Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 154
حَدَّثَنَا هَنَّادٌ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدَةُ، - هُوَ ابْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ - عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ عُمَرَ بْنِ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ مَحْمُودِ بْنِ لَبِيدٍ، عَنْ رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " أَسْفِرُوا بِالْفَجْرِ فَإِنَّهُ أَعْظَمُ لِلأَجْرِ " . قَالَ وَقَدْ رَوَى شُعْبَةُ وَالثَّوْرِيُّ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ . قَالَ وَرَوَاهُ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَجْلاَنَ أَيْضًا عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ عُمَرَ بْنِ قَتَادَةَ . قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أَبِي بَرْزَةَ الأَسْلَمِيِّ وَجَابِرٍ وَبِلاَلٍ . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى حَدِيثُ رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ . وَقَدْ رَأَى غَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَالتَّابِعِينَ الإِسْفَارَ بِصَلاَةِ الْفَجْرِ . وَبِهِ يَقُولُ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ . وَقَالَ الشَّافِعِيُّ وَأَحْمَدُ وَإِسْحَاقُ مَعْنَى الإِسْفَارِ أَنْ يَضِحَ الْفَجْرُ فَلاَ يُشَكَّ فِيهِ وَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّ مَعْنَى الإِسْفَارِ تَأْخِيرُ الصَّلاَةِ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hannād narrated to us: ʿAbdah (that is, Ibn Sulaymān) narrated to us, from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, from ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn Qatādah, from Maḥmūd ibn Labīd, from Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, “Pray Fajr when the light spreads, for that brings a greater reward.” Shuʿbah and al-Thawrī also narrated this hadith from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq. Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān also narrated it from ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn Qatādah. There are also reports on this topic from Abū Barzah al-Aslamī, Jābir, and Bilāl. Abū ʿĪsā said: The hadith of Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj is hasan sahih. More than one scholar among the Prophet’s Companions and the Successors favored praying Fajr when the light spreads; Sufyān al-Thawrī held this view. Al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, and Isḥāq said that this means the dawn should become clear, leaving no doubt; they did not understand it to mean delaying the prayer.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
وَقَالَ الشَّافِعِيُّ وَأَحْمَدُ وَإِسْحَاقُ مَعْنَى الإِسْفَارِ أَنْ يَضِحَ الْفَجْرُ فَلاَ يُشَكَّ فِيهِ وَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّ مَعْنَى الإِسْفَارِ تَأْخِيرُ الصَّلاَةِ .
The report’s term is isfār; the compiler records a preference for daylight clarity while distinguishing it from delaying the prayer itself.
No decision requested; both the term’s application and the scholars’ interpretation are included.