Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat): Voluntary Prayers

Muhammad ibn Isa narrated to us: Ibn Ulaiyah narrated to us: Dawud ibn Abi Hind narrated to us: al-Nu'man ibn Salim told me, from Amr ibn Aws, from Anbasah ibn Abi Sufyan, from Umm Habibah, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Whoever voluntarily prays twelve rak'ahs in a day, a house will be built for him in Paradise because of them.’

Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us: Hushaym narrated to us: Khalid informed us. (H) Musaddad narrated to us: Yazid ibn Zuray narrated to us: Khalid narrated to us—the meaning is the same—from Abd Allah ibn Shaqiq, who said: I asked Aishah about the voluntary prayers of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: Before noon he would pray four rak'ahs in my house, then go out and lead the people in prayer. Then he would return to my house and pray two rak'ahs. He would lead the people in the sunset prayer, then return to my house and pray two rak'ahs. He would lead them in the night prayer, then enter my house and pray two rak'ahs. He would pray nine rak'ahs at night, including witr. He would pray for a long time standing and for a long time sitting. When he recited while standing, he bowed and prostrated while standing; when he recited while sitting, he bowed and prostrated while sitting. When dawn broke, he prayed two rak'ahs, then went out and led the people in the dawn prayer.

Al-Qa'nabi narrated to us, from Malik, from Nafi, from Abd Allah ibn Umar, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray two rak'ahs before noon and two after it—and two after sunset in his house—and two rak'ahs after the night prayer. He would not pray after the Friday prayer until he had left; then he would pray two rak'ahs.

Musaddad narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us, from Shu'bah, from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn al-Muntashir, from his father, from Aishah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never neglected four rak'ahs before the noon prayer and two rak'ahs before the dawn prayer.

Musaddad narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, who told me: Ata narrated to me, from Ubayd ibn Umayr, from Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was more diligent in maintaining the two voluntary rak'ahs before the dawn prayer than any other voluntary prayer.

Ahmad ibn Abi Shu'ayb al-Harrani narrated to us: Zuhayr ibn Muawiyah narrated to us: Yahya ibn Sa'id narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Amrah, from Aishah, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would make the two rak'ahs before the dawn prayer so brief that I would wonder whether he had recited the Opening of the Book in them.

Yahya ibn Ma'in narrated to us: Marwan ibn Muawiyah narrated to us: Yazid ibn Kaysan narrated to us, from Abu Hazim, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited in the two rak'ahs before the dawn prayer: ‘Say: O disbelievers’ and ‘Say: He is Allah, the One.’

Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us: Abu al-Mughira narrated to us: Abd Allah ibn al-Ala narrated to us: Abu Ziyadah—Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad al-Kindi—told me that Bilal related to him: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to inform him of the dawn prayer, but Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) kept me occupied with something she asked me about until it was very late in the morning. Bilal stood and announced the prayer, repeating the call, but the Messenger of Allah did not come out. When he came out, he led the people in prayer. Bilal told him that Aishah had occupied him with her question until it was very late, and that he had delayed coming out. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘I had prayed the two rak'ahs before dawn.’ Bilal said, ‘Messenger of Allah, it is very late in the morning.’ He replied, ‘If it were later than it is now, I would still pray them, and I would do them well and beautifully.’

Musaddad narrated to us: Khalid narrated to us: Abd al-Rahman—I mean Ibn Ishaq al-Madani—narrated to us, from Ibn Zayd, from Ibn Silan, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Do not omit the two rak'ahs, even if horses drive you away.’

Ahmad ibn Yunus narrated to us: Zuhayr narrated to us: Uthman ibn Hakim narrated to us: Sa'id ibn Yasar informed me, from Abd Allah ibn Abbas, that among the things the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) often recited in the two rak'ahs before dawn was: ‘We believe in Allah and in what was sent down to us’—this verse, he said, in the first rak'ah—and in the second rak'ah: ‘We believe in Allah, and bear witness that we submit to Him.’

Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah ibn Sufyan narrated to us: Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad narrated to us, from Uthman ibn Umar—I mean Ibn Musa—from Abu al-Ghayth, from Abu Hurayrah, who heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reciting in the two rak'ahs before dawn: ‘Say: We believe in Allah and what was sent down to us’ in the first rak'ah, and in the second rak'ah this verse: ‘Our Lord, we have believed in what You sent down and followed the Messenger, so record us among the witnesses,’ or: ‘Indeed, We sent you with the truth as a bearer of good news and a warner, and you will not be asked about the companions of the Blaze.’ Al-Darawardi was uncertain which verse it was.

Musaddad, Abu Kamil, and Ubayd Allah ibn Umar ibn Maysarah said: Abd al-Wahid narrated to us: al-A'mash narrated to us, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘When one of you has prayed the two rak'ahs before dawn, let him lie down on his right side.’ Marwan ibn al-Hakam said to him, ‘Is it not enough for one of us to walk to the mosque without lying on his right side?’ In Ubayd Allah's version, he replied, ‘No.’ This reached Ibn Umar, who said, ‘Abu Hurayrah has imposed a burden on himself.’ He was asked, ‘Do you reject anything he says?’ He replied, ‘No, but he was bold and we were hesitant.’ This reached Abu Hurayrah, who said, ‘What fault is mine if I remembered and they forgot?’

Yahya ibn Hakim narrated to us: Bishr ibn Umar narrated to us: Malik ibn Anas narrated to us, from Salim Abu al-Nadr, from Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Aishah, who said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished his prayer late at night, he would look to see whether I was awake. If I was awake, he would speak with me; if I was asleep, he would wake me. Then he would pray two rak'ahs and lie down until the caller to prayer came and summoned him for the dawn prayer. He would then pray two brief rak'ahs and go out to the prayer.

Musaddad narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Ziyad ibn Sa'd, from someone who told him—Ibn Abi Attab or another—from Abu Salamah, who said: Aishah said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed the two rak'ahs before dawn, he would lie down if I was asleep, and speak with me if I was awake.

Abbas al-Anbari and Ziyad ibn Yahya said: Sahl ibn Hammad narrated to us, from Abu Makin: Abu al-Fadl—a man from the Ansar—narrated to us, from Muslim ibn Abi Bakrah, from his father, who said: I went out with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for the dawn prayer. Whenever he passed a man, he would call him to prayer or nudge him with his foot. Ziyad said: Abu al-Fudayl narrated this to us.

Sulayman ibn Harb narrated to us: Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us, from Asim, from Abd Allah ibn Sarjis, who said: A man came while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was praying the dawn prayer. He prayed the two rak'ahs, then joined the prayer with the Prophet. When the Prophet finished, he said, ‘So-and-so, which was your prayer: the one you prayed alone or the one you prayed with us?’

Muslim ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us. (H) Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Ja'far narrated to us: Shu'bah narrated to us, from Warqa. (H) al-Hasan ibn Ali narrated to us: Abu Asim narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj. (H) al-Hasan ibn Ali narrated to us: Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us, from Hammad ibn Zayd, from Ayyub. (H) Muhammad ibn al-Mutawakkil narrated to us: Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us: Zakariyya ibn Ishaq informed us. All of them reported from Amr ibn Dinar, from Ata ibn Yasar, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘When the prayer is announced, no prayer is valid except the prescribed prayer.’

Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Ibn Numayr narrated to us, from Sa'd ibn Sa'id, who told me: Muhammad ibn Ibrahim narrated to me, from Qays ibn Amr, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man praying two rak'ahs after the dawn prayer. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘The dawn prayer is two rak'ahs.’ The man replied, ‘I had not prayed the two rak'ahs before it, so I prayed them now.’ The Messenger of Allah remained silent.

Hamid ibn Yahya al-Balkhi said: Sufyan said: Ata ibn Abi Rabah used to narrate this hadith from Sa'd ibn Sa'id. Abu Dawud said: Abd Rabbih and Yahya, the sons of Sa'id, narrated this hadith in mursal form: their grandfather Zayd prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this incident.