The Book of the Commencement of the Prayer

كتاب الافتتاح

Chapter 57: The Imam saying a verse audibly in Zuhr

Abdullah bin Abi Qatadah said

"My father told us that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite Umm Al-Quran and two surahs in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and 'Asr, and he would make us hear a verse sometimes, and he used to make the first rak'ah lengthy."

Chapter 58: Making the standing shorter in the second rak'ah of Zuhr

Abdullah bin Abi Qatadah narrated that

His father told him: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite for us in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr prayer, and he would make us hear a verse sometimes. He would make the first rak'ah longer and the second shorter. And he used to do that in Subh too, make the first rak'ah longer and the second shorter. And he used to recite in the first two rak'ahs of 'Asr prayer, making the first rak'ah longer and the second shorter."

Chapter 59: Recitation in the first two rak'ahs on Zuhr

It was narrated from Abdullah bin Abi Qatadah that his father said

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite the Umm Al-Quran and two surahs in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and 'Asr, and in the last two with Umm Al-Quran, and he would make us hear a verse sometimes, and he used to make the first rak'ah lengthy."

Chapter 60: Recitation in the first two rak'ahs of 'Asr

It was narrated that Abu Salamah said

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite the Umm Al-Quran and two surahs in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and 'Asr, and he would make us hear a verse sometimes, and he used to make the first rak'ah of zuhr lengthy, and he did likewise in Subh."

It was narrated from Jabir bin Samurah that

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to recite "By the heaven holding the big stars" and: "By the heaven, and At-Tariq (the night-comer, i.e. the bright star)" and similar surahs in Zuhr and 'Asr.

It was narrated that Jabir bin Samurah said

"The Prophet (ﷺ) used to recite "By the night as it envelops" in Zuhr and something similar in 'Asr, and he would recite something longer than that in subh."

Chapter 61: Making the standing and recitation lighter

It was narrated that Zaid bin Aslam said

"We entered upon Anas bin Malik and he said: 'Have you prayed?' We said: 'Yes.' He asid: 'O slave girl, bring me water for Wudhu! I have never prayed behind any Imam whose prayer more closely resembles the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) than this Imam of yours.'" Zaid said: "Umar bin Abdul Aziz used to complete the bowing and prostration (without rushing) and lighten the standing and sitting."

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said

"I have never prayed behind anyone whose prayer more closely resembled that of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) than so-and-so." (The narrator) Sulaiman siad: "He used to make the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr lengthy and the last two shorter, and he would make 'Asr shorter; in Maghrib he would recite the short Mufassal surahs, in Isha' the medium-length Mufassal surahs and in Subh the long Mufassal surahs.

Chapter 62: Reciting the short Mufassal surahs in Maghrib

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said

"I have never prayed behind anyone whose prayer more closely resembled that of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) than so-and-so. We prayed behind that person and he used to make the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr lengthy and the last two shorter, and he would make 'Asr shorter; in Maghrib he would recite the short Mufassal surahs. In Isha' he recited: 'By the sun and its brightness and similar surahs, and in subh he recited two lengthy surahs."

Chapter 63: Reciting: "Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High" in Maghrib

It was narrated that Jabir said

"A man from among the Ansar passed Mu'adh leading two camels, when he (Mu'adh) was praying maghrib, and he was starting to recite Al-Baqarah. So that man prayed then went away. News of that reached the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said: 'Do you want to cause hardship to the people, O Mu'adh; do you want to cause hardship to the people, O Mu'adh? Why don't you recite: 'Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High' and 'By the sun and its brightness' and the like?'"

Chapter 64: Reciting Al-Mursalat (77) in Maghrib

It was narrated from Anas that Umm Al-Fadl bint Al-Harith said

" The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) led us in praying maghrib in his house and he recited Al-Mursalat, then after that, he never offered any prayer until he died."

It was narrated from Ibn Abbas from his mother that

She heard the Prophet (ﷺ) recite Al-Mursalat in Maghrib.

Chapter 65: Reciting At-Tur (52) in Maghrib

It was narrated from Muhammad bin Jubair bin Mut'im that

His father said: "I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) recite At-Tur in Maghrib."

Chapter 66: Reciting Ad-Duhkan (44) in Maghrib

Mu'awiyah bin Abdullah bin Ja'far narrated that Abdullah bin 'Utbah bin Mas'ud told him that

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited 'Ha- Mim Ad-Dukhan' in Maghrib.

Chapter 67: Reciting "Alif-Lam-Mim-Sad" in Maghrib

It was narrated from Zaid bin Thabit that

He said to Marwan: "O Abu Abdul-Malik, do you recite: 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One' and 'Verily, We have granted you Al-Kawthar' in maghrib?" He said: "Yes." He (Zaid) said: "I swear by Allah, I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting the longer of the two long surahs in it: 'Alif-Lam-Mim-Sad.'"

Marwan bin Al-Hakam narrated that

Zaid bin Thabit said: "Why do I see you reciting short surahs in Maghrib when I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting the longer of the two long surahs in it?" I said: "O Abu Abdullah, what is the longer of the two long surahs?" He said: "Al-A'raf."

It was narrated from Aishah that

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited Surat Al-A'raf in maghrib and split it between two rak'ahs.

Chapter 68: Recitation in the two rak'ahs after maghrib

It was narrated that Ibn Umar said

"I watched the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)- twenty times- reciting in the two rak'ahs after maghrib 'Say: O you disbelievers' and 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One.'"

Chapter 69: The virtue of reciting "Say: He is Allah, (the) One"

It was narrated from Aishah that

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent a man on a campaign, and he used to recite to his companions when leading them in prayer, and would conclude with 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One.' When they returned, they told the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about that. He said: "Ask them why he did that." So they asked him and he said: "Because it is a description of the Most Merciful, the Mighty and Sublime, and I love to recite it." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Tell him that Allah (SWT), the Mighty and Sublime, loves him."

It was narrated that Ubaid bin Hunain, the freed slave of the family of Zaib bin Al-Khattab, said

"I heard Abu Hurairah say: 'I came back (from a journey) with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he heard a man reciting 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One, Allah-us-Samad (the Self-Sufficient Master). He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none equal or comparable unto Him.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'It is guaranteed.' We asked him: 'What, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Paradise.'"