The Book of Leading the Prayer (Al-Imamah)

Qutaybah narrated to us from Malik, from Nafi‘, from Ibn Umar, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Prayer in congregation is twenty-seven degrees superior to prayer offered alone.'

Qutaybah narrated to us from Malik, from Ibn Shihab, from Sa‘id ibn Al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Prayer in congregation is twenty-five portions superior to the prayer one of you offers alone.'

Ubaydullah ibn Sa‘id narrated to us: Yahya ibn Sa‘id narrated to us from Abdur-Rahman ibn Ammar, who said: Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad narrated to me from Aishah, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said, 'Prayer in congregation is twenty-five degrees superior to prayer offered alone.'

Qutaybah narrated to us: Abu Awanah narrated to us from Qatadah, from Abu Nadr, from Abu Sa‘id, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'When there are three people, one of them should lead them in prayer; the one most entitled to lead is the one who recites the Qur'an best.'

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 Al-Qays, told him that he heard Ikrimah 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.

Suwayd ibn Nasr narrated to us: Abdullah narrated to us from Abd Al-Malik ibn Abi Sulayman, from Ata, from Ibn Abbas, who said: I prayed with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and stood to his left. He took me by my left hand and positioned me to his right.

Ismail ibn Masud informed us: Khalid ibn Al-Harith narrated to us from Shu‘bah, from Abu Ishaq, who reported to them from Abdullah ibn Abi Basir, from his father. Shu‘bah said: Abu Ishaq also said that he heard it from him and from his father. He said: I heard Ubayy ibn Ka‘b say: One day the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed the dawn prayer and asked, 'Did so-and-so attend the prayer?' They said, 'No.' He asked, 'And so-and-so?' They said, 'No.' He said, 'These two prayers are among the heaviest prayers for the hypocrites. If they knew what reward they contain, they would come to them even crawling. The first row is like the row of the angels. If you knew its virtue, you would hasten to it. A man's prayer with another man is better than his prayer alone, and his prayer with two men is better than his prayer with one man. The greater their number, the more beloved it is to Allah, Mighty and Sublime.'

Nasr ibn Ali informed us: Abd Al-Ala informed us: Ma‘mar narrated to us from Az-Zuhri, from Mahmud, from Itban ibn Malik, who said: Messenger of Allah, floodwaters come between me and the mosque of my people. I would like you to come and pray in a place in my house that I can make into a mosque. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'We will do that.' When he entered, he asked, 'Where would you like me to pray?' I pointed to a corner of the house. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood there, we formed rows behind him, and he led us in two rak‘ahs.

Ali ibn Hujr informed us: Ismail informed us from Humayd, from Anas, 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.'

Hannad ibn As-Sari narrated to us: Abu Zubayd—whose name was Abthar ibn Al-Qasim—narrated to us from Husayn, from Abdullah ibn Abi Qatadah, from his father, who said: We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when some people said, 'Messenger of Allah, why don't you let us rest here for a while?' He said, 'I fear you will sleep through the prayer.' Bilal said, 'I will keep watch over you.' They lay down and slept. Bilal leaned his back against his mount. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ woke when the sun's edge had appeared and said, 'Bilal, where is what you promised?' He replied, 'I have never been overcome by sleep like this before.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Allah, Mighty and Sublime, takes your souls when He wills and returns them when He wills. Get up, Bilal, and call the people to prayer.' Bilal stood and gave the call to prayer. They performed ablution when the sun had risen higher, then the Messenger stood and led them in prayer.

Suwayd ibn Nasr informed us: Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak informed us from Za'idah ibn Qudamah, who said: As-Sa'ib ibn Hubaysh Al-Kila‘i narrated to us from Ma‘dan ibn Abi Talhah Al-Ya‘mari, who said: Abu Ad-Darda asked me, 'Where do you live?' I said, 'In a village near Hims.' Abu Ad-Darda said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'Whenever three people live in a village or the countryside and prayer is not established among them, Satan has gained control over them. So adhere to the congregation, for the wolf eats the one that strays away.' As-Sa'ib said: By congregation, he meant the congregational prayer.

Qutaybah narrated to us from Malik, from Abu Az-Zinad, from Al-Araj, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I considered ordering firewood to be gathered, then ordering that the prayer be announced, and appointing a man to lead the people. Then I would go to the men who stayed away and burn their houses over them. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if one of them knew he would find a meaty bone or two choice morsels, he would attend the night prayer.'

Suwayd ibn Nasr informed us: Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak informed us from Al-Mas‘udi, from Ali ibn Al-Aqmar, from Abu Al-Ahwas, from Abdullah, who used to say: Whoever would like to meet Allah, Mighty and Sublime, tomorrow as a Muslim should regularly attend these five prayers wherever their call is made. Allah, Mighty and Sublime, prescribed the ways of guidance for His Prophet ﷺ, and these prayers are among the ways of guidance. I do not think anyone among you lacks a place to pray in his home. If you prayed in your homes and abandoned your mosques, you would abandon the Sunnah of your Prophet; and if you abandoned the Sunnah of your Prophet, you would go astray. No Muslim performs ablution well and then walks to a prayer without Allah, Mighty and Sublime, recording a good deed for every step he takes, raising him a degree by it, or erasing a sin from him. We used to take short steps. I saw that no one stayed away from these prayers except a hypocrite whose hypocrisy was known. I saw a man being supported between two others until he was brought to stand in the row.

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: Marwan ibn Muawiyah narrated to us: Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Al-Asamm narrated to us from his uncle, Yazid ibn Al-Asamm, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: A blind man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, 'I have no guide to lead me to prayer.' He asked for permission to pray at home, and the Prophet granted it. As the man turned to leave, he called him back and asked, 'Can you hear the call to prayer?' He said, 'Yes.' The Prophet said, 'Then respond to it.'

Harun ibn Zayd ibn Abi Az-Zarqa informed us: My father narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us. Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq also informed me: Qasim ibn Yazid narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us from Abdur-Rahman ibn Abis, from Abdur-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, from Ibn Umm Maktum, who said: Messenger of Allah, Madinah has many harmful creatures and wild beasts. He said, 'Can you hear the call: Come to prayer, come to success?' He said, 'Yes.' The Prophet said, 'Then come promptly.' He did not grant him a concession.

Qutaybah narrated to us from Malik, from Hisham ibn Urwah, from his father, that Abdullah ibn Arqam used to lead his companions in prayer. One day, when prayer time came, he went to relieve himself. When he returned, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah say, When one of you feels the need to relieve himself, let him do so before praying.

Muhammad ibn Mansur narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us from Az-Zuhri, from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'When dinner is served and the iqamah for prayer is given, begin with dinner.'

Muhammad ibn Al-Muthanna narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Ja‘far narrated to us: Shu‘bah narrated to us from Qatadah, from Abu Al-Malih, from his father, who said: We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at Hunayn when rain fell on us. A caller of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ announced, 'Pray where you are staying.'

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: Abd Al-Aziz ibn Muhammad narrated to us from Ibn Tahlah, from Muhsin ibn Ali Al-Fihri, from Awf ibn Al-Harith, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said: 'Whoever performs ablution well, then deliberately sets out for the mosque and finds that the people have already prayed, Allah will give him a reward like that of those who attended, without diminishing their reward at all.'

Sulayman ibn Dawud narrated to us from Ibn Wahb, who said: Amr ibn Al-Harith informed me that Al-Hukaym ibn Abdullah Al-Qurashi told him that Nafi‘ ibn Jubayr and Abdullah ibn Abi Salamah told him that Muadh ibn Abdur-Rahman told them, from Humran, the client of Uthman ibn Affan, from Uthman ibn Affan, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'Whoever performs ablution for prayer thoroughly, then walks to the obligatory prayer and performs it with the people, with the congregation, or in the mosque, Allah will forgive his sins.'