The Book of Leading the Prayer (Al-Imamah)

Mahmud ibn Ghaylan narrated to us: Abu Dawud narrated to me: Shu‘bah informed us from Musa ibn Abi Aishah, who said: I heard Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah relate from Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. She said: The Prophet ﷺ was in front of Abu Bakr and prayed seated, while Abu Bakr led the people in prayer and the people stood behind Abu Bakr.

Ubaydullah ibn Fadalah ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: Yahya (meaning Ibn Yahya) narrated to us: Humayd ibn Abd Ar-Rahman ibn Humayd Ar-Ru'asi narrated to us from his father, from Abu Az-Zubayr, from Jabir, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led us in the noon prayer, with Abu Bakr behind him. Whenever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said the takbir, Abu Bakr said the takbir loudly enough for us to hear.

Muhammad ibn Ubayd Al-Kufi narrated to us from Muhammad ibn Fudayl, from Harun ibn Antar, from Abdur-Rahman ibn Al-Aswad, from Al-Aswad and Alqamah, who said: We entered upon Abdullah at midday. He said, 'There will be rulers who are distracted from praying at its proper time, so pray at the proper time.' Then he stood and prayed between us, saying, 'This is how I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ pray.'

Abdah ibn Abdullah narrated to us: Zayd ibn Al-Hubab narrated to us: Aflah ibn Sa‘id narrated to us: Buraydah ibn Sufyan ibn Farwah Al-Aslami narrated to us from a young man who belonged to his grandfather, named Masud. He said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abu Bakr passed by me. Abu Bakr said, 'Masud, go to Abu Tamim'—meaning his former master—'and tell him to provide us with a camel to ride, and to send us provisions and a guide to show us the way.' I went to my master and told him. He sent a camel and a leather vessel of milk with me. I began taking them along a hidden route. When prayer time came, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood to pray, and Abu Bakr stood to his right. I had learned about Islam and was with them, so I came and stood behind them. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ pushed Abu Bakr in the chest, and we stood behind him. Abu Abd Ar-Rahman (An-Nasa'i) said: Buraydah is not strong in hadith.

Qutaybah ibn Sa‘id narrated to us from Malik, from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talhah, from Anas ibn Malik, that his grandmother, Mulaikah, invited the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for food she had prepared. He ate, then said, 'Stand so that I may lead you in prayer.' Anas said: I went and brought a mat of ours, blackened from long use, and sprinkled it with water. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood to pray. The orphan and I stood in a row behind him, and the elderly woman stood behind us. He led us in two rak‘ahs, then left.

Suwayd ibn Nasr informed us: Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak informed us from Sulayman ibn Al-Mughirah, from Thabit, from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered our home. There were only myself, my mother, the orphan, and my maternal aunt Umm Haram. He said, 'Stand so that I may lead you in prayer.' It was not the time of a prescribed prayer, he said, and he led us in prayer.

Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Muhammad narrated to us: Shu‘bah narrated to us, saying: I heard Abdullah ibn Mukhtar relate from Musa ibn Anas, from Anas, that he, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, his mother, and his maternal aunt were together. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed, placing Anas to his right and his mother and maternal aunt behind them.

Muhammad ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: Hajjaj narrated to us: Ibn Jurayj said: Ziyad informed me that Qaza‘ah, a client of Abd Qays, told him that he heard Ikrimah, the client of Ibn Abbas, say that Ibn Abbas said: I prayed beside the Prophet ﷺ, and Aishah was behind us, praying with us. I was beside the Prophet ﷺ, praying with him.

Amr ibn Ali narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us: Shu‘bah narrated to us from Abdullah ibn Mukhtar, from Musa ibn Anas, from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led me and a woman from my family in prayer. He placed me to his right, and the woman behind us.

Yaqub ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: Ibn Ulayyah narrated to us from Ayyub, from Abdullah ibn Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, from his father, from Ibn Abbas, who said: I spent the night with my maternal aunt Maymunah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ got up to pray at night, and I stood to his left. He gestured for me to move, took me by the head, and positioned me to his right.

Hannad ibn As-Sari narrated to us from Abu Muawiyah, from Al-A‘mash, from Umarah ibn Umayr, from Abu Ma‘mar, from Abu Masud, who said: During prayer, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to touch our shoulders and say, 'Keep straight and do not differ, lest your hearts differ. Let those of sound judgment and understanding stand directly behind me, then those next to them, then those next to them.' Abu Masud said: Today you are in even greater disagreement. Abu Abd Ar-Rahman (An-Nasa'i) said: Abu Ma‘mar's name was Abdullah ibn Sakhbarah.

Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Ali ibn Muqaddam narrated to us: Yusuf ibn Yaqub narrated to us: At-Taymi informed me from Abu Mijlaz, from Qays ibn Ubad, who said: While I was in the mosque in the front row, a man behind me pulled me aside and took my place. By Allah, I could not concentrate on my prayer. When he finished, I saw that it was Ubayy ibn Ka‘b. He said, 'Young man, may Allah spare you any harm. This is an instruction the Prophet ﷺ gave us: that we should stand directly behind him.' Then he faced the qiblah and said three times, 'By the Lord of the Ka‘bah, the people of authority have perished!' Then he said, 'By Allah, I do not grieve for them, but I grieve for those whom they have led astray.' I asked, 'Abu Yaqub, whom do you mean by the people of authority?' He said, 'The rulers.'

Muhammad ibn Salamah narrated to us: Ibn Wahb informed us from Yunus, from Ibn Shihab, who said: Abu Salamah ibn Abd Ar-Rahman informed me that he heard Abu Hurayrah say: The iqamah was given, and we stood and straightened the rows before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out to us. He came and stood in his prayer place, but before saying the opening takbir, he turned away and told us, 'Stay where you are.' We remained standing and waiting until he came out to us, having performed ghusl, with water dripping from his head. Then he said the takbir and prayed.

Qutaybah ibn Sa‘id informed us: Abu Al-Ahwas informed us from Simak, from An-Nu‘man ibn Bashir, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to straighten the rows as arrows are straightened. He saw a man whose chest protruded beyond the row. I saw the Prophet ﷺ say, 'You must straighten your rows, or Allah will cause discord among you.'

Qutaybah ibn Sa‘id narrated to us: Abu Al-Ahwas narrated to us from Mansur, from Talhah ibn Musarrif, from Abdur-Rahman ibn Awsajah, from Al-Bara ibn Azib, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pass through the rows from one side to the other, touching our shoulders and chests, and saying, 'Do not differ, lest your hearts differ.' He also used to say, 'Allah and His angels invoke blessings upon the front rows.'

Bishr ibn Khalid Al-Askari narrated to us: Ghundar narrated to us from Shu‘bah, from Sulayman, from Umarah ibn Umayr, from Abu Ma‘mar, from Abu Masud, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to touch our shoulders and say, 'Stand evenly and do not differ, lest your hearts differ. Let those of sound judgment and understanding stand directly behind me, then those next to them, then those next to them.'

Abu Bakr ibn Nafi informed us: Bahz ibn Asad narrated to us: Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us from Thabit, from Anas, that the Prophet ﷺ used to say, 'Straighten your rows, straighten your rows, straighten your rows. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I see you behind me just as I see you in front of me.'

Ali ibn Hujr informed us: Ismail informed us from Humayd, from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: Before saying the opening takbir, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ turned to face us as he stood for prayer and said, 'Straighten your rows and stand close together, for I can see you behind my back.'

Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak Al-Mukharrimi narrated to us: Abu Hisham narrated to us: Aban narrated to us: Qatadah narrated to us: Anas narrated to us, that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said, 'Close your rows, bring them near one another, and align your necks. By the One in Whose hand is Muhammad's soul, I can see devils entering through the gaps in the row as if they were small sheep.'

Qutaybah narrated to us: Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad narrated to us from Al-A‘mash, from Al-Musayyab ibn Rafi, from Tamim ibn Tarafah, from Jabir ibn Samurah, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out to us and said, 'Will you not form rows as the angels form rows before their Lord?' They asked, 'How do the angels form rows before their Lord?' He said, 'They complete the first row, then stand close together in the row.'