Prayer

كتاب الصلاة

Chapter 17: The Excellence of the Adhan and the Response to the Mu’adhdhin - Section 2

‘Uthman b. Abul ‘As said that he asked God's Messenger to make him his people’s imam and that he replied, “You are their imam, but do according to what the weakest of them is capable of, and employ a mu’adhdhin who does not accept payment for his adhan.” Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Nasa'i transmitted it.

Umm Salama said

God’s Messenger taught me to say when the adhan for the sunset prayer was called, “O God, this is the time when Thy night comes on, Thy day retires, and the voices of Thy summoners are heard, so forgive me.” Abu Dawud transmitted it, as did Baihaqi in ad-Da'awat al-kabir.

Abu Umama, or one of the companions of God’s Messenger, said that Bilal began the iqama, and when he said, “The time for prayer has come,” God’s Messenger said, “May God establish it and cause it to continue!” During the whole of the iqama he made such responses as are found in ‘Umar’s tradition about the adhan.Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Anas reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A supplication made between the adhan and the iqama is not rejected.” Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Sahl b. Sa'd reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Two things are not rejected, or are seldom rejected

a supplication when the call to prayer is made, and in stress when people are locked in battle.” A version has “and when rain is falling”. Abu Dawud and Darimi transmitted it, but Darimi did not mention “and when rain is falling”.

‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr told of a man who said, “Messenger of God, the mu'adhdhins excel us.”* To him God’s Messenger replied, ‘Say the same words as they say, and when you come to the end, if you make any petition it will be granted to you.” * This most probably means that they get a greater reward. The reply suggests how that may be counterbalanced.Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Chapter 18: The Excellence of the Adhan and the Response to the Mu’adhdhin - Section 3

Jabir said that he heard the Prophet say, “When the devil hears the summons to prayer he goes off till he is as far away as ar-Rauha’.” The transmitter said that ar-Rauha’ is thirty-six miles from Medina. Muslim transmitted it.

‘Alqama b. Abu Waqqas said

I was with Mu'awiyah when his mu’adhdhin called the adhan, and Mu'awiya repeated the mu’adhdhin’s words, but when he said, “Come to prayer, he said, “There is no might and no power except in God,” and when he said, “Come to salvation,” he said, “There is no might and no power except in God the High, the Mighty.” After that he repeated the mu’adhdhin’s words, then said, “I heard God’s Messenger say that.” Ahmad transmitted it.

Abu Huraira said

We were with God’s Messenger when Bilal got up and made the call to prayer. When he finished, God’s Messenger said, “If anyone says the same as this sincerely, he will enter paradise.” Nasa’i transmitted it.

‘A’isha said that when the Prophet heard the mu’adhdhin uttering the testimony, he said, “I too, I too.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone calls the adhan for twelve years, paradise is guaranteed to him; sixty blessings will be recorded for him for every day’s calling of the adhan and thirty blessings for every iqama.” Ibn Majah transmitted it.

He said, “We used to receive command to make a supplication when the call to the sunset prayer was being made.”Baihaqi transmitted it in ad-Da'awal al-kabir.

Chapter 19: Chapter - Section 1

This chapter has no second section.

Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Bilal summons to prayer when it is still night, so eat and drink till Ibn Umm Maktum makes the summons.” He added that Ibn Umm Maktum was a blind man who did not make the summons till someone said to him, “The morning has come, the morning has come.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Samura b. Jundub reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Do not let Bilal’s adhan or the false dawn prevent you from taking your morning meal [in Ramadan], but only the dawn which is widely spread in the horizon.” Muslim transmitted it, but the wording is Tirmidhi’s.

Malik b. al-Huwairith said that he and a cousin of his came to the Prophet, who said, “When you two are on a journey, you should call the adhan and repeat the iqama, then the older of you should act as imam.” This is how Bukhari transmitted it.

He also told of God's Messenger saying to them, “Pray as you have seen me prayer, and when the time for prayer comes one of you should call the adhan for you and the oldest of you should act as imam.”* * In this tradition the plural is used throughout; in the preceding the dual is used, two persons being referred to.(Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira said that when God’s Messenger returned from the expedition to Khaibar,1 he travelled one night and stopped for rest only when he became sleepy. He told Bilal to remain on guard during the night, and he prayed as much as he could while God’s Messenger and his companions slept. When the time for dawn approached Bilal leaned on his camel facing in the direction from which the dawn should appear; but he was overcome by sleep while he was leaning on his camel, and neither God’s Messenger nor Bilal awoke, nor did any of his companions till the sun shone on them. God's Messenger was the first of them to awake, and being startled he called to Bilal, who said "He who took away my soul is the One who took away yours."2 He said, "Lead the beasts on,” and when they had done so for some distance, God’s Messenger performed ablution, gave orders to Bilal who pronounced the iqama, and then led them in the Morning Prayer. When he finished the prayer he said, "If anyone forgets prayer he should say it when he remembers it, for God has said, ‘And observe the prayer for remembrance of me.’”3 1. In 7 AH. 2. This is probably to be connected with the thought in the Qur’an, 39:42, which speaks of God taking the souls of people during their sleep. 3. Al-Qur’an; 20:14Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Qatada reported God’s Messenger as saying, "When the iqama is pronounced, do not get up till you see I have come out.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, "When the iqama has been pronounced for prayer, do not go running to it, but go walking in tranquility, and pray what you are in time for and complete what you have missed.” (Bukhari and Muslim.) A version by Muslim has, "for when one of you is making for prayer he is engaged in prayer.”

Chapter 20: Chapter - Section 3

Zaid b. Aslam said that God's Messenger stopped for rest one night on the road to Mecca and made Bilal responsible for wakening them for prayer; but Bilal slept and so did they all, awakening only after sunrise. The people were startled when they awoke, and God’s Messenger ordered them to mount and get out of that wadi, saying, "This is a wadi inhabited by a devil.” So they mounted, and when they had gone out of that wadi God’s Messenger ordered them to dismount and perform ablution, and having ordered Bilal to summon the people to prayer, or pronounce the iqama, he led the people in prayer and afterwards departed. He had noticed some of their dismay, so he said, "You people must realise that God took our spirits, and if He had wished He would have returned them to us at another time than this; so if anyone of you sleeps beyond the time for prayer, or forgets it, then has recourse to it, he should observe it as he has been in the habit of doing at its proper time.” God’s Messenger then turned to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and said, “The devil came to Bilal while he was standing engaged in prayer, and making him lie down, he kept soothing him as a child is soothed till he fell asleep.” He then summoned Bilal who told him something similar to what he had just told Abu Bakr, whereupon Abu Bakr said. “I testify that you are God’s Messenger.” Malik transmitted it in mursal form.