Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2957
حَدَّثَنَا مَحْمُودُ بْنُ غَيْلاَنَ، حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، حَدَّثَنَا أَشْعَثُ السَّمَّانُ، عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَامِرِ بْنِ رَبِيعَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ كُنَّا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي سَفَرِهِ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُظْلِمَةٍ فَلَمْ نَدْرِ أَيْنَ الْقِبْلَةُ فَصَلَّى كُلُّ رَجُلٍ مِنَّا عَلَى حِيَالِهِ فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحْنَا ذَكَرْنَا ذَلِكَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَنَزَلَتْ : (أَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ ) . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَشْعَثَ السَّمَّانِ أَبِي الرَّبِيعِ عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ . وَأَشْعَثُ يُضَعَّفُ فِي الْحَدِيثِ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amir ibn Rabi‘ah reported from his father: We were traveling with the Prophet on a very dark night and did not know where the qiblah was. Each of us prayed facing the direction he judged. In the morning, we told the Prophet, and the verse was revealed: ‘Wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah’ (Qur’an 2:115). Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith gharib, known only through Ash‘ath al-Samman Abu al-Rabi‘, from ‘Asim ibn ‘Ubayd Allah. Ash‘ath is considered weak in hadith.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The account concerns travelers unable to determine the direction of the qiblah in darkness, so each prayed facing his best estimate. Abu ‘Isa flags the sole route through Ash‘ath al-Samman as weak.