The Book of Salah
كتاب الصلاة
Chapter 1: Enjoining As-Salah And Mentioning The Differences Reported by The Narrators In The Chain Of The Hadith Of Anas Bin Malik (May Allah Be Pleased With Him), And The Different Wordings In It
"While I was at the Ka'bah, in a state between sleep and wakefulness, three men came, and one of them who was in the middle came toward me. I was brought a basin of gold, filled with wisdom and faith, and he slit open from the throat to the lower abdomen, and washed the heart with Zamzam water, then - "it was filled with wisdom and faith. Then I was brought a riding-beast, smaller than a mule and bigger than a donkey. I set off with Jibril, peace be upon him, and we came to the lowest heaven. It was said: 'Who is with you?' He said: 'Muhammad.' It was said: 'Has (revelation) been sent to him? Welcome to him, what an excellent visit his is.' I came to Adam, peace be upon him, and greeted him, and he said: 'Welcome to you! What an excellent son and Prophet.' Then we came to the second heaven and it was said: 'Who is this?' He said: 'Jibra'il.' [1] It was said: 'Who is with you?' he said: 'Muhammad.' And the same exchange took place. I came to Yahya and 'Eisa, peace be upon them both, and greeted them, and they said: 'Welcome to you! What an excellent brother and Prophet.' Then we came to the third heaven and it was said: 'Who is this?' He said: 'Jibra'il.' It was said: 'Who is with you?' He said: 'Muhammad.' And the same exchange took place. I came to Yusuf, peace be upon him, and greeted him, and he said: 'Welcome to you! What an excellent brother and Prophet.' Then we came to the fourth heaven and the same exchange took place. I came to Idris, peace be upon him, and greeted him, and he said: 'Welcome to you! What an excellent brother and Prophet.' Then we came to the fifth heaven and the same exchange took place. I came to Harun, peace be upon him, and greeted him, and he said: 'Welcome to you! What an excellent brother and Prophet.' Then we came to the sixth heaven and the same exchange took place. I came to Musa, peace be upon him, and greeted him, and he said: 'Welcome to you! What an excellent brother and Prophet.' What I passed him, he wept, and it was said: 'Why are you weeping?' He said: 'O Lord, this young man whom You have sent after me, more of his Ummah will enter Paradise than from my nation, and they will be more virtuous than them.' Then we came to the seventh heaven and a similar exchange took place. I came to Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and greeted him, and he said: 'Welcome to you! What an excellent son and Prophet.' Then I was taken up to the Oft-Frequented House (Al-Bait al-Ma'mur) and I asked Jibra'il about it, and he said: 'This is Al-Bait al-Ma'mur in which seventy thousand angels pray everyday, and when they leave it they never come back.' Then I was taken up to Sidrah Al-Muntaha (the Lote-Tree of the Utmost Boundary). Its fruits were like Qilal [2] of Hajar and its leaves were like the ears of elephants. At its base were four rivers: Two hidden rivers and two manifest rivers. I asked Jibril (About them) and he said: 'The two hidden ones are in paradise, and the two manifest ones are the Euphrates and the Nile.' Then fifty prayers were enjoined upon me. I came to Musa and he said: 'What happened?' I said: 'Fifty prayers have been enjoined upon me.' He said: 'I know more about the people than you. I tried hard with the Children of Israel. Your Ummah will never be able to bear that. Go back to your Lord and ask Him to reduce it for you.' So I went back to my Lord and asked Him to reduce it, and He made it forty. Then I went back to Musa, peace be upon him, and he said: 'What happened?' I said: 'He made it forty.' He said to me something similar to what he said the first time, so I went back to my Lord and He made it thirty. I came to Musa, peace be upon him, and told him, and he said to me something similar to what he said the first time, so I went back to my Lord and he made it twenty, then ten, then five. I came to Musa, peace be upon him, and he said to me something like he had said the first time, but I said: 'I feel too shy before my Lord to go back to Him.' Then it was called out: 'I have decreed (the reward for) My obligation, and I have reduced the burden for My slaves and I will give a ten-fold reward for each good deed.'"[1] It is like this here, while it is Jibra'il the first time it appears in this narration, and Jibra'il is often used in the Hadith literature.[2] Plural of Qullah
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, enjoined fifty prayers upon my Ummah, and I came back with that until I passed by Musa, peace be upon him, who said: 'What has your Lord enjoined upon your Ummah?' I said: 'He has enjoined fifty prayers on them.' Musa said to me: 'Go back to your Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, for your Ummah will not be able to do that.' So I went back to my Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, and He reduced a portion of it. Then I came back to Musa and told him, and he said: 'Go back to you Lord, for your Ummah will not be able to do that.' So I went back to my Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, and He said: 'They are five (prayers) but they are fifty (in reward), and the Word that comes from Me cannot be changed.' [1] I came back to Musa and he said: 'Go back to your Lord.' I said: 'I feel too shy before my Lord, the Mighty and Sublime.'"[1]See Surah Qaf 50:29.
"When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was taken on the Night Journey, he came to Sidrah Al-Muntaha, which is in the sixth heaven. That is where everything that comes up from below ends, and where everything that comes down from above, until it is taken from it. Allah says: When what covered the lote-tree did cover it! [1] He said: "It was moths of gold. And I was given three things: The five daily prayers, the last verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, and whoever of my Ummah dies without associating anything with Allah will be forgiven for Al-Muqhimat." [2][1] An-Najm 53:16.[2] "The sins of the worst magnitude that drag one into the Fire." (An-Nihayah)
Chapter 2: Where was The Salah Made Obligatory?
It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that the prayers were enjoined in Makkah, and that two angels came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and took him to Zamzam, where they split open his stomach and took out his innards in a basin of gold, and washed them with Zamzam water, then they filled his heart with wisdom and knowledge.
Chapter 3: How The Salah Was Made Obligatory
"Urwah told me that 'Aishah said: 'Allah enjoined the salah upon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and the first thing that He enjoined was two Rak'ahs at a time, then it was made complete four Rak'ahs while in the state of residence but the prayer when traveling remained two Rak'ahs, as it was first enjoined.'"
"The Salah was enjoined two Rak'ahs at a time, then the Salah when traveling remained like that, but the Salah while resident was increased."
Chapter 5: Making A Pledge To Offer The Five Daily Prayers
"We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he said: 'Will you not pledge to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?' And he repeated it three times. So we stretched forth our hands to give our pledge. We said: 'O Messenger of Allah, we are willing to give you our pledge, but on what?' He said: 'That you will worship Allah and not associate anything with him, and (offer) the five daily prayers.' And he said, very quietly: 'And you will not ask the people for anything.'"
Chapter 6: Observing The Five Daily Prayers
"In the morning I went to 'Ubadah bin As-Samit, and I met him while he was on his way to the Masjid. I told him what Abu Muhammad said, and 'Ubadah said: 'Abu Muhammad is wrong. I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: 'Five prayers are those that Allah has decreed for (His) slaves, whoever does them, and does not neglect any of them out of disregard toward them, will have a promise from Allah that He will admit him to Paradise. And whoever does not to them will have no such promise from Allah; if He wills he will punish him and if He wills He will admit him to Paradise.
Chapter 7: The Virtue Of The Five Daily Prayers
"Do you think that is there was a river by the door of any one of you, and he bathed in it five times each day, would there be any trace of dirt left on him?" They said: "No trace of dirt would be left on him." He said: "That is the likeness of the five daily prayers. By means of them Allah erases sins."
Chapter 16: The Number Of Rak'ahs In Salat Al-'Asr While A Resident
"We used to estimate how long the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood when praying in Zuhr and 'Asr. We estimated that he stood in Zuhr for as long as it take to recite thirty verses, as long as Surat As-Sajadah in the fits two Rak'ahs, and half that in the last two. And we estimated that he stood for as long in the fits two Rak'ahs, and half that in the last two. And we estimated that he stood for as long in the first two Rak'ahs of 'Asr as he stood in the last two Rak'ahs of Zuhr, and we estimated that he stood half as long as that in the last two Rak'ahs of 'Asr."
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to stand in Zuhr and recite the equivalent of thirty verses in each Rak'ah, then in the first two Rak'ahs of 'Asr he would stand for the equivalent of fifteen verses."
Chapter 18: Salat Al-Maghrib
"I saw Sa'eed bin Jubari in Jam'.[1] He stood and prayed Maghrib, three Rak'ahs, then he stood and prayed 'Isha', two Rak'ahs. Then he mentioned that Ibn 'Umar had done the same thing in that place, and he mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has done the same thing in that place.[1] Meaning Al-Muzdalifah.
Chapter 19: The Virtue Of Salat Al-'Isha'
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) delayed 'Isha' until 'Umar called him and said: 'The women and children have gone to sleep.' Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out and said: 'There is no one who is offering this prayer but you.' And at that time no one used to pray except the people of Al-Madinah."
Chapter 20: Salat Al-'Isha' While Traveling
"I heard Sa'eed bin Jubair say: 'I saw 'Abdullah bin 'Umar pray in Jam'; he made the Iqamah and prayed Maghrib, three Rak'ahs, then he prayed 'Isha', two Rak'ahs, then he said: 'This is what I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) do in this place.'"
Chapter 22: Prescribing The Qiblah
"We prayed toward Bait Al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for sixteen or seventeen months - Safwan was not sure - then it was changed to the Qiblah."
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to Al-Madinah and prayed toward Bait Al-Maqdis for sixteen months, then he was commanded to face towards the Ka'bah. A man who had prayed with the Prophet (ﷺ) passed by some of the Ansar and said: 'I bear witness that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has been commanded to face towards the Ka'bah' so they turned to face the Ka'bah."
Chapter 0
Chapter 4: How Many (Prayers) Are Enjoined Each Day And Night?
"A man from the people of Najd came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) with unkempt hair. We could hear him talking loudly but we could not understand what he was saying until he came closer. He was asking about Islam. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to him: 'Five prayers each day and night.' He said: 'Do I have to do anything else' He said: 'No, unless you do it voluntarily.' He said: 'And fasting the month of Ramadan.' He said: 'Do I have to do anything else?' He said: 'No, unless you do it voluntarily.' And the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) mentioned Zakah to him, and he said: 'Do I have to do anything else?' He said: 'No, unless you do it voluntarily.' The man left saying: 'By Allah, I will not do any more than this or any less.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'He will achieve salvation, if he is speaking the truth.'"
Chapter 8: The Ruling On One Who Does Not Perform Salah
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'The covenant that stands between us and them is the Salah; whoever abandons it, he has committed disbelief.'"
Chapter 9: Being Brought To Account For The Salah
"The first thing for which a person will be brought to account will be his Salah. If it is complete (all well and good), otherwise Allah will say: 'Look and see if My slave did any voluntary prayer.' If he is found to have done voluntary prayers, his obligatory prayers will be completed therewith."