Sunan Ibn Majah
The Book of the Prayer
كتاب الصلاة
Chapter 7
وَقْتِ صَلاَةِ الْمَغْرِبِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ibrahim al-Dimashqi narrated to us: Al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us: Al-Awza'i narrated to us: Abu al-Najashi narrated to us, saying: I heard Rafi' ibn Khadij say: In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we used to pray Maghrib, and one of us would leave while he could still see where his arrows had fallen.
Abu Yahya al-Za'farani narrated to us: Ibrahim ibn Musa narrated to us similarly.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ya'qub ibn Humayd ibn Kasib narrated to us: Al-Mughirah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, from Yazid ibn Abi 'Ubayd, from Salamah ibn al-Akwa', that he used to pray Maghrib with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when the sun had disappeared behind the veil.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic metaphorically says the sun had become concealed by the hijab (veil).
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us: Ibrahim ibn Musa narrated to us: 'Abbad ibn al-'Awwam informed us, from 'Umar ibn Ibrahim, from Qatadah, from al-Hasan, from al-Ahnaf ibn Qays, from al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘My community will remain upon the fitrah (its original, upright disposition) so long as they do not delay Maghrib until the stars are entangled.’ Abu 'Abdullah ibn Majah said: I heard Muhammad ibn Yahya say: ‘People differed greatly over this hadith in Baghdad, so Abu Bakr al-A'yan and I went to al-'Awwam ibn 'Abbad ibn al-'Awwam. He brought out his father's original manuscript for us, and there the hadith was present.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The closing passage is Ibn Majah's compiler note, not part of the prophetic report. Fitrah and the image of stars becoming entangled are retained with minimal gloss.
Chapter 8
وَقْتِ صَلاَةِ الْعِشَاءِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn 'Ammar narrated to us: Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah narrated to us, from Abu al-Zinad, from al-A'raj, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Were it not that I would burden my community, I would have commanded them to delay the 'Isha prayer.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Abu Usamah and 'Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us, from 'Ubaydullah, from Sa'id ibn Abi Sa'id, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Were it not that I would burden my community, I would delay the 'Isha prayer until a third or a half of the night had passed.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us: Khalid ibn al-Harith narrated to us: Humayd narrated to us, saying: Anas ibn Malik was asked, ‘Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wear a ring?’ He said, ‘Yes. One night he delayed the later 'Isha prayer until close to the middle of the night. When he had prayed, he turned to us and said: “The people have prayed and gone to sleep, while you will remain in prayer as long as you wait for the prayer.”’ Anas said: ‘It is as though I can see the gleam of his ring.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source calls the prayer al-'isha al-akhira (‘the later evening prayer’); rendered ‘later 'Isha prayer’. The gleam (wabis) refers to the ring's shine.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Imran ibn Musa al-Laythi narrated to us: 'Abd al-Warith ibn Sa'id narrated to us: Dawud ibn Abi Hind narrated to us, from Abu Nadrah, from Abu Sa'id, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in the Maghrib prayer, then did not come out until half the night had passed. He came out and led them in prayer, then said: ‘The people have prayed and gone to sleep, while you have remained in prayer as long as you waited for the prayer. Were it not for the weak and the sick, I would have liked to delay this prayer until the middle of the night.’
Chapter 9
مِيقَاتِ الصَّلاَةِ فِي الْغَيْمِ
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'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ibrahim and Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah narrated to us; they said: Al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us: Al-Awza'i narrated to us: Yahya ibn Abi Kathir narrated to me, from Abu Qilabah, from Abu al-Muhajir, from Buraydah al-Aslami, who said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on a military expedition, and he said: ‘Pray early on a cloudy day, for whoever misses the 'Asr prayer, his deeds are nullified.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source explicitly gives two teachers together and a single shared chain thereafter.
Chapter 10
مَنْ نَامَ عَنِ الصَّلاَةِ، أَوْ نَسِيَهَا
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Nasr ibn 'Ali al-Jahdami narrated to us: Yazid ibn Zuray' narrated to us: Hajjaj narrated to us: Qatadah narrated to us, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about a man who becomes inattentive to a prayer or sleeps through it. He said: ‘He should pray it when he remembers it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic distinguishes heedlessness (يَغْفُلُ) from sleeping through or missing the prayer while asleep (يَرْقُدُ عَنْهَا).
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Jubarah ibn al-Mughallis narrated to us: Abu 'Awanah narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever forgets a prayer, let him pray it when he remembers it.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Harmalah ibn Yahya narrated to us: 'Abdullah ibn Wahb narrated to us: Yunus narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was returning from the campaign of Khaybar, he traveled one night. When sleep overcame him, he stopped to rest and said to Bilal, ‘Keep watch for us through the night.’ Bilal prayed as much as was allotted to him, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions slept. As dawn approached, Bilal leaned against his riding camel, facing the dawn, but sleep overcame him as he leaned there. Neither Bilal nor any of his Companions awoke until the sun struck them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the first of them to wake. Alarmed, he said, ‘Bilal?’ Bilal replied, ‘The same that overcame you overcame me. May my father and mother be your ransom, Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Move on.’ So they moved their mounts some distance. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution and ordered Bilal to call the prayer. He led them in the Fajr prayer. After completing the prayer, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever forgets a prayer, let him pray it when he remembers it, for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: “Establish the prayer for My remembrance.”’ He said that Ibn Shihab used to recite it as: ‘for remembrance.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final sentence reports Ibn Shihab's variant recitation of the Quranic phrase. The respectful expression ‘May my father and mother be your ransom’ is retained as an idiom.
وَكَانَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ يَقْرَؤُهَا {لِلذِّكْرَى}
The source reports a variant Quranic recitation, whose relation to the quoted wording should be checked against specialist qira'at references.
Should the recitation variant be rendered with a fuller distinction from the preceding verse quotation?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn 'Abdah narrated to us: Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us, from Thabit, from 'Abdullah ibn Rabah, from Abu Qatadah, who said: They mentioned their negligence in sleeping: ‘They slept until the sun had risen.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘There is no negligence in sleep. Negligence is only while awake. If one of you forgets a prayer or sleeps through it, let him pray it when he remembers it; and let him pray it at its appointed time on the following day.’ 'Abdullah ibn Rabah said: 'Imran ibn al-Husayn heard me narrating this hadith and said, ‘Young man, be careful how you relate it, for I witnessed this hadith with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).’ He did not object to anything in 'Abdullah's narration.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The closing testimony by 'Imran ibn al-Husayn is part of the source text. The phrase ‘at its appointed time on the following day’ is translated literally.
Chapter 11
وَقْتِ الصَّلاَةِ فِي الْعُذْرِ وَالضَّرُورَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah narrated to us: 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Muhammad al-Darawardi narrated to us: Zayd ibn Aslam informed me, from 'Ata' ibn Yasar, from Busr ibn Sa'id, and from al-A'raj, who related to him from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever catches one rak'ah of the 'Asr prayer before the sun sets has caught it; and whoever catches one rak'ah of the Fajr prayer before the sun rises has caught it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source's repeated phrase ‘has caught it’ is preserved for both prayers.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn 'Amr ibn al-Sarh and Harmalah ibn Yahya al-Misri narrated to us; they said: 'Abdullah ibn Wahb narrated to us: Yunus informed me, from Ibn Shihab, from 'Urwah, from 'A'ishah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever catches one rak'ah of Fajr before the sun rises has caught it, and whoever catches one rak'ah of 'Asr before the sun sets has caught it.’
Jamil ibn al-Hasan narrated to us: 'Abd al-A'la narrated to us: Ma'mar narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said something similar.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The second chain transmits a report with similar wording; it is retained as a separate paragraph.
Chapter 12
النَّهْىِ عَنِ النَّوْمِ، قَبْلَ صَلاَةِ الْعِشَاءِ وَعَنِ الْحَدِيثِ، بَعْدَهَا
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Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Yahya ibn Sa'id, Muhammad ibn Ja'far, and 'Abd al-Wahhab said: 'Awf narrated to us, from Abu al-Minhal Sayyar ibn Salamah, from Abu Barzah al-Aslami, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) preferred to delay the 'Isha prayer, disliked sleeping before it, and disliked conversation after it.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic attributes both dislikes to the Prophet and his preference for delaying 'Isha.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Abu Nu'aym narrated to us. (A second route:) Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Abu 'Amir narrated to us. Both said: 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ya'la al-Ta'ifi narrated to us, from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim, from his father, from 'A'ishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not sleep before the 'Isha prayer, nor engage in evening conversation after it.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source presents two transmission routes that converge at 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Abdullah ibn Sa'id, Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Habib, and 'Ali ibn al-Mundhir narrated to us; they said: Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us: 'Ata' ibn al-Sa'ib narrated to us, from Shaqiq, from 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) strongly discouraged evening conversation after the 'Isha prayer. Ibn Majah said: ‘That is, he rebuked us for it and forbade us from it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The closing explanation is Ibn Majah's compiler gloss, clarifying the uncommon verb جَدَبَ.
Chapter 13
النَّهْىِ أَنْ يُقَالَ صَلاَةُ الْعَتَمَةِ
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Hisham ibn 'Ammar and Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah narrated to us; they said: Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah narrated to us, from 'Abdullah ibn Abi Labid, from Abu Salamah, from Ibn 'Umar, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘Do not let the Bedouins prevail over you in naming your prayer; it is al-'Isha (the night prayer), while they wait until deep night to settle their camels.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final clause literally refers to their delaying/letting the camels settle at night; the contrast concerns the prayer's name.
وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيُعْتِمُونَ بِالإِبِلِ
The phrase about the Bedouins and camels is idiomatic and its precise implication is uncertain.
Does the clause describe delaying the prayer until the camels are settled after dark?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ya'qub ibn Humayd ibn Kasib narrated to us: Al-Mughirah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn 'Ajlan, from al-Maqburi, from Abu Hurayrah. (A second route:) Ya'qub ibn Humayd narrated to us: Ibn Abi Hazim narrated to us, from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Harmalah, from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Do not let the Bedouins prevail over you in naming your prayer.’ Ibn Harmalah added: ‘It is al-'Isha; they call it al-'Atamah because they delay with the camels until nightfall.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Two chains are given; the added wording is explicitly attributed to Ibn Harmalah. The final clause links the Bedouins' term al-'Atamah to their delaying with camels into the night.
لإِعْتَامِهِمْ بِالإِبِلِ
The source's concise idiom may describe bringing camels in or settling them after dark.
What precise camel-handling practice is intended by this expression?