Ahmad ibn Salih narrated to us: 'Abd Allah ibn Wahb narrated to us: Yunus ibn Yazid informed me, from Ibn Shihab: 'Abbad ibn Ziyad narrated to me that 'Urwah ibn al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah informed him that he heard his father, al-Mughirah, saying: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) set aside before the dawn prayer while I was with him on the expedition of Tabuk, so I set aside with him. The Prophet (ﷺ) made his camel kneel down and went to relieve himself, then he came back and I poured water over his hands from the water-skin. He washed his hands, then washed his face, then he bared his forearms, but the sleeves of his Jubbah were too tight, so he put his hands underneath and brought them out from beneath the Jubbah and washed them up to the elbows. He wiped his head, then wiped over his leather socks, then mounted and we set forth riding until we found the people in prayer, having put forward 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf who was leading them in prayer. We found that 'Abd al-Rahman had led them in one rak'ah of the Fajr prayer. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood and aligned himself with the Muslims and prayed the second rak'ah behind 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf. Then 'Abd al-Rahman made the taslim, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up to complete his prayer. The Muslims became alarmed and increased their glorification (tasbih) because they had preceded the Prophet (ﷺ) in prayer. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished his prayer, he said to them: "You have done well," or "You have acted rightly."
Hadith Text & Context
Narrated from Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah: "I was in the company of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in the expedition of Tabuk. He abandoned the main road before the dawn prayer... When he uttered the salutation, he said: 'You were right,' or he said: 'You did well.'" (Sunan Abi Dawud 149)
Purification Rulings
The Prophet's washing of hands before face-washing demonstrates the recommended order in wudu. His difficulty with sleeves shows garments don't invalidate wudu if water reaches skin.
Wiping over socks (khuffayn) is established here as permissible during travel, confirming this concession remains valid until removal.
Prayer Leadership Principles
The Prophet praying behind Ibn 'Awf demonstrates a qualified imam remains valid even if more knowledgeable person joins later.
Completing missed rak'ahs shows whoever joins prayer late should complete what they missed after imam's salam.
Scholarly Commentary
Imam Nawawi states this hadith proves the legitimacy of making up missed rak'ahs and that joining prayer late doesn't nullify one's prayer.
Ibn Qudamah notes the Companions' tasbih indicates correcting prayer errors through dhikr, while the Prophet's approval shows flexibility in prayer scenarios.