Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 777
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْهَجَرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي الأَحْوَصِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ مَنْ سَرَّهُ أَنْ يَلْقَى اللَّهَ غَدًا مُسْلِمًا فَلْيُحَافِظْ عَلَى هَؤُلاَءِ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ حَيْثُ يُنَادَى بِهِنَّ فَإِنَّهُنَّ مِنْ سُنَنِ الْهُدَى وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَرَعَ لِنَبِيِّكُمْ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ سُنَنَ الْهُدَى وَلَعَمْرِي لَوْ أَنَّ كُلَّكُمْ صَلَّى فِي بَيْتِهِ لَتَرَكْتُمْ سُنَّةَ نَبِيِّكُمْ وَلَوْ تَرَكْتُمْ سُنَّةَ نَبِيِّكُمْ لَضَلَلْتُمْ وَلَقَدْ رَأَيْتُنَا وَمَا يَتَخَلَّفُ عَنْهَا إِلاَّ مُنَافِقٌ مَعْلُومُ النِّفَاقِ وَلَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ الرَّجُلَ يُهَادَى بَيْنَ الرَّجُلَيْنِ حَتَّى يَدْخُلَ فِي الصَّفِّ وَمَا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يَتَطَهَّرُ فَيُحْسِنُ الطُّهُورَ فَيَعْمِدُ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ فَيُصَلِّي فِيهِ فَمَا يَخْطُو خَطْوَةً إِلاَّ رَفَعَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِهَا دَرَجَةً وَحَطَّ عَنْهُ بِهَا خَطِيئَةً .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Ja'far narrated to us: Shu'bah narrated to us, from Ibrahim al-Hajari, from Abu al-Ahwas, from 'Abdullah, who said: Whoever would be pleased to meet Allah tomorrow as a Muslim, let him regularly observe these five prayers wherever they are called. They are among the practices of guidance, and Allah prescribed the practices of guidance for your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). By my life, if every one of you prayed in his own home, you would abandon your Prophet's practice; and if you abandoned your Prophet's practice, you would go astray. I saw that no one stayed away from them except a known hypocrite. I saw a man being supported between two others until he entered the row. No man purifies himself, performs ablution well, then heads to the mosque and prays there, without Allah raising him one degree and removing one sin for every step he takes.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source emphasizes praying the five prayers where they are called, describes the practices as prophetic guidance, and includes a report of a man being helped into the congregational row.
وَمَا يَتَخَلَّفُ عَنْهَا إِلاَّ مُنَافِقٌ مَعْلُومُ النِّفَاقِ
The phrase معلوم النفاق may mean someone clearly known for hypocrisy or whose hypocrisy was manifest.
Is ‘manifestly hypocritical’ preferable to ‘a known hypocrite’ here?