Mishkat al-Masabih
Mishkat al-Masabih 979
وَعَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ: كُنَّا نُسَلِّمُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَهُوَ فِي الصَّلَاةِ فَيَرُدُّ عَلَيْنَا فَلَمَّا رَجَعْنَا مِنْ عِنْدِ النَّجَاشِيِّ سَلَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِ فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ عَلَيْنَا فَقُلْنَا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كُنَّا نُسَلِّمُ عَلَيْكَ فِي الصَّلَاةِ فَتَرُدُّ عَلَيْنَا فَقَالَ: إِنَّ فِي الصَّلَاةِ لَشُغْلًا "
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud said: We used to greet the Prophet (peace be upon him) while he was praying, and he would return our greeting. When we returned from the Negus, we greeted him but he did not return our greeting. We said: ‘O Messenger of God, we used to greet you during prayer and you would return our greeting.’ He replied: ‘Prayer is an occupation that keeps one busy.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
وَعَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ: كُنَّا نُسَلِّمُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَهُوَ فِي الصَّلَاةِ فَيَرُدُّ عَلَيْنَا فَلَمَّا رَجَعْنَا مِنْ عِنْدِ النَّجَاشِيِّ سَلَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِ فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ عَلَيْنَا فَقُلْنَا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كُنَّا نُسَلِّمُ عَلَيْكَ فِي الصَّلَاةِ فَتَرُدُّ عَلَيْنَا فَقَالَ: إِنَّ فِي الصَّلَاةِ لَشُغْلًا "
The English witness adds a footnote identifying the return from the Negus with Muslims’ return from Abyssinia; that explanation is absent from the Arabic source text.
Should this witness-only historical gloss be retained separately?