Mishkat al-Masabih
Mishkat al-Masabih 1066
وَعَنْ أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ قَالَ: صَلَّى بِنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَوْمًا الصُّبْحَ فَلَمَّا سَلَّمَ قَالَ: «أَشَاهِدٌ فُلَانٌ؟» قَالُوا: لَا. قَالَ: «أَشَاهِدٌ فُلَانٌ؟» قَالُوا: لَا. قَالَ: «إِنَّ هَاتَيْنِ الصَّلَاتَيْنِ أَثْقَلُ الصَّلَوَاتِ عَلَى الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَلَو تعلمُونَ مَا فيهمَا لأتيتموهما وَلَوْ حَبْوًا عَلَى الرُّكَبِ وَإِنَّ الصَّفَّ الْأَوَّلَ عَلَى مِثْلِ صَفِّ الْمَلَائِكَةِ وَلَوْ عَلِمْتُمْ مَا فضيلته لابتدرتموه وَإِن صَلَاة الرجل من الرَّجُلِ أَزْكَى مِنْ صَلَاتِهِ وَحْدَهُ وَصَلَاتَهُ مَعَ الرَّجُلَيْنِ أَزْكَى مِنْ صَلَاتِهِ مَعَ الرَّجُلِ وَمَا كَثُرَ فَهُوَ أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ» . رَوَاهُ أَبُو دَاوُد وَالنَّسَائِيّ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ubayy ibn Kaʿb reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) led us in the dawn prayer one day. After the closing salutation, he asked whether so-and-so was present. They said no. He asked again whether so-and-so was present. They said no. He then said: These two prayers are the most burdensome prayers for hypocrites. If you knew what they contain, you would come to them, even crawling on your knees. The front row is like the row of the angels; if you knew its virtue, you would hasten to join it. A man praying with another man has a purer prayer than when alone, and praying with two men is purer than with one. The larger the congregation, the more beloved it is to Allah. Abu Dawud and al-Nasaʾi transmitted it.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says these two prayers but does not name the second prayer in this passage; the English witness supplies an explanatory footnote, which is omitted.