Times of the Prayers

‘Abdullah bin Maslama said: I read to Malik, from Ibn Shihab, that ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz once delayed the prayer. ‘Urwa bin al-Zubair came to him and told him that al-Mughira bin Shu‘ba had once delayed the prayer when he was in Iraq. Abu Mas‘ud al-Ansari came to him and said, ‘What is this, Mughira? Do you not know that Gabriel descended and prayed, then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed; then he prayed, and the Messenger of Allah prayed; this happened five times. Then he said, “I was commanded to follow this.”’ ‘Umar said to ‘Urwa, ‘Be careful what you report. Was it Gabriel who set the prayer times for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?’ ‘Urwa said, ‘Bashir bin Abi Mas‘ud used to narrate this from his father.’ ‘Urwa added: ‘Aisha told me that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray the afternoon prayer while the sun was still in her chamber, before it had risen above it.’

Qutaiba bin Sa‘id narrated to us: ‘Abbad—meaning Ibn ‘Abbad—narrated to us, from Abu Jamra, from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: The delegation of ‘Abd al-Qais came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, ‘We belong to this branch of Rabi‘a, and we can reach you only during the sacred month. Tell us something to follow from you and to call those behind us to follow.’ He said, ‘I command you to do four things and forbid you from four: faith in Allah’—then he explained it to them as bearing witness that there is no deity but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, establishing prayer, giving zakat, and giving me one-fifth of the war spoils you gain. I forbid you from using the gourd, the green jar, the pitch-coated vessel, and the hollowed-out log.’

Muhammad bin al-Muthanna narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us: Isma‘il narrated to us: Qais narrated to us, from Jarir bin ‘Abdullah, who said: I pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to establish prayer, give zakat, and offer sincere counsel to every Muslim.

Musaddad narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us, from al-A‘mash, who said: Shaqiq narrated to me: I heard Hudhaifa say: We were sitting with ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said, ‘Which of you remembers what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said about tribulations?’ I replied, ‘I do, exactly as he said it.’ He said, ‘You are bold about it.’ I said, ‘A man’s tribulation in his family, wealth, children, and neighbors is expiated by prayer, fasting, charity, and enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.’ He said, ‘That is not what I mean. I mean the tribulation that surges like the waves of the sea.’ I said, ‘You need not fear it, Commander of the Faithful; there is a closed door between you and it.’ He asked, ‘Will it be broken or opened?’ I said, ‘It will be broken.’ He said, ‘Then it will never be closed again.’ We asked: Did ‘Umar know what the door was? He said, ‘Yes, just as he knows that night comes before tomorrow. I told him a report free of confusion.’ We were too apprehensive to ask Hudhaifa ourselves, so we asked Masruq to ask him. He said, ‘The door was ‘Umar.’

Qutaiba narrated to us: Yazid bin Zurai‘ narrated to us, from Sulaiman al-Taimi, from Abu ‘Uthman al-Nahdi, from Ibn Mas‘ud, that a man kissed a woman, then came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and told him. Allah then revealed: ‘Establish prayer at the two ends of the day and in the early part of the night. Indeed, good deeds erase bad deeds.’ The man asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, is this for me?’ He replied, ‘It is for all my community.’

Abu al-Walid Hisham bin ‘Abd al-Malik narrated to us: Shu‘ba narrated to us: al-Walid bin al-‘Aizar informed me: I heard Abu ‘Amr al-Shaibani say: The inhabitant of this house—pointing to ‘Abdullah’s house—narrated to us: I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), ‘Which deed is most beloved to Allah?’ He said, ‘Prayer at its proper time.’ I asked, ‘Then which?’ He said, ‘Kindness to parents.’ I asked, ‘Then which?’ He said, ‘Striving in the path of Allah.’ He added, ‘He told me these; had I asked him for more, he would have told me more.’

Ibrahim bin Hamza narrated to us: Ibn Abi Hazim and al-Darawardi narrated to me, from Yazid, from Muhammad bin Ibrahim, from Abu Salama bin ‘Abd al-Rahman, from Abu Huraira, who heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘What do you think: if there were a river at the door of one of you, and he bathed in it five times every day, would any dirt remain on him?’ They said, ‘No dirt would remain on him.’ He said, ‘That is like the five prayers; through them Allah erases sins.’

Musa bin Isma‘il narrated to us: Mahdi narrated to us, from Ghaylan, from Anas, who said: I do not recognize anything of what was practiced in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He was asked, ‘What about prayer?’ He replied, ‘Have you not neglected what you have neglected in it?’

‘Amr bin Zurarah narrated to us: ‘Abd al-Wahid bin Wasl Abu ‘Ubaida al-Haddad informed us, from ‘Uthman bin Abi Rawwad, the brother of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, who said: I heard al-Zuhri say: I visited Anas bin Malik in Damascus while he was weeping. I asked, ‘What makes you weep?’ He said, ‘I recognize nothing of what I experienced except this prayer, and even this prayer has been neglected.’ Bakr said: Muhammad bin Bakr al-Bursani narrated to us: ‘Uthman bin Abi Rawwad informed us similarly.

Muslim bin Ibrahim narrated to us: Hisham narrated to us, from Qatada, from Anas, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘When one of you is praying, he is speaking privately with his Lord. So let him not spit to his right, but beneath his left foot.’ Sa‘id reported from Qatada: ‘He should not spit in front of him or before him, but to his left or beneath his feet.’ Shu‘ba said: ‘He should not spit in front of him or to his right, but to his left or beneath his foot.’ Humayd reported from Anas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): ‘Do not spit toward the qibla or to your right, but to your left or beneath your foot.’

Hafs bin ‘Umar narrated to us: Yazid bin Ibrahim narrated to us: Qatada narrated to us, from Anas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘Keep your bodies balanced in prostration, and do not spread your forearms like a dog. When you spit, do not spit in front of you or to your right, for you are speaking privately with your Lord.’

Ayyub bin Sulaiman narrated to us: Abu Bakr narrated to us, from Sulaiman, who said: Salih bin Kaisan narrated to us: al-A‘raj ‘Abd al-Rahman and others narrated to us, from Abu Huraira; and Nafi‘, the freedman of ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar, narrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar. Both reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: ‘When the heat becomes intense, delay the prayer until it cools, for intense heat comes from the breath of Hell.’

Ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Ghundar narrated to us: Shu‘ba narrated to us, from al-Muhajir Abu al-Hasan, who heard Zaid bin Wahb, from Abu Dharr, who said: The Prophet’s caller announced the noon prayer. He said, ‘Let it cool—let it cool,’ or, ‘Wait—wait.’ He added, ‘Intense heat comes from the breath of Hell, so when the heat becomes intense, delay the prayer until it cools.’ We waited until we saw the shadows of the hills.

‘Ali bin ‘Abdullah narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us: We memorized it from al-Zuhri, from Sa‘id bin al-Musayyab, from Abu Huraira, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘When the heat becomes intense, delay the prayer until it cools, for intense heat comes from the breath of Hell.’ The Fire complained to its Lord, saying, ‘My parts are consuming one another.’ He granted it two breaths: one in winter and one in summer. This is why you experience the most intense heat and the most severe cold.

‘Umar bin Hafs narrated to us: My father narrated to us: al-A‘mash narrated to us: Abu Salih narrated to us, from Abu Sa‘id, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Delay the noon prayer until it cools, for intense heat comes from the breath of Hell.’ Sufyan, Yahya, and Abu ‘Awana also transmitted it from al-A‘mash.

Adam bin Abi Iyas narrated to us: Shu‘ba narrated to us: Muhajir Abu al-Hasan, a freedman of Banu Taim Allah, narrated to us: I heard Zaid bin Wahb, from Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, who said: We were traveling with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the caller wanted to announce the noon prayer. The Prophet said, ‘Wait until it cools.’ He wanted to announce it again, and the Prophet said, ‘Wait until it cools,’ until we saw the shadows of the hills. Then the Prophet said, ‘Intense heat comes from the breath of Hell. When the heat becomes intense, delay the prayer until it cools.’ Ibn ‘Abbas said: ‘Tatafayya’u means to lean or shift.’

Abu al-Yaman narrated to us: Shu‘aib informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Anas bin Malik informed me that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out after the sun had passed its zenith and prayed the noon prayer. He stood on the pulpit and mentioned the Hour, saying that momentous events would take place then. He said, ‘Whoever wishes to ask about something, let him ask me. You will not ask me anything while I am standing here without my telling you.’ The people wept greatly, and he repeatedly said, ‘Ask me.’ ‘Abdullah bin Hudhafa al-Sahmi stood and asked, ‘Who is my father?’ He said, ‘Your father is Hudhafa.’ He continued saying, ‘Ask me.’ ‘Umar knelt and said, ‘We are pleased with Allah as our Lord, Islam as our religion, and Muhammad as our Prophet.’ The Prophet fell silent, then said, ‘Just now Paradise and the Fire were displayed to me on this wall. I have never seen anything like good and evil.’

Hafs bin ‘Umar narrated to us: Shu‘ba narrated to us, from Abu al-Minhal, from Abu Barza, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray the dawn prayer when each of us could recognize the person sitting beside him, and he would recite between sixty and one hundred verses. He prayed the noon prayer after the sun passed its zenith, and the afternoon prayer while one of us could go to the far end of Medina and return with the sun still bright. I have forgotten what he said about sunset prayer. He did not mind delaying the night prayer until a third of the night.’ Then he said, ‘Until half the night.’ Mu‘adh said: Shu‘ba said, ‘I met him again later, and he said, “Or a third of the night.”’

Muhammad—meaning Ibn Muqatil—narrated to us: ‘Abdullah informed us: Khalid bin ‘Abd al-Rahman informed us: Ghalib al-Qattan narrated to me, from Bakr bin ‘Abdullah al-Muzani, from Anas bin Malik, who said: When we prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the intense midday heat, we prostrated on our garments to protect ourselves from the heat.