al'"ula99in gave a summarised version of 1bn (a2m-s words in his al' hulaasah D2K@83E, endorsed it and ended his discussion of the hadeeth saying% 1bn (a2m said,B&his is an invented, fabricated, false narration, not correct at all.B

A##endi< %
The authenti! hadeethC EFou are ri&ht in some of it and )ron& in some of it.E
from% 5aheeh al'4ukhaari, 4ook of /reams, English translation of the meanings by /r. "uhammad "uhsin han ;arrated 1bn NAbbaas ,Allaah be pleased with him.% A man came to Allaah-s "essenger ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. and said, B1 saw in a dream, a cloud having shade. 4utter and honey were dropping from it and 1 saw the people gathering it in their hands, some gathering much and some little. And behold, there was a rope e$tending from the earth to the sky, and 1 saw that you held it and went up; then, another man held it and went up and ,after that. another ,third. man held it and went up, and then another ,fourth. man held it, but it broke and then got connected again.B Abu 4akr said, BC Allaah-s "essenger7 Iet my father be sacrificed for you7 4y Allaah, allow me to interpret this dream.B &he Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. said to him, nter#ret it. Abu 4akr said, B&he cloud with shade symbolises 1slaam, and the butter and the honey dropping from it symbolises the :ur-aan, it-s sweetness and some people learning much of the :ur-aan while some a little. &he rope which is e$tended from the sky to the earth is the &ruth which you ,the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. are following. Hou follow it and Allaah will raise you high with it, and then another person will follow it and will rise up with it and then another man will follow it but it will break and then it will be connected for him and he will rise up with it. C Allaah-s "essenger7 Iet my father be sacrificed for you7 Am 1 right or wrongGB &he Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. replied, Fou are ri&ht in some of it and )ron& in some of it. Abu 4akr said, BC Allaah-s Prophet7 4y Allaah, you must tell me in what 1 was wrong.B &he Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. said, Do not s)ear. ,<elated by 4ukhaari and "uslim, and also by Abu /aawood, &irmidhi, /aarimi, 1bn "aa!ah, 1bn Abi 5haibah and Ahmad..

A##endi< '
EThe one )ho #rayed badlyE ,radi Allaahu Nanhu+
1n (adeeth and Fi9h literature, this term refers to the +ompanion mentioned in the following hadeeth of 5aheeh al'4ukhaari ,4ook of Prayer, English translation by /r. "uhammad "uhsin han.; many other narrations of this incident are found in the various collections of hadeeth, and provide an important source of instructions from the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. regarding the correct way to pray% ;arrated Abu (urairah ,radi Allaahu Nanhu.% &he "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. entered the mos9ue and a person followed him. &he man prayed and then went to the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. and greeted him; he returned the greeting and said ,to him., :o ba!k and #ray7 for you ha1e not #rayed. &he man went back and prayed in the same way as before, and then returned and greeted the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam., who said, :o ba!k and #ray7 for you ha1e not #rayed7 three times. &he man said, B4y (im #ho sent you with the &ruth, 1 cannot do so any better than this, so please teach me.B (e said, 5hen you stand for the 2rayer7 say takbeer and then re!ite )hat is easy for you from the =ur-aan ,from )hat you kno) by heart+D then bo) until you feel at ease in rukooND then raise your head and stand u# strai&ht7 then #rostrate until you feel at ease in sa4dahD then sit )ith !almness until you feel at ease7 and do like)ise in all your #rayers. Dfurther narrations of this hadeeth found in the other works of (adeeth such as 5unan Abi /aawood, etc. contain further details.E

A##endi< .
The )eakness of the hadeeth about #la!in& the hands belo) the na1el.
from 1rwaa- al'*haleel ,)3). M Ahkaam al'0anaa-i2 , p. @@>., by 5haykh al'Albaani Abu /aawood ,836., /aara9utni ,@A8., 4aiha9i ,2K)@A., Ahmad in his son NAbdullaah-s "asaa-il ,62K2. and also in =awaa-id al'"usnad ,@K@@A., and 1bn Abi 5haiba ,@K@36K@. transmitted% Nan NAbd ar'<ahmaan ibn 1shaa9 Nan =iyaad ibn =aid as'5iwaa-i Nan Abu 0uhaifah Nan NAli ,radi Allaahu Nanhu., who said, B1t is from the 5unnah during the prayer to place one palm on the other, below the navel.B &his is a daNeef ,weak. sanad due to NAbd ar'<ahmaan ibn 1shaa9 ,al'#aasiti al' oofi., who is weak ,see below.. Cn top of that, it has idtiraab ,shakiness. in it, for he has narrated it%

@. once Nan =iyad Nan Abu 0uhaifa Nan NAli ,as above.; 2. once Nan ;uNman ibn 5aNdNan NAli ,transmitted by /aara9utni and 4aiha9i.; and ). once Nan 5iyaas Abul (akam Nan Abu #aa-il, who said, BAbu (urairah said% 1t is from the 5unnah ...B ,transmitted by Abu /awood D83>E and /aara9utni..

The 5eakness of NAbd ar-"ahmaan ibn shaaB al3oofi in the eyes of the maams of Hadeeth
@. Abu Daa)ood said, B1 heard Ahmad ibn Hanbal declaring NAbd ar'<ahmaan ibn 1shaa9 al' oofi daNeef ,weak..B D&his is why 1maam Ahmad did not accept this hadeeth of his, for his son NAbdullaah said, B1 saw that when praying, my father placed his hands, one on the other, above the navel.BE 2. Na)a)i said in "a!mooN ,)K)@)., and also in 5harh 5aheeh "uslim and elsewhere, B&hey ,the scholars of hadeeth. agree in declaring this hadeeth weak, because it is a narration of NAbd ar'<ahmaan ibn 1shaa9 al'#aasiti, who is a daNeef ,weak. narrator, as agreed upon by the 1maams of 0arh and &aNdeel ,Authentication and /isparagement of reporters..B ). @aylaNi said in ;asb ar'<aayah ,@K)@4., EBaihaBi said in al'"aNrifah% N1ts isnaad is not firm, for it is a uni9ue narration of NAbd ar'<ahmaan ibn 1shaa9 al'#aasiti, who is matrook ,abandoned.-.B 4. bn Ha4ar said in Fath al'4aari ,2K@>6., B1t is a weak hadeeth.B #hat further points to its weakness is that contrary to it has been narrated on the authority of NAli with a better isnaad% the hadeeth of 1bn 0areer al'/abbi :an his father, who said, B1 saw NAli ,radi Allaahu Nanhu. holding his left arm with his right on the wrist, abo1e the na1elE ' this isnaad is a candidate for the rank of hasan; 4aiha9i ,@K)A@. firmly designated it to be hasan, and 4ukhaari ,@K)A@. designated it with certainty while giving it in an abridged, taNlee9 form. #hat is authentic from the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. with respect to the position of the hands is that they should be on the chest; there are many ahaadeeth about this, among them is one on the authority of &aawoos, who said, B&he "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. used to place his right arm on his left arm, and clasp them firmly on his chest during prayerB ' transmitted by Abu /aawood ,83?. with a saheeh isnaad. Although this is mursal, it is enough as proof for all scholars, with all their various opinions regarding the "ursal (adeeth, since it is saheeh as a mursal isnaad and has also been related as mawsool in many narrations; hence, it is valid as proof for all. 5ome of the supporting narrations are as follows% @. from #aa-il ibn (u!r% B&hat he saw the Prophet ' sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam ' put his right hand upon his left and place them upon his chest.B <eported by 1bn hu2aimah in his 5aheeh ,;asb ar'<aayah, @K)@4. and reported by 4aiha9i in his 5unan ,2K)A. with two chains of narration which support each other. 2. from :abeesah ibn (ulb, from his father who said% B1 saw the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam., leave Dafter completing the PrayerE from his right and his left, and 1 saw him place this upon his chest ' Hahyaa ,1bn 5a-eed. described the right ,hand. upon the left above the !oint.B <eported by Ahmad ,3K226. with a chain of narrators who are of the standard set by "uslim e$cept for :abeesah, but he is declared reliable by -1!li M 1bn (ibbaan; however,

no one narrates from him e$cept 5imaak ibn (arb about whom 1bn al'"adeeni and ;asaa-i say% BJnknownB and 1bn (a!ar says in &a9reeb% B(e is N"a9bool- Di.e. acceptable only if supportedE.B &he hadeeth of one such as him are hasan as supporting narrations, and therefore &irmidhi said after 9uoting the part of this hadeeth concerning taking the left hand with the right, B1t is a hasan hadeeth.B 5o these are three ahaadeeth which show that the 5unnah is to place the hands on the chest, and one who comes across them will not doubt that together they are sufficient to prove this.

A##endi< /

The 5eakness of the Hadeeth !ondemnin& "e!itation behind the maam

from% 5ilsilah al'Ahaadeeth ad'/aNeefah wal'"awdooNah ,36>'38A. by 5haykh al'Albaani

1-EHe )ho re!ites behind the imaam7 his mouth is filled )ith fire.E
Ma)dooN ,(abri!ated+. 1bn &aahir 9uoted it in &adhkirah al'"awdooNaat ,p.?)., and said, B&he isnaad contains "a-moon ibn Ahmad al'(arawi, an utter liar who used to narrate fabrications.B "ore of his description is given in hadeeth 2 below. 1bn (ibbaan mentioned this hadeeth under his name in ad'/uNafaa ,&he #eak ;arrators. and /hahabi regarded it as one of his calamities7 5ome (anafis have been deceived by this hadeeth, arguing on its basis that any recitation behind the imaam is totally haraam7 Abul (asanaat al'Iuknawi said in at'&aNlee9 al'"uma!!id Nalaa "uwattaN "uhammad ,p. ??., B1t was mentioned by the author of ;ihaayah and by others as marfooN with the wording, NOthere is a burning coal in his mouth-, and it is totally baseless.B (e had said before that, B1n no saheeh marfooN hadeeth is there a forbiddance of reciting al' Faatihah behind the imaam; all that they 9uote as marfooN regarding this is either baseless or not authenticB, and had then mentioned this hadeeth with both wordings as an e$ample.

&he people of knowledge, both past and present, have differed regarding recitation behind the imaam, taking one of three views% @. &hat recitation in loud and 9uiet prayers is obligatory. 2. &hat silence in loud and 9uiet prayers is obligatory. ). &hat there be recitation in 9uiet, but not in loud, prayers. &his last view is the most balanced and closest to the truth, for in it, all the evidences can be accommodated such that none of them is re!ected totally. 1t is the view of "aalik and Ahmad, and has also been prefered after analysis by some (anafis, including Abul (asanaat al'Iuknawi in his aforementioned book. Another e$ample of "a-moon al'(arawi-s inventions is the following%

%- EHe )ho raises his hands durin& the #rayer7 there is no #rayer for him.E
Ma)dooN ,(abri!ated+. 1bn &aahir 9uoted it in &adhkirah al'"awdooNaat ,p. >8., and said, B&he isnaad contains "a-moon ibn Ahmad al'(arawi, an utter liar who used to fabricate ahadeeth.B /hahabi said about him, B(e brought calamities and disgraceful reports. (e invented ahaadeeth, this being one of them, and related them apparently on the authority of reliable narrators.B 1t is clear to me from the ahaadeeth which "a-moon al'(arawi has invented that he is a bigoted 2ealot of the (anafi "adhhab, for all the ahaadeeth mentioned under his descriptions ,in books of narrators. revolve around supporting 1maam Abu (aneefah and insulting 1maam 5haafiNi; amongst them is this one% a clear insult to the 5haafiNi view, which approves the raising of the hands on going down into rukooN and rising from it ,which is the truth without doubt., while obviously backing the (anafi view which says that this is makrooh. &his disgusting man was not even satisfied with the position of his "adhhab that raising the hands was makrooh% he even went to the e$tent of inventing this hadeeth, in order to propagate amongst the people that raising the hands actually invalidates the prayer7 Perhaps he also intended to support "akhool-s narration from Abu (aneefah that he said, B(e who raises his hands during prayer, his prayer is ruinedB, a narration which deceived Ameer aatib al'1t9aani, who compiled a treatise on the basis of it to argue the invalidation of the prayer by the raising of the hands7 5imilarly deceived was the one who trod his path and ruled that it was not permissible for (anafis to pray behind 5haafiNis because the latter raise their hands7 #hile all along, this narration from Abu (aneefah is utterly false, as NAllaamah Abul (asanaat al'Iuknawi has verified in al'FawaNid al'4ahiyyah fi &araa!um al'(anafeeyyah ,pp. @@6, 2@6'8.. 5haikh NAli al':aari 9uoted this hadeeth in al'"awdooNat and then said ,p. >@., B&his hadeeth was fabricated by "uhammad b. NJkaashah al' irmaani, may Allaah disgrace him.B Iater ,p. @2?., he 9uoted 1bn al':ayyim as saying, B1t is fabricated.B &his is contrary to what has been established ,above. that the fabricator was al'(arawi; if it is proved, than perhaps one of them stole it from the other7

#e can see from all this what lack of heed to the 5unnah, and abandonment of verification of narrations from the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. and the 1maams, can do7 N$T;C About raising the hands on going into rukooN and rising from it, many many ahadeeth have been narrated from the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.% they are actually mutawaatir in the eyes of the scholars; in fact, raising the hands with every takbeer is proven on his authority in many ahadeeth; whereas not raising the hands is not authentically'related from him e$cept once via NAbdullaah ibn "asNood ,radi Allaahu Nanhu., but this is not suitable for putting into practice, for it is naaf ,negatory.. 1t is firmly established, in the eyes of the (anafis and others, that the muthbit ,affirmatory. takes precedence over the naaf ,negatory.; this is even when the affirmatory is on its own, let alone the case when it is a multitude of narrations, as in this issue7 Cn the basis of this principle, and in the abscence of anything contrary, this renders it binding on them to adopt the raising of the hands, and not to stick 2ealously to the "adhhab after the establishment of proof. (owever, it is a pity that only a handful of the earlier or later ones have adopted it, so much so that not raising the hands has become a landmark for them7 Het another of the inventions of this vile liar, this time a personal insult to 1maam 5haafiNi ,"uhammad bin 1drees., is the following%

'- EThere )ill be a man amon& my ummah kno)n as Muhammad bin drees7 )ho )ill be more harmful to my ummah than blees7 and there )ill be a man amon& my ummah kno)n as Abu Haneefah7 )ho )ill be the lam# of my ummah.E
Ma)dooN ,(abri!ated+. 1bn al'0aw2i 9uoted it in al'"awdooNaat,@K438. via% "a-moon ibn Ahmad as'5almi, who said% Ahmad ibn NAbdullaah al'0uwaibaari narrated to us% NAbdullaah ibn "iNdaan al'A2adi informed us from Anas, as marfooN; and then said, BFabricated; invented by "a-moon or by 0uwaibaari. (aakim mentioned in "adhkal that it was said to "a-moon, N/o you not look to 5haafiNi and his followersG- 5o he said, NAhmad ibn NAbdullaah al'0uwaibaari narrated to us ...- etc., so it becomes evident from this that he is the fabricator of it.B &he following addition appears in Iisaan% B(aakim then said, NAnyone whom Allaah has granted the least amount of intelligence would testify that a hadeeth such as this is a fabrication attributed to the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.-.B &he hadeeth does have other routes of narration, but these depend on liars and unknown reporters. &herefore, it is e$tremely bi2arre that NAllaamah NAyni should incline towards strengthening the hadeeth with those other routes, and that 5haykh awthari should support him7 (owever, it is no surprise from the latter, for he was notorious for being submerged in 2ealousy for 1maam Abu (aneefah ,rahimahullaah., even if it entailed insulting other 1maams; but it is very surprising from NAyni, for he was generally known not to go to such e$tremes. &he opinion of

these two has been refuted, with analysis of the other routes of narration referred to, in a uni9ue way in NAllaamah Hamaanee-s valuable book, at'&ankeel bi maa fi &a-neeb al' awthari min al' Abaateel ,@K2A, 446'?..

A##endi< 6
Analysis of the Ahaadeeth re&ardin& the sayin& of Naameen- by the maam and the Con&re&ation
fromC Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth ad-DaNeefah ,>/1-%+ by Shaykh al-Albaani

1- E5hen he said aameen7 those behind him )ould say aameen7 su!h that there )as a lot of noise in the mosBue.E
There is no basis for the hadeeth )ith this )ordin& as far as )e kno). 1bn (a!r said in &alkhees al'(abeer ,p. ?A., B1 do not find it with this wording, but its meaning is related by 1bn "aa!ah in the hadeeth of 4ishr ibn <aafiNB%

%- E5hen he re!ited NNot of those )ho re!ei1ed Four an&er7 nor of those )ho &o astray-7 he said Naameen-7 su!h that those !lose to him in the first ro) !ould hear Hand the mosBue trembled )ith itI.E
DaNeef ,5eak+. <elated by 1bn "aa!ah ,@K2>@. M Abu /awood without the addition ,@K@4>., both via% 4ishr ibn <aafiN from Abu NAbdullaah, cousin of Abu (urairah, from Abu (urairah from the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.. 1bn (a!ar said in &alkhees ,p. ?A., B4ishr ibn <aafiN is weak; the cousin of Abu (urairah has been said to be unknown, but 1bn (ibbaan has declared him reliable.B 4oosayri said in =awaa-id ,36K@., B&his is a weak isnaad; Abu NAbdullaah-s condition is not known; 4ishr was declared weak by Ahmad, and 1bn (ibbaan said, -(e narrated fabrications-.B

(adeeth 2 only gives a part of the meaning of no. @, i.e. the saying of aameen by the imaam alone. As for the aameen of those behind, this could be the reason for the phrase Bthe mos9ue trembled with it ,the sound.B, but the hadeeth literally implies that the aameen of the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. was the reason for this.

'- E5hen he finished re!itin& the Mother of the =ur-aan7 he raised his 1oi!e and said Naameen-.E
DaNeef ,5eak+. <elated by /aara9utni, (aakim M 4aiha9i. All the above sources contain 1shaa9 ibn 1braaheem ibn al'NAlaa- a2'=ubaidi, also known as 1bn =ibree9, who is weak% Abu (aatim said, BAn old man, no harm in himB; 1bn "aNeen described him in good terms; ;asaa-i said, B;ot reliableB; "uhammad ibn NAwf said, B1 have no doubt that 1shaa9 ibn =ibree9 used to lie.B (owever, this wording is correct in meaning, for it has a supporting hadeeth of #aa-il ibn (a!ar with a saheeh sanad. ,5ince the te$t of this hadeeth does not imply the aameen of the congregation at all, it is incorrect to regard it as another version of hadeeth no. 2, as 5hawkaani did.. &he only support for no. @ is what 5haafiNi related in his "usnad ,@K86. via "uslim ibn haalid from 1bn 0urai! from NAtaa-, who said%

.- E used to hear the imaamsC bn aM-@ubair and others after him )ould say -aameen-7 and those behind )ould say Naameen-7 until the mosBue e!hoed.E
&his has two defects% ,i. &he weakness of "uslim ibn haalid a2'=an!i; 1bn (a!ar said, B(e was truthful, but made many errors.B ,ii. &he NanNanah of 1bn 0urai!, who was a mudallis; perhaps he actually took it from haalid ibn Abi Anoof, who narrated it from NAtaa- as follows% 4.@' B1 came across two hundred +ompanions of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. in this mos9ue ,i.e. "as!id al'(araam, "akkah.% when the imaam had said N;or of those who go astray-, they raised their voices in aameen ,in one narration% 1 heard the thundering sound of their aameen..B <elated by 4aiha9i ,2K3?. M 1bn (ibbaan in &hi9aat ,2K84.; the alternative narration is from the former.

&his haalid was described by 1bn Abi (aatim ,@K2K)33'6., but he did not include any authentication or disparagement. 1bn (ibbaan included him among the reliable narrators, but 1bn (ibbaan is well'known to be far from rigorous in such cases, so 1 am not satisfied that this narration is authentic. &his is because if 1bn 0urai! indeed took it from him, this constitutes only one debatable route; if not, we do not know from whom 1bn 0urai! took it. 1t seems that 1maam 5haafiNi himself was not satisfied of the authenticity of this narration, for his position is contrary to it% he says in al'Jmm ,@K?3., B5o when the imaam completes reciting the "other of the 4ook, he says -aameen-, raising his voice so that those behind may follow him% when he says it, they say it to themselves, but 1 do not like them saying it aloudB; had the above narration from the +ompanions been authentic in 5haafiNi-s view, he would not have opposed their action. (ence, the most correct opinion in this issue appears to be the madhhab of 5haafiNi% that the imaam, but not those following, should say Naameen- loudly. Allaah knows best. 4ut then, 1 saw that 4ukhaari mentioned the te$t ,only. of the narration about 1bn a2'=ubair in his 5aheeh ,i.e. in muNalla9 form., designating it with certainty. 1bn (a!ar said in Fath al'4aari ,2K2A>., B&he connecting isnaad has been provided by NAbd ar'<a22aa9 from 1bn 0urai! from NAtaa-. (e ,i.e. 1bn 0urai!. said, N1 said to him, B/id 1bn a2'=ubair say aameen at the end of the "other of the :ur-aan GB (e said, BHes, and those behind him also said aameen, until the mos9ue echoed.B (e then said, BLerily, aameen is a supplicationB.-B &his is found in the "usannaf of NAbd ar'<a22aa9 ,264AK2., and from this route, in 1bn (a2m-s al'"uhallaa ,)K)64.. 1n this narration, 1bn 0urai! has clarified that he took the narration from NAtaa- face'to'face, so we are assured of the absence of tadlees, and the narration of 1bn a2'=ubair is established firmly. 5imilarly is proven from Abu (urairah; Abu <aafiN said%

/- EAbu Hurairah used to !all to #rayer for Mar)aan ibn al-Hakam7 sti#ulatin& that the latter )ould not &et to NNor of those )ho &o astray- unless he kne) that Abu Hurairah had entered the ro). So )hen Mar)aan said NNor of those )ho &o astray-7 Abu Hurairah )ould say Naameen-7 #rolon&in& it. He also said7 N5hen the aameen of those on the earth !oin!ides )ith the aameen of those in the hea1en7 they are for&i1en-.E
<elated by 4aiha9i ,2K3?.; its isnaad is saheeh. (ence, since nothing is established from any of the +ompanions other than Abu (urairah and 1bn a2'=ubair contrary to their aameen aloud, this must be accepted. Presently, 1 know of no narration opposing this. Allaah knows best.

A##endi< 8
The T)o "akNahs After 5itr
fromC Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah ,1>>'+ by Shaykh al-Albaani @. &he "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. said, Make the last of your #rayer at ni&ht odd ,)itr+. <elated by 4ukhaari M "uslim. 2. Abu 5alamah asked NA-ishah about the prayer of the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.. 5he said, EHe #erformed thirteen rakNahs ,in the night prayer.C he obser1ed ei&ht rakNahs and )ould then obser1e 5itr and then obser1e t)o rakNahs sittin&7 and )hen he )anted to bo)7 he stood u# and then bo)ed do)n7 and then obser1ed t)o rakNahs in bet)een the adhaan and iBaamah of the Da)n 2rayer.E <elated by "uslim. ). &hawbaan said, B#e were on a !ourney with the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam., when he said, Truly7 this 4ourney is an e<ertion and a burden7 so )hen ea!h of you has #rayed 5itr7 he should #erform t)o rakNahsD if he )akes u# ,then )ell and &ood+7 other)ise these t)o )ill be ,the ni&ht #rayer+ for him. <elated by /aarimi ,@K)84., 1bn hu2aimah in his 5aheeh ,2K@3?K@@A). M 1bn (ibbaan ,6>). from various routes going back to% 1bn #ahb, who said% "uNaawiyah ibn 5aalih narrated to me from 5huraih ibn NJbaid from NAbd ar'<ahmaan ibn 0ubair ibn ;ufair from his father from &hawbaan, who said ... 1bn #ahb has been backed up by NAbdullaah ibn 5aalih, who said% "uNaawiyah ibn 5aalih narrated to us ... etc., related by /aara9utni ,p. @88. M &abaraani in al'"uN!am al' abeer ,@4@A.. NAbdullaah ibn 5aalih is a shaykh of 4ukhaari, so he can be used as evidence in supporting others- narrations. &his hadeeth is used as evidence by 1maam 1bn hu2aimah, Bthat prayer after #itr is allowed to whoever wants to pray after it, and that the two rakNahs which the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. used to pray after #itr were not e$clusively for him over his Jmmah, for he has ordered us to pray two rakNahs after #itr, an order of recommendation and preference, not one of obligation and compulsion.B (ence, it is clear to us from this hadeeth ,because of his general order to his Jmmah. that the two rakNahs after #itr were not e$clusively for him; it seems that the purpose of his command to make the last prayer at night odd was to prevent neglect of the one odd rakNah, so this ob!ective is not contradicted by the two rakNahs after it, as established in his practice and his command. Allaah knows best.

A##endi< 9

The 5eakness of the Ahaadeeth Mentionin& 5i#in& the (a!e )ith the Hands After DuNaa,Su##li!ation+
(rom r)aa- al-:haleel ,%G189-19%+ by Shaykh al-Albaani 1+ EThe 2ro#het ,sallallaahu Nalaihi )a sallam+7 )hen he raised his hands in duNaa-7 he )ould not #ut them do)n until he had )i#ed his fa!e )ith them.E DaNeef ,5eak+. &ransmitted by &irmidhi ,2K244. M 1bn NAsaakir ,8K@2K2. via% (ammaad ibn N1sa al' 0uhani from (an2alah ibn Abi 5ufyaan al'0amhi from 5aalim ibn NAbdullaah from his father from NJmar ibn al' hattaab, who said% ... &irmidhi said after it, B&his is a saheeh ghareeb hadeeth. #e only know it as a hadeeth of (ammaad ibn NEsa, for he is alone in reporting it; he has few ahaadeeth, but the people have reported from him.B (owever, this reporter is weak, as in &a9reeb of 1bn (a!r, who says about him in &ahdheeb% 1bn "aNeen said, BA good shaikhB@Abu (aatim said, B#eak in (adeethB; Abu /aawood said, B#eak, he reports munkar ahaadeethB; (aakim and ;a99aash said, B(e reports fabricated ahaadeeth from 1bn 0urai! and 0aNfar as'5aadi9.B (e is declared to be weak by /aara9utni. 1bn (ibbaan said, B(e reports things which are the wrong way round on the authority of 1bn 0urai! and NAbdul NA2ee2 ibn NJmar ibn NAbdul NA2ee2, such that it seems to those whose field this is that it is deliberate; it is not permissible to use him as proof.B 1bn "aakoolaa said, B&hey declare his ahaadeeth to be weak.B (ence, the like of this reporter is very weak, so his ahaadeeth cannot be raised to the level of hasan, let alone saheeh7 A similar hadeeth is% E5hen the 2ro#het ,sallallaahu Nalaihi )a sallam+ did duNaa- and raised his hands7 he )ould )i#e his fa!e )ith his hands.E DaNeef ,5eak+. Abu /aawood ,@4?2. from 1bn IaheeNah from (afs ibn (ishaam ibn NJtbah ibn Abi #a99aas from 5aa-ib ibn Ha2eed from his father. &his is a weak sanad due to (afs ibn (ishaam being unknown and the weakness of 1bn IaheeNah ,cf. &a9reeb at'&ahdheeb.. &his hadeeth cannot be strengthened by the two routes of narration together due to the severity in weakness of the first one, which you have seen. %+ E5hen you !all u#on Allaah7 then su##li!ate )ith the #alms of your hands7 and do not su##li!ate )ith their ba!ks7 and )hen you finish7 )i#e your fa!e )ith them.E DaNeef ,5eak+. <elated by 1bn "aa!ah ,@@>@, )>66., 1bn ;asr in :iyaam al'Iail ,p. @)8., &abaraani in Al'"uN!am al' abeer ,)K?>K@. M (aakim ,@K3)6., from 5aalih ibn (assaan from "uhammad ibn aNb from 1bn NAbbaas ,radi Allaahu Nanhu. as marfooN.

&his is a weak sanad due to 1bn (assaan, who is munkar in (adeeth, as 4ukhaari said; ;asaa-i said, B(e is abandoned in (adeethB; 1bn (ibbaan said, B(e used to have female singers and listen to music, and he used to narrate fabricated reports on the authority of trustworthy narratorsB; 1bn Abi (aatim said in itaab al'N1lal ,2K)3@., B1 asked my father ,i.e. Abu (aatim al' <aa2i. about this hadeeth, to which he said% N"unkar-.B 1bn (assaan has been backed up by NEesaa ibn "aimoon, who also reported it from "uhammad ibn aNb, as related by 1bn ;asr. (owever, this does not alter anything, since 1bn "aimoon is similarly weak% 1bn (ibbaan said, B(e reports ahaadeeth, all of which are fabricatedB; ;asaa-i said, B;ot reliable.B &his hadeeth of 1bn NAbbaas is also related by Abu /aawood ,@4>3., and from him 4aiha9i ,2K2@2., via% NAbdul "alik ibn "uhammad ibn Aiman from NAbdullaah ibn HaN9oob ibn 1shaa9 from someone who narrated to him from "uhammad ibn aNb, the wording being% BDo not !o1er the )alls. He )ho looks into the letter of his brother )ithout his #ermission7 1erily he looks into the (ire. Ask Allaah )ith the #alms of your hands7 and do not ask him )ith their ba!ks7 and )hen you finish7 )i#e your fa!es )ith them.B &his is a weak sanad% NAbdul "alik is declared weak by Abu /aawood; it also contain the shaikh of NAbdullaah ibn HaN9oob who is unnamed, and therefore unknown ' it is possible that he may be 1bn (assaan or 1bn "aimoon, both of whom are mentioned above. &he hadeeth is also transmitted by (aakim ,4K28A. via% "uhammad ibn "uNaawiyah, who said that "asaadif ibn =iyaad al'"adeeni narrated to him that he heard it from "uhammad ibn aNb al':ura2i. /hahabi followed this up by pointing out that 1bn "uNaawiyah was declared to be a liar by /aara9utni, so the hadeeth is falsified. Abu /aawood said about this hadeeth, B&his hadeeth has been narrated via more than one route on the authority of "uhammad ibn aNb; all of them are feeble.B <aising the hands on doing :unoot for a calamity is established from the "essenger of Allaah ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. in his supplication against the polytheists who killed seventy reciters ' transmitted by 1maam Ahmad ,)K@)8. M &abaraani in Al'"u-!am as'5agheer ,p. @@@. as the hadeeth of Anas with a saheeh sanad. 5imilar is proved from NJmar and others in the :unoot of #itr Prayer. (owever, since wiping the face after /uNaa- al':unoot is not 9uoted at all from the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam., nor from any of his +ompanions, it is an innovation without doubt. As for wiping the face after duNaa- outside of prayer, there are only these two ahaadeeth; it is not correct to say that they mutually strengthen each other to the rank of hasan, as "anaawi did, due to the severity of the weakness found in their routes of narration. &his is why 1maam ;awawi said in "a!moo-, B1t is not recommendedB, endorsing 1bn NAbd as'5alaam, who said, BCnly an ignorant person does it.B &he view that wiping the face after duNaa- is not prescribed is strengthened by the fact that there are many authentic ahaadeeth about raising the hands in supplication, and in none of them is there a mention of wiping the face; this shows, Allaah #illing, that it is unacceptable and not prescribed. 1f 1bn "aNeen speaks favourably about a narrator, whereas the rest of the scholars declare him to be weak, then the statement of 1bn "aNeen is disregarded, the reason being that he was known for his strictness and severity in criticism% weak narrators would be very careful not to reveal their

weakness before him; he would therefore pass !udgment accordingly. &his e$plains why he is alone in authenticating the narrator.

:lossary
,of terms as used in this book+ Nan% 1n (adeeth, Bon the authority ofB. NAsr% the Afternoon Prayer. aayah ,pl. aayaat.% BsignB, a verse of the :ur-aan. Com#anion ,Ar. 5ahaabi.% a "uslim who met the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.. daNeef% BweakB, inauthentic ,narration.. Deen% the way of life prescribed by Allaah. dhikr ,pl. adhkaar.% BremembranceB, words by which Allaah is remembered and supplicated on doing various actions, including in prayer. (a4r% the /awn Prayer. faBeeh ,pl. fuBahaa-.% a scholar of fiqh, !urist. fat)aa ,pl. fataa)aa.% religious verdict. fiBh% the understanding and application of Sharee:ah ,divine law. from its sources. hadeeth ,pl. ahaadeeth.% a saying narrated from the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. ,whether authentic or not., regarding his words, actions, or attributes. hadeeth Budsi% a narration by the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. on behalf of Allaah. Ha44% Pilgrimage to "akkah. halaal% permitted under the Sharee:ah. haraam% prohibited under the Sharee:ah. hasan% BfineB, used for a hadeeth which is authentic but does not reach the higher category of saheeh. hasan li dhaatihi% a narration which is hasan in itself. hasan li &hairihi% a narration which is hasan due to other supporting narrations. iftiraash% to sit &uftarishan. i4maaN% BconsensusB; a unified opinion of scholars regarding a certain issue. i4tihaad% Be$ertionB; the process of arising at a reasoned decision by a scholar on an issue. iBNaa-% Bs9uattingB. N shaa-% the ;ight Prayer. isnaad% the chain of reporters for a narrated saying, linking the collector of the saying with the person 9uoted. istiNaadhah% Bseeking of refugeB ,with Allaah from 5haytaan.. isti&hfaar% to seek forgiveness ,from Allaah.. madhhab% Bposition ,opinion.B of a scholar. Madhhab% Bschool of thoughtB, the sum total of the legal rulings of the founder of that "adhhab, as well as those of his students and all scholars who adhered to his approach. maBloob% BreversedB, used for the te$t of a hadeeth in which an e$pression has been changed to its opposite, or for an isnaad in which names of reporters have been interchanged. Ma&hrib% the 5unset prayer. makrooh% BdislikedB; fiqh terminology denoting an action which is discouraged, and one is rewarded for abstaining from it. marfooN% BraisedB; a narration attributed to the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam..

masaa-il ,sing. mas-alah.% Bthat which is asked aboutB; an issue in fiqh. ma)dooN% fabricated, spurious, invented ,narration.. ma)Boof% BstoppedB; a narration from a .o&panion. ma)sool% BconnectedB; a continuous isnaad. muNallaB% BsuspendedB; a narration in which its collector omits part of the isnaad to previous authorities. mudallis% one who practises tadlees. muftarishan% ,sitting. on the left foot, which is spread along the ground, with the right foot upright. mufti% one who gives fataawaa. muhaddith ,pl. muhadditheen.% scholar of the science of Hadeeth. mu4tahid% one who is 9ualified to pass !udgments using i7tihaad. munkarC Bre!ectedB; a narration which is inauthentic in itself and also contradicts other authentic ones. muBallid% one who practises taqleed. mursal% BlooseB; a narration in which a Successor narrates from the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam. directly, i.e. omitting the .o&panion from whom he heard it. muta)aatir% a hadeeth which is narrated by a very large number of reporters, such that it cannot be supposed that they all agreed on a lie. Biyaas% Analogical deduction of 1slaamic laws. ;ew laws are deduced from old laws based on a similarity between their causes. Bunoot% BdevotionB; a special supplication while standing in Prayer. radi Allaahu NanhuKNanhaaKNanhum% B"ay Allaah be pleased with himKherKthemB. rahimahullaah% B"ay Allaah bestow (is "ercy on him.B rakNah% one cycle of standing, bowing and prostrations during Prayer. saheeh% BcorrectB; an authentic narration. saheeh li dhaatihi% a narration which is saheeh in itself. saheeh li &hairihi% a narration which is saheeh due to other supporting narrations. Salaf% BpreviousB; the early "uslims, of the first three eras% the .o&panions, Successors, and their successors. sallallaahu Nalaihi )a sallam% B"ay Allaah send blessings and peace on himB, used for the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.. sanad% same as isnaad. shaadhdh% BunusualB; a narration which is authentic in itself but inconsistent with other authentic ones. shaikh% teacher of a scholar or narrator of hadeeth. ShareeNah% &he divine code of Iaw. sharh% commentary on, or e$planation of, a te$t other than the :ur-aan. Su!!essor ,Ar. &aabiNi.% a "uslim ,other than a .o&panion. who met a .o&panion. Sunnah% BE$ample, PracticeB; the way of life of the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam., consisting of his words, actions and silent approvals. &he 5unnah is contained in the various authentic ahaadeeth. sunnah% an action of the Prophet ,sallallaahu Nalaihi wa sallam.. surah% a chapter of the :ur-aan. sutrah% Bscreen, coveringB; an ob!ect ahead of the place of prostration, only beyond which may anyone pass. tadlees% BconcealmentB; to mask the identity of one-s immediate authority in narration, e.g. by using a less well'known name, or by saying Bon the authority of ...B the ne$t narrator along. tafseer% e$planation of the words and meanings of the :ur-aan.

taha44ud% voluntary, recommended prayer between the compulsory prayers of :*shaa/ and 5a7r. tahleel% to declare that there is no true deity e$cept Allaah. tahmeed% Bdeclare the praise ofB, esp. to declare the Praise of Allaah. taNleeB% same as &u:allaq. takbeer% BmagnificationB; to declare the *reatness of Allaah. takhree4% to reference a hadeeth to its source and analyse its isnaads. tar4amah% notes about a reporter of (adeeth. tasbeeh% to glorify Allaah, re!ecting any imperfections attributed to (im. tashahhud% from shahaadah ,to witness.; the sitting in Prayer, in which one bears witness that there is no true god e$cept Allaah, and that "uhammad is (is messenger. tasleem% Bto send peace onB; the "uslim salutation of peace. taBleed% to follow someone-s opinion; to follow a Madhhab. Ummah% BnationB; the "uslims as a group. NUmrah% the lesser pilgrimage to "akkah. 5itr% BCddB; the last prayer at night, consisting of an odd number of ra):ahs. @uhr% the post'noon prayer.

Author-s Biblio&ra#hy
A+ TH; =U"-AAN B+ TA(S;;"
2. 1bn atheer ,8A@'884 A(.% 6afseer publications, @)63.

al1Qur/an al1: ;ee&, "uhammad "ustafa

C+ TH; SUNNAH
). "aalik bin Anas ,?)'@8?.% l1Muwatta/, /aar 1hyaa- utub al'NArabiyyah, @)4). 4. 1bn al'"ubaarak, NAbdullaah ,@@>'@>@.% ;1<uhd, ms. 3. "uhammad bin al'(asan 5haibaani ,@)@'@>?.% l1Muwatta/, al'"ustafaa-i, @2?8. 6. &ayaalisi ,@24'2A4.% l1Musnad, /aa-irah al'"aNaarif, (yderabad /eccan, @)2@. 8. NAbd ar'<a22aa9 bin (umaam ,@26'2@@.% l1 &aali, ms. >. (umaidi, NAbdullah bin a2'=ubair ,...'2@?.% Musnad, ms. ?. 1bn 5aNd, "uhammad ,@6>'2)A.% t16abaqaat al1=ubraa, Europe. @A. 1bn "aNeen, Hahya ,...'2)).% 6aaree)h ar1>i7aal wal1:*lal, ms. @@. Ahmad bin (anbal ,@64'24@.% Musnad, Al'"atbaNah al'"aymaniyyah, @)@); "atbaNah al' "aNaarif, @)63.

@2. 1bn Abi 5haibah, NAbdullah bin "uhammad Abu 4akr ,...'2)3.% Musannaf, ms. @). /aarimi ,@>@'233.% Sunan, "atbaNah al'1Ntidaal, /amascus, @)4?. @4. 4ukhaari ,@?4'236.% l1?aa&i: as1Saheeh, Al'"atbaNah al'4ahiyya al'"isriyyah, @)4>. Printed with its commentary, 5ath al1,aaree @3. ''''''''''''% l1 dab al1Mufrad, "atbaNah al' halili, 1ndia, @)A6. @6. ''''''''''''% =halq f:aal al1:*baad, "atbaNah al'Ansaar, 1ndia.

@8. ''''''''''''% t16aaree)h as1Sagheer, 1ndia. @>. ''''''''''''% ?u;/ al1Qiraa/ah 3" rticle on >ecitation"4, printed. @?. Abu /aawood ,2A2'283.% Sunan, Al'"atbaNah at'&aa2iah, @)4?. 2A. "uslim ,2A4'26@.% Saheeh, "uhammad Ali publications. 2@. 1bn "aa!ah ,2A?'28).% Sunan, Al'"atbaNah at'&aa2iah, @)4?. 22. &irmidhi ,2A?'28?.% Sunan, ed. Ahmad 5haakir, (alab, @)36. 2). ''''''''''''% Sha&aa/il Muha&&adiyyah, with its commentary by NAli al':aari and NAbd ar' <a-oof al'"anaawi, Al'"atbaNah al'Adabiyyah, Egypt, @)@8. 24. Al'(aarith bin Abi Jsaamah ,@86'2>2.% Musnad 1 ;awaa/iduh, ms. 23. Abu 1shaa9 al'(arbi, 1braaheem bin 1shaa9 ,@?>'2>3.% %hareeb al1Hadeeth 3#ifficult words in Hadeeth, ms. 26. 4a22aar, Abu 4akr Ahmad bin NAmr al'4asri ,...'2?2.% Musnad ' 2awaa-iduh, photocopy. 28. "uhammad bin ;asr ,2A2'2?4.% Qiyaa& al1'ayl, "atbaNah <ifaah NAamm, Iahore, @)2A. 2>. 1bn hu2aimah ,22)')@@.% Saheeh, Al'"aktab al'1slaami. 2?. ;asaa-i ,223')A).% Sunan 1 l1Mu7tabaa, Al'"atbaNah al'"aymaniyyah.

)A. ''''''''''''% as1Sunan al1=ubraa, ms. )@. Al':aasim al'5ar9asti ,233')A2.% %hareeb al1Hadeeth or ad1#alaa/il, ms. )2. 1bn al'0aarood ,...')A8.% l1Muntaqaa, ms., Egypt. )). Abu HaNlaa al'"ooseeli ,...')A8.% Musnad, ms. )4. <ooyaani, "uhammad bin (aaroon ,...')A8.% Musnad, ms.

)3. 5iraa!, Abul'NAbbaas "uhammad bin 1shaa9 ,2@6')@).% Musnad, several vols. of it as ms. in the =aahiriyyah Iibrary, /amascus. )6. Abu NAwaanah ,...')@6.% Saheeh, /aa-irah al'"aNaarif, (yderabad /eccan, @)26. )8. 1bn Abi /aawood, NAbdullaah bin 5ulaimaan ,2)A')@6.% l1Masaahif, ms. )>. &ahaawi ,2)?')2@.% Sharh Ma:aani al1 athaar 3(9planation of the &eanings of narrations4, Al'"ustafaa-i, 1ndia, @)AA. )?. ''''''''''''% Mush)il al1 athaar 3#ifficult words in narrations4, /aar al' "aNaarif, 1ndia, @))). 4A. NJ9aili, "uhammad bin NAmr ,...')22.% ad1#u:afaa/ 36he Wea) 0arrators4, ms. 4@. 1bn Abi (aatim ,24A')28.% l1?arh wat16a:deel 3 uthentication and #isparage&ent of >eporters4, 1ndia. 42. ''''''''''''% :*lal al1Hadeeth 3#efects in Hadeeth4, As'5alafiyyah, Egypt, @)4). 4). Abu 0aNfar al'4ukhturi, "uhammad bin NAmr ar'<a2aa2 ,...')2?.% l1 &aali, ms. 44. Abu 5aNeed bin al'ANraabi, Ahmad bin =iyaad ,246')4A.% Mu:7a&, ms. 43. 1bn as'5ammaak, NJthmaan bin Ahmad ,...')44.% Hadeeth, ms. 46. Abul'NAbbaas al'Asamm, "uhammad bin HaN9oob ,248')46.% Hadeeth, ms. 48. 1bn (ibbaan ,...')34.% Saheeh, /aar al'"aNaarif, Egypt. 4>. &abaraani ,26A')6A.% l1Mu:7a& al1=abeer, several vols. of it as ms., =aahiriyyah Iibrary, /amascus. 4?. ''''''''''''% l1Mu:7a& al1 wsat &in al17a&: bainahu wa bain as1Sagheer, ms. 3A. ''''''''''''% l1Mu:7a& as1Sagheer, "atbaNah al'Ansaari, /elhi, @)@@. 3@. Abu 4akr al'Aa!uri ,...')6A.% l1 rba:een 35orty Hadeeth4, ms. 32. ''''''''''''% adaab Ha&lah al1Qur/aan, ms. 3). 1bn as'5unni ,...')64.% : &l al18aw& wal1'aylah, /aa-irah al'"aNaarif, 1ndia, @)@3. 34. Abu ash'5haikh 1bn (ayyaan ,284')6?.% 6abaqaat al1*sbahaaniyyeen, ms. 33. ''''''''''''% Maa rawaahu bu a;1<ubair :an %hair ?aabir 3What <ubair narrated fro& other than ?aabir4! ms. bu a;1

36. ''''''''''''% )hlaaq an10abi sall the +rophet4, Egypt. 38. /aara9utni ,)A6')>3.% Sunan, 1ndia.

llaahu :alaihi wa salla& 3Manners of

3>. hattaabi ,)@8')>>.% Ma:aali& as1Sunan, Ansaar as'5unnah, Egypt. 3?. "ukhlis ,)A3')?).% l15awaa/id, ms., =aahiriyyah Iibrary, /amascus. 6A. 1bn "andah, Abu NAbdullaah "uhammad bin 1shaa9 ,)@6')?3.% t16awheed wa Ma:rifah s&aa/ llaah 6a:aalaa, ms. 6@. (aakim ,)2A'4A3.% l1Mustadra), /aa-irah al'"aNaarif, (yderabad, @)4A. 62. &ammaam ar'<aa2i ,))A'4@4.% l15awaa/id, 2 complete copies as ms., =aahiriyyah Iibrary, /amascus. 6). 5ahmi, (am2ah bin Hoosuf al'0ur!aani ,...'428.% 6aaree)h ?ur7aan 3History of ?ur7aan4, printed. 64. Abu ;uNaim al'1sbahaani ,))6'4)A.% )hbaar *sbahaan 3>eports fro& *sbahaan4, printed in Europe. 63. 1bn 4ushraan ,))?'4)A.% l1 &aali, most of its sections, ms., =aahiriyyah Iibrary, /amascus. 66. 4aiha9i ,)>4'43>.% as1Sunan al1=ubraa, /aa-irah al'"aNaarif, (yderabad, @)32. 68. ''''''''''''% #alaa/il an10ubuwwah, ms., Ahmadiyyah Iibrary, (alab. 6>. 1bn NAbd al'4arr ,)6>'46).% ?aa&i: ,ayaan al1:*l& wa 5adlih, Al'"atbaNah al' "uneeriyyah. 6?. 1bn "andah, Abul':aasim ,)>@'48A.% r1>add :alaa &an 8unfi al1Harf &in al1 Qur/aan, ms., =aahiriyyah Iibrary, /amascus. 8A. 4aa!i ,4A)'488.% Sharh al1Muwatta/, printed. 8@. NAbd al'(a99 al'1shbeeli ,3@A'3>@.% l1 h)aa& al1=ubraa, ms. 82. ''''''''''''% 6aha77ud, ms. 8). 1bn al'0aw2i ,3@A'3?8.% t16ahqeeq :alaa Masaa/il at16a:leeq, ms. 84. Abu (afs al'"u-aadib, NAmr bin "uhammad,3@6'6A8.% l1Muntaqaa &in Qaasi& as1Sa&arqandi! ms. 83. NAbd al'*hani bin NAbd al'#aahid al'"a9disi ,34@'6AA.% Sunan, ms. &aali bil1

86. /iyaa- al'"a9disi ,36?'64).% l1 haadeeth al1Mu)htaarah, several vols. of it, ms., =aahiriyyah Iibrary, /amascus. 88. ''''''''''''% l1Muntaqaa &in al1 haadeeth as1Sihaah wal1Hisaan 3Selection of uthentic haadeeth4, ms. 8>. ''''''''''''% ?u;/ fi 5adl al1Hadeeth wa of Hadeeth and its +eople4, ms. hlih 3 rticle on the (9cellence

8?. "undhiri ,3>@'636.% t16argheeb wat16arheeb 3(ncourage&ent and #eterrence4, Al'"atbaNah al'"uneeriyyah, Egypt. >A. =aylaNi ,...'862.% 0asb ar1>aayah 3Hoisting of the 5laq4, /aar al'"a-moon, Egypt, @)38. >@. 1bn atheer ,8A@'884.% ?aa&i: al1Masaaneed, ms. >2. 1bn al'"ula99in, Abu (afs NAmr bin Abil'(asan ,82)'>A4.% =hulaasah al1,adr al1 Muneer, ms. >). N1raa9i ,823'>A6.% 6arh at16athreeb, 0amNiyyah an';ashr wat'&a-leef al'A2hariyyah, @)3). >4. ''''''''''''% 6a)hree7 of *ha2aali-s *hyaa/ :@loo& ad1#een, Egypt, @)46. >3. (aithami ,8)3'>A8.% Ma7&a: a;1<awaa/id% (usaam ad'/een al':udsi, @)32. >6. ''''''''''''% Mawaarid a;1<a&/aan fi <awaa/id *bn Hibbaan, "uhibb ad'/een publ. >8. ''''''''''''% <awaa/id al1Mu:7a& as1Sagheer wal1 wsat lit16abaraani, ms. >>. 1bn (a!r al'NAs9alaani ,88)'>32.% 6a)hree7 haadeeth al1Hidaayah, 1ndia.

>?. ''''''''''''% 6al)hees al1Habeer, Al'"atbaNah al'"uneeriyyah. ?A. ''''''''''''% 5ath al1,aari, Al'"atbaNah al'4ahiyyah. ?@. ''''''''''''% l1 haadeeth al1: aliyaat, ms. ?2. 5uyooti ,>>?'?@@.% l1?aa&i: al1=abeer, ms. ?). NAli al':aari ,...'@A@4.% l1 haadeeth al1Mawdoo:ah, 1stanbul. ?4. "anaawi ,?32'@A)@.% 5aid al1Qadeer Sharh al1?aa&i: as1Sagheer, "ustafa "uhammad publ. ?3. =ur9aani ,@A33'@@22.% Sharh al1Mawaahib al1'adunniyyah, Egypt.

?6. 5hawkaani ,@@8@'@23A.% l15awaa/id al1Ma7&oo:ah fil1 haadeeth al1 Mawdoo:ah, 1ndia. ?8. NAbd al'(ayy Iucknowi ,@264'@)A4.% t16a:leeq al1Mu&a77id :alaa Muwatta/ Muha&&ad, al'"ustafaa-i, @2?8. ?>. ''''''''''''% l1 athaar al1Marfoo:ah fil1 )hbaar al1Mawdoo:ah, 1ndia. ??. "uhammad bin 5aNeed al'(albi ,...'....% Musalsalaat, ms. @AA. Albaani, "uhammad ;aasir ad'/een al'% 6a)hree7 Sifah Salaah an10abi, ms., the original sourcework for this book, in which it is referred to as al1 sl. @A@. ''''''''''''% *rwaa/ al1%haleel fi 6a)hree7 haadeeth Manaar as1Sabeel! > vols., al'"aktab al'1slaami, published completely ' All Praise be to Allaah. @A2. ''''''''''''% Saheeh bi #aawood, incomplete. h)aa&, incomplete.

@A). ''''''''''''% 0otes on : bd al1Haqq al1*shbeeli/s

@A4. ''''''''''''% 6a)hree7 of the ahaadeeth of Sharh : qeedah 6ahaawiyyah, al'"aktab al' 1slaami. @A3. ''''''''''''% Silsilah al1 haadeeth ad1#a:eefah, 4 vols., al'"aktab al'1slaami.

D+ ( =H
@A6. "aalik bin Anas ,?)'@8?.% l1Mudawwanah ,"aaliki fi9h., "atbaNah as'5aNaadah, @)2). @A8. 5haafiNi, "uhammad bin 1drees ,@3A'2A4.% l1@&& ,5haafiNi., al'"atbaNah al'Ameeriyyah, @)2@. @A>. "arwa2i, 1shaa9 bin "ansoor ,...'23@.% Masaa/il al1*&aa& >aahawaih, ms. h&ad wa *shaaq bin

@A?. 1bn (aani, 1braaheem ;aisaAburi ,...'263.% Masaa/il al1*&aa&

h&ad, ms.

@@A. "u2ani ,@83'264.% Mu)htasar 5iqh ash1Shaafi:i, printed on the margin of al'Jmm. @@@. Abu /aawood ,2A2'283.% Masaa/il al1*&aa& h&ad ,(anbali., al'"anaar, @)3). h&ad, ms.

@@2. NAbdullaah bin al'1maam Ahmad ,2A)'2?A.% Masaa/il al1*&aa&

@@). 1bn (a2m ,)>4'436.% l1Muhallaa ,=aahiri., al'"atbaNah al'"uneeriyyah. @@4. N122 bin NAbd as'5alaam ,38>'66A.% al15ataawaa, ms. @@3. ;awawi ,6)@'6>6.% l1Ma7&oo: Sharh al1Muhadhdhab ,5haafiNi., al'"atbaNah al' "uneeriyyah.

@@6. ''''''''''''% >awdah at16aalibeen ,5haafiNi., al'"aktab al'1slaami. @@8. 1bn &aimiyyah ,66@'82>.% al15ataawaa ,1ndependent., Far! ad'/een al' urdi publ. @@>. ''''''''''''% &in =alaa& lahu fit16a)beer fil1:(edain wa ghairuh 3#iscussion on 6a)beer in the 6wo :(id +rayers4, ms. @@?. 1bn al':ayyim ,6?@'83@.% *:laa& al1Muwaqqi:een ,1ndependent.. @2A. 5ubki ,6>)'836.% al15ataawaa ,5haafiNee.. @2@. 1bn al'(umaam ,8?A'>6?.% 5ath al1Qadeer ,(anafee., 4oolaa9 ed. @22. 1bn NAbd al'(aadi, Hoosuf ,>4A'?A?.% *rshaad as1Saali) ,(anbalee., ms. @2). ''''''''''''% al15uroo: ,(anbalee.. @24. 5uyooti ,>A?'?@@.% l1Haawi lil15ataawi ,5haafiNee., al':udsi. @23. 1bn ;u!aim al'"isri ,...'?8A.% l1,ahr ar1>aa/iq ,(anafee., Al'"atbaNah al'N1lmiyyah. @26. 5haNraani ,>?>'?8).% l1Mee;aan ,according to the four madhhabs.. @28. (aitami ,?A?'?8).% d1#arr al1Mandood fis1Salaah was1Salaa& :alaa Saahib al1Maqaa& al1Mah&ood, ms. @2>. ''''''''''''% s&aa al1Mataalib, ms. @2?. #ali'ullah /ehlawi ,@@@A'@@86.% Hu77at1ullaah al1,aalighah ,1ndependent., al' "uneerah. @)A. 1bn NAabideen ,@@3@'@2A).% 5ootnotes on ad1#arr al1Mu)htaar ,(anafee., 1stanbul. @)@. ''''''''''''% 5ootnotes on al1,ahr ar1>aa/iq ,(anafee.. @)2. ''''''''''''% >as& al1Mufi ,(anafee.. @)). NAbd al'(a99 ,@264'@)A4.% *&aa& al1=alaa& fee&aa yata:allaq bil1Qiraa/ah =half al1*&aa& ,1ndependent., Al'4aladi, 1ndia. @)4. ''''''''''''% n10aafi: al1=abeer li&an yutaali: al1?aa&i: as1Sagheer, Al' Hoosufi, 1ndia, @)4?.

;+ S;;"AH ,Bio&ra#hy of the 2ro#het sallallaahu Nalaihi )a sallam+ and TA"AAJUM ,Bio&ra#hies of the re#orters of Hadeeth+
@)3. 1bn Abi (aatim, NAbd ar'<ahmaan ,24A')28.% 6aqadda&ah al1Ma:rifah li =itaab al1?arh wat16a:deel, 1ndia.

@)6. 1bn (ibbaan ,...')34.% th16hiqaat 3>eliable 0arrators4, ms. @)8. 1bn NAdi ,288')63.% l1=aa&il, ms. @)>. Abu ;uNaim ,))6'4)A.% Hilyah al1 wliyaa/, "atbaNah as'5aNaadah, Egypt, @)4?. @)?. hateeb 4aghdaadi ,)?2'46).% 6aaree)h ,aghdaad 3History of ,aghdaad4, "atbaNah as'5aNaadah, Egypt. @4A. 1bn NAbd al'4arr ,)6>'46).% l1*ntiqaa/ fi 5adaa/il al15uqahaa/. @4@. 1bn NAsaakir ,4??'38@.% 6aaree)h #i&ashq 3History of #a&ascus4, ms. @42. 1bn al'0aw2i ,3A>'3?8.% Manaaqib al1*&aa& h&ad, printed.

@4). 1bn al':ayyim ,6?@'83@.% <aad al1Ma:aad, "uhammad NAli publ., @)3). @44. NAbd al':aadir al':urashi ,6?6'883.% l1?awaahir al1Madiyyah, 1ndia. @43. 1bn <a!ab al'(anbali ,8)6'8?3.% #hail at16abaqaat, Egypt. @46. NAbd al'(ayy Iucknowi ,@264'@)A4.% l15awaa/id al1,ahiyyah fi 6araa7u& al1 Hanafiyyah, "atbaNah as'5aNaadah, Egypt, @)24.

(+ TH; A"AB C 0AN:UA:;

@48. 1bn al'Atheer ,344'6A6.% n10ihaayah fi %hareeb al1Hadeeth wal1 thar, Al' "atbaNah al'NJthmaaniyyah, Egypt, @)@@. @4>. 1bn "an2oor al'Afree9i ,6)A'8@@.% 'isaan al1: rab, /aar 5aadir, 4eirut, @?33 A+. @4?. Fairo2 Aabaadi ,82?'>@8.% l1Qaa&oos al1Muheet, )rd ed., @)3).

:+ US$$0 A0-( =H ,2rin!i#les of (iBh+

@3A. 1bn (a2m ,)>4'436.% l1*h)aa& fi @sool al1 h)aa&, "atbaNah as'5aNaadah, Egypt, @)43. @3@. 5ubki ,6>)'>36.% Ma:naa Qawl ash1Shaafi:i al1Matlabi! "idhaa sahh al1 hadeeth fahuwa &adhhabi" 36he Meaning of Shaafi:i/s saying! "When a hadeeth is found to be saheeh! that is &y &adhhab"4, from "a!mooNah ar' <asaa-il, al'"uneeriyyah. @32. 1bn al':ayyim ,6?@'>36.% ,adaa/i: al15awaa/id, Al'"atbaNah al'"uneeriyyah. @3). #ali'ullaah /ehlawi ,@@@A'@@86.% :*qd al1?eed fi 6aqleed, 1ndia. h)aa& al1*7tihaad wat1

@34. Fulaani ,@@66'@2@>.% (eqaa; al1Hi&a&, Al'"atbaNah al'"uneeriyyah.

@33. =ur9aa-, 5haikh "ustafaa ,contemporary.% l1Mad)hal ilaa :*l& @sool al15iqh, printed.

H+ ADH3AA"
@36. 1smaaNeel al':aadi al'"a9disi ,@??'2>2.% 5adl as1Salaah :alaa an10abi sallallaahu :alaihi wa salla&, with my checking, Al'"aktab al'1slaami. @38. 1bn al':ayyim ,6?@'83@.% ?alaa/ al1*fhaa& fi as1Salaah :alaa =hair al1 naa&, Al'"atbaNah al'"uneeriyyah. @3>. 5iddee9 (asan haan ,@24>'@)A8.% 0u;ul al1 braar, Al'0awaa-ib.

J+ M SC;00AN;$US
@3?. 1bn 4attah, NAbdullaah bin "uhammad ,)A4')>8.% l1*baanah :an Sharee:ah al1 5irqah an10aa7iyah 3.larification of the .ode of the Saved Sect4, ms. @6A. Abu NAmr ad'/aani, NJthmaan bin 5aNeed ,)8@'444.% l1Mu)tafaa fi Ma:rifah al1 Waqf at16aa&&, ms. @6@. hateeb 4aghdaadi ,)?2'46).% l1*hti7aa7 bi ash1Shaafi:i fee&aa asnada ilaih ..., ms. @62. (arawi, NAbdullaah bin "uhammad al'Ansaari ,)?6'4>@.% #ha&& al1=alaa& wa ms. hlah,

@6). 1bn al':ayyim ,6?@'83@.% Shifaa/ al1: leel fi Masaa/il al1Qadaa/ wal1Qadr wat16a:leel, printed. @64. Fairo2 Aabaadi ,82?'>@8.% Ar'<add Nalaa al'"uNtarid Nalaa 1bn NArabi, ms.