Sunan Ibn Majah
The Book On The Mosques And The Congregations
كتاب المساجد والجماعات
Chapter 14
الْمَشْىِ إِلَى الصَّلاَةِ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Marwan al-'Uthmani, Muhammad ibn 'Uthman, narrated to us: Ibrahim ibn Sa'd narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab and Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When the prayer is begun, do not come to it running. Come walking, and maintain calmness. Whatever part you catch, pray it; and whatever you miss, complete it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source contrasts running with walking and commands calmness, then distinguishes what was caught from what was missed.
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: Yahya ibn Abi Bukayr narrated to us: Zuhayr ibn Muhammad narrated to us, from 'Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn 'Aqil, from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘Shall I direct you to what Allah uses to expiate sins and increase good deeds?’ They said, ‘Yes, Messenger of Allah.’ He said: ‘Performing ablution fully despite hardship, taking many steps to the mosques, and waiting for one prayer after another.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source's three listed practices are rendered in parallel, preserving the emphasis on hardship, repeated steps, and waiting between prayers.
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?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Sa'id ibn Yazid ibn Ibrahim al-Tustari narrated to us: Al-Fadl ibn al-Muwaffaq Abu al-Jahm narrated to us: Fudayl ibn Marzuq narrated to us, from 'Atiyyah, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever leaves his house for prayer and says, “O Allah, I ask You by the right owed by those who supplicate to You, and I ask You by the right of this journey of mine. I have not gone out in insolence, arrogance, ostentation, or to be heard of by people; I have gone out fearing Your displeasure and seeking Your good pleasure. I ask You to protect me from the Fire and forgive my sins, for none forgives sins except You”—Allah turns toward him, and seventy thousand angels ask forgiveness for him.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The prayer's repeated requests and its four negated motives are preserved. The source concludes with Allah turning toward him and seventy thousand angels seeking forgiveness.
بِحَقِّ السَّائِلِينَ عَلَيْكَ وَأَسْأَلُكَ بِحَقِّ مَمْشَاىَ هَذَا
The wording invokes a ‘right’ associated with supplicants and the journey; its theological interpretation is not made explicit here.
Should ‘by the right of’ be retained literally, or is another conventional English rendering preferred?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Rashid ibn Sa'id ibn Rashid al-Ramli narrated to us: Al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us, from Abu Rafi' Isma'il ibn Rafi', from Sumayy, the client of Abu Bakr, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Those who walk to the mosques in darkness are the ones immersed in Allah's mercy.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic calls these people khawwadun, literally those who wade/delve deeply, in Allah's mercy.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Halabi narrated to us: Yahya ibn al-Harith al-Shirazi narrated to us: Zuhayr ibn Muhammad al-Tamimi narrated to us, from Abu Hazim, from Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Sa'idi, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Let those who walk to the mosques in darkness rejoice in a complete light on the Day of Resurrection.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Majza'ah ibn Sufyan ibn Asid, the client of Thabit al-Bunani, narrated to us: Sulayman ibn Dawud al-Sa'igh narrated to us, from Thabit al-Bunani, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Give glad tidings to those who walk to the mosques in darkness of the complete light on the Day of Resurrection.’
Chapter 15
الأَبْعَدُ فَالأَبْعَدُ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ أَعْظَمُ أَجْرًا
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: Waki' narrated to us, from Ibn Abi Dhi'b, from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mihran, from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa'd, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The farther a person lives from the mosque, the greater his reward.’
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: 'Abbad ibn 'Abbad al-Muhallabi narrated to us: 'Asim al-Ahwal narrated to us, from Abu 'Uthman al-Nahdi, from Ubayy ibn Ka'b, who said: There was a man from the Ansar whose house was the farthest house in Madinah, yet no prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ever passed him by. I felt concern for him and said, ‘So-and-so, if only you bought a donkey to protect you from the scorching heat, the rough ground, and the harmful creatures of the earth.’ He said, ‘By Allah, I would not want my house to be beside the ropes of Muhammad's house.’ I kept pressing him until I came to the Prophet's house and told him about it. He called the man and asked him, and the man said the same, adding that he hoped for reward for his footsteps. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘You will have the reward for what you intended.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives the man's reason for walking: he hoped for reward in his footsteps. The exact environmental hardships in the narrator's suggestion are retained in broad terms.
يَقِيكَ الرَّمَضَ وَيَرْفَعُكَ مِنَ الْوَقَعِ وَيَقِيكَ هَوَامَّ الأَرْضِ
The phrase about ‘raising you from al-waqa'’ and the listed ground creatures is uncommon and may have a more precise sense.
What exact hardship is meant by الْوَقَعِ in this context?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Musa Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us: Khalid ibn al-Harith narrated to us: Humayd narrated to us, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: Banu Salimah wanted to move from their homes to a place closer to the mosque, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked leaving Madinah empty. He said: ‘O Banu Salimah, will you not count your footsteps?’ So they stayed where they were.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Prophet's question encourages them to value the reward of their longer walk; the source says they remained in their homes.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us: Waki' narrated to us: Isra'il narrated to us, from Simak, from 'Ikrimah, from Ibn 'Abbas, who said: The homes of the Ansar were far from the mosque, and they wanted to move closer. Then the verse was revealed: ‘We record what they have sent ahead and their traces.’ So they stayed.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The quoted Quranic clause is translated as it appears in the source; the report links ‘their traces’ to their footsteps to the mosque.
Chapter 16
فَضْلِ الصَّلاَةِ فِي جَمَاعَةٍ
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 Mu'awiyah narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A man's prayer in congregation exceeds his prayer at home or in his marketplace by twenty-some degrees.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source states بضعًا وعشرين, literally ‘a few and twenty’ (more than twenty, but not a specific number).
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Marwan Muhammad ibn 'Uthman al-'Uthmani narrated to us: Ibrahim ibn Sa'd narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The merit of congregational prayer over one of you praying alone is twenty-five portions.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses ‘portions/parts’ (أجزاء), not degrees, and specifies twenty-five.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Kurayb narrated to us: Abu Mu'awiyah narrated to us, from Hilal ibn Maymun, from 'Ata' ibn Yazid, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A man's prayer in congregation exceeds his prayer at home by twenty-five degrees.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Umar Rustah narrated to us: Yahya ibn Sa'id narrated to us: 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Umar narrated to us, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A man's prayer in congregation is superior to a man's prayer alone by twenty-seven degrees.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Ma'mar narrated to us: Abu Bakr al-Hanafi narrated to us: Yunus ibn Abi Ishaq narrated to us, from his father, from 'Abdullah ibn Abi Basir, from his father, from Ubayy ibn Ka'b, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A man's prayer in congregation exceeds a man's prayer alone by twenty-four or twenty-five degrees.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source explicitly preserves uncertainty between twenty-four and twenty-five degrees.
Chapter 17
التَّغْلِيظِ فِي التَّخَلُّفِ عَنِ الْجَمَاعَةِ
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 Mu'awiyah narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘I considered ordering that the prayer be called and established, then ordering a man to lead the people in prayer, then going out with men carrying bundles of firewood to people who do not attend the prayer and burning their houses over them with fire.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report presents this as something the Prophet considered doing, not as an action carried out; the past-tense deliberative phrasing is preserved.
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 narrated to us, from Za'idah, from 'Asim, from Abu Razin, from Ibn Umm Maktum, who said: I said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), ‘I am elderly, blind, and live far away. I have no guide who can accompany me. Can you grant me a concession?’ He said: ‘Can you hear the call?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘I find no concession for you.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The narrator lists age, blindness, distance, and lack of an accompanying guide as his circumstances; the Prophet's reply conditions the response on his hearing the call.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Abd al-Hamid ibn Bayan al-Wasiti informed us: Hushaym informed us, from Shu'bah, from 'Adi ibn Thabit, from Sa'id ibn Jubayr, from Ibn 'Abbas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘Whoever hears the call and does not come to it, there is no prayer for him except with an excuse.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
فَلاَ صَلاَةَ لَهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ عُذْرٍ
The statement is categorical, with an explicit exception for an excuse; its legal force is not specified in this wording.
Should the literal formulation be retained without adding a legal interpretation?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us: Abu Usamah narrated to us, from Hisham al-Dastawa'i, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from al-Hakam ibn Mina', who informed me that Ibn 'Abbas and Ibn 'Umar both heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say from his wooden pulpit: ‘Let people certainly stop abandoning the congregational prayers, or Allah will surely seal their hearts, and then they will become among the heedless.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report explicitly says the Prophet spoke from his wooden pulpit; the double emphatic forms in the warning are preserved in English emphasis.