Sunan an-Nasa'i

Sunan an-Nasa'i 1312

Arabic hadith text

أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ آدَمَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مَالِكٌ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ مِغْوَلٍ - عَنْ طَلْحَةَ بْنِ مُصَرِّفٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ وَهْبٍ، عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ، أَنَّهُ رَأَى رَجُلاً يُصَلِّي فَطَفَّفَ فَقَالَ لَهُ حُذَيْفَةُ مُنْذُ كَمْ تُصَلِّي هَذِهِ الصَّلاَةَ قَالَ مُنْذُ أَرْبَعِينَ عَامًا ‏.‏ قَالَ مَا صَلَّيْتُ مُنْذُ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً وَلَوْ مِتَّ وَأَنْتَ تُصَلِّي هَذِهِ الصَّلاَةَ لَمِتَّ عَلَى غَيْرِ فِطْرَةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم ثُمَّ قَالَ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيُخَفِّفُ وَيُتِمُّ وَيُحْسِنُ ‏.‏

Translation

Ahmad ibn Sulayman informed us: Yahya ibn Adam narrated to us: Malik—who is Ibn Mighwal—narrated to us, from Talhah ibn Musarrif, from Zayd ibn Wahb, from Hudhayfah, who saw a man praying carelessly. Hudhayfah asked him, “How long have you been praying this prayer?” He said, “For forty years.” Hudhayfah said, “You have not truly prayed for forty years. If you were to die while praying in this manner, you would die following a way other than the way of Muhammad (ﷺ).” Then he said: “A person can make his prayer brief while still completing it and performing it well.”

Translation notes
  • The wording criticizes deficient performance of the prayer; the final sentence clarifies that brevity itself is compatible with completing and performing the prayer well.