The Book of the Commencement of the Prayer

Qutaybah narrated to us, from Malik, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdullah ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Sasah, from his father, from Abu Said al-Khudri, that a man heard another man reciting, Say: He is Allah, One, repeatedly. In the morning, he went to the Prophet ﷺ and told him about it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, By the One in whose hand is my soul, it is equivalent to one-third of the Quran.

Muhammad ibn Bashshar informed us: Abd al-Rahman narrated to us: Zaidah narrated to us, from Mansur, from Hilal ibn Yasaf, from Rabi ibn Khuthaym, from Amr ibn Maymun, from Ibn Abi Layla, from a woman, from Abu Ayyub, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: Say: He is Allah, One, is one-third of the Quran. Abu Abd al-Rahman said: I know no chain of transmission longer than this.

Muhammad ibn Qudamah informed us: Jarir narrated to us, from al-Amash, from Muharib ibn Dithar, from Jabir, who said: Muadh stood and led the night prayer, making it long. The Prophet ﷺ said, Are you causing hardship, Muadh? Are you causing hardship, Muadh? Why did you not recite, Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High, and By the morning brightness, and When the sky is split open?

Qutaybah informed us: al-Layth narrated to us, from Abu al-Zubair, from Jabir, who said: Muadh ibn Jabal led his companions in the night prayer and made it long. One of us left, and Muadh was told about him. Muadh said, He is a hypocrite. When the man heard what had been said about him, he went to the Prophet ﷺ and told him what Muadh had said. The Prophet ﷺ said, Do you want to cause hardship, Muadh? When you lead people in prayer, recite By the sun and its brightness, Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High, By the night when it covers, and Recite in the name of your Lord.

Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Shaqiq informed us: My father narrated to me; al-Husayn ibn Waqid reported to us, from Abdullah ibn Buraidah, from his father, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite in the later ʿIsha prayer, “By the sun and its brightness,” and surahs similar to it.

Qutaybah informed us, from Malik, from Yahya ibn Saʿid, from ʿAdi ibn Thabit, from al-Baraʾ ibn ʿAzib, who said: “I prayed the ʿAtamah (Isha) prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he recited in it, ‘By the fig and the olive.’”

Ismaʿil ibn Masʿud informed us: Yazid ibn Zurayʿ narrated to us: Shuʿbah narrated to us, from ʿAdi ibn Thabit, from al-Baraʾ ibn ʿAzib, who said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was on a journey and recited ‘By the fig and the olive’ in the first rakʿah of the Isha prayer.”

ʿAmr ibn ʿAli informed us: Yahya ibn Saʿid narrated to us: Shuʿbah narrated to us: Abu ʿAwn told me: “I heard Jabir ibn Samurah say that ʿUmar said to Saʿd: ‘The people have complained about you in every matter, even the prayer.’ Saʿd said: ‘I take my time in the first two rakʿahs and shorten the last two. I spare no effort to follow the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in prayer.’ ʿUmar said: ‘That is what I expected of you.’”

Hammad ibn Ismaʿil ibn Ibrahim ibn ʿUlayyah, Abu al-Hasan, informed us: My father narrated to us, from Dawud al-Taʾi, from ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, from Jabir ibn Samurah, who said: “Some people of Kufa spoke ill of Saʿd to ʿUmar. They said, ‘By Allah, he does not pray properly.’ He said: ‘As for me, I lead them in prayer as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, and I do not deviate from that. I prolong the first two rakʿahs and shorten the last two.’ ʿUmar said: ‘That is what I expected of you.’”

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim informed us: ʿIsa ibn Yunus reported to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Shaqiq, from ʿAbdullah, who said: “I know the corresponding surahs that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite: twenty surahs in ten rakʿahs.” Then he took ʿAlqamah by the hand and went inside. ʿAlqamah then came out to us; we asked him, and he told us which surahs they were.

Ismaʿil ibn Masʿud informed us: Khalid narrated to us: Shuʿbah narrated to us, from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, who said: “I heard Abu Waʾil say: A man said in ʿAbdullah’s presence, ‘I recited al-Mufassal in one rakʿah.’ He said: ‘That is hurried recitation, like reciting poetry. I know the corresponding surahs that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite together.’ He then mentioned twenty surahs from al-Mufassal, two surahs at a time in each rakʿah.”

ʿAmr ibn Mansur informed us: ʿAbdullah ibn Rajaʾ narrated to us: Israʾil reported to us, from Abu Husayn, from Yahya ibn Waththab, from Masruq, from ʿAbdullah. A man came to him and said: “Last night I recited al-Mufassal in one rakʿah.” He replied: “That is hurried recitation, like reciting poetry. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite corresponding surahs: twenty surahs from al-Mufassal, from the Ha-Mim surahs.”

Muhammad bin Abd al-A'la narrated to us; Khalid narrated to us; Ibn Jurayj narrated to us; Muhammad bin Abbad informed me—in a report he traced to Ibn Sufyan, from Abdullah bin al-Sa'ib—who said: I was present with the Messenger of Allah on the day of the Conquest. He prayed in front of the Kaaba, took off his sandals and placed them to his left, and began reciting Surat al-Mu'minun. When the mention of Moses or Jesus (peace be upon them) came, a fit of coughing seized him, so he bowed.

Muhammad ibn Bashshar informed us: Yahya, ʿAbd al-Rahman, and Ibn Abi ʿAdi narrated to us, from Shuʿbah, from Sulayman, from Saʿd ibn ʿUbaydah, from al-Mustawrid ibn al-Ahnaf, from Silah ibn Zufar, from Hudhayfah, that he prayed beside the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) one night. The Prophet recited; whenever he came to a verse of punishment, he stopped and sought refuge with Allah, and whenever he came to a verse of mercy, he stopped and supplicated. In his bowing he would say, “Glory be to my Lord, the Magnificent,” and in his prostration, “Glory be to my Lord, the Most High.”

Muhammad ibn Adam informed us, from Hafs ibn Ghiyath, from al-ʿAlaʾ ibn al-Musayyab, from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, from Talhah ibn Yazid, from Hudhayfah; and al-Aʿmash, from Saʿd ibn ʿUbaydah, from al-Mustawrid ibn al-Ahnaf, from Silah ibn Zufar, from Hudhayfah, reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited al-Baqarah, Aal ʿImran, and al-Nisaʾ in one rakʿah. He did not come to a verse of mercy without asking for it, nor to a verse of punishment without seeking refuge.

Nuh ibn Habib informed us: Yahya ibn Saʿid al-Qattan narrated to us: Qudamah ibn ʿAbdullah narrated to me: Jasrah bint Dajajah said: “I heard Abu Dharr say: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood in prayer until dawn reciting a verse. The verse was: ‘If You punish them, they are Your servants; but if You forgive them, then indeed You are the Almighty, the All-Wise.’”

Ahmad ibn Maniʿ and Yaʿqub ibn Ibrahim al-Dawraqi informed us: Hushaym narrated to us: Abu Bishr, Jaʿfar ibn Abi Wahshiyyah (who is Ibn Iyas), narrated to us, from Saʿid ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas, concerning the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: “Do not recite your prayer aloud, nor recite it silently.” He said: “It was revealed while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was in hiding in Mecca. When he led his companions in prayer, he would raise his voice”—Ibn Maniʿ said, “he would recite the Qur’an aloud”—“and when the polytheists heard his voice, they would insult the Qur’an, the One who sent it down, and the one who brought it. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said to His Prophet: ‘Do not recite your prayer aloud,’ that is, your recitation, lest the polytheists hear and insult the Qur’an; ‘nor recite it silently,’ away from your companions so that they cannot hear; ‘but seek a way between that.’”

Muhammad ibn Qudamah informed us: Jarir narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Jaʿfar ibn Iyas, from Saʿid ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas, who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to raise his voice while reciting the Qur’an. When the polytheists heard him, they would insult the Qur’an and the one who brought it. So the Prophet began to lower his voice while reciting the Qur’an, to the extent that his companions could hear him. Then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed: ‘Do not recite your prayer aloud, nor recite it silently, but seek a way between that.’”

Yaʿqub ibn Ibrahim al-Dawraqi informed us, from Wakiʿ, who said: Misʿar narrated to us, from Abu al-ʿAlaʾ, from Yahya ibn Jaʿdah, from Umm Haniʾ, who said: “I used to hear the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) recitation while I was in my ʿarīsh, my rooftop shelter.”

ʿAmr ibn ʿAli informed us: ʿAbd al-Rahman narrated to us: Jarir ibn Hazim narrated to us, from Qatadah, who said: “I asked Anas, ‘How did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recite?’ He said: ‘He would prolong his voice with measured prolongation.’”