Prayer

عن أبي سليمان مالك بن الحويرث رضي الله عنه قال: أَتَينَا رسُول الله -صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم- ونَحنُ شَبَبَةٌ مُتَقَارِبُون، فَأَقَمْنَا عِندَهُ عِشْرِينَ لَيلَةً، وَكَان رَسُولُ الله -صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم- رَحِيمًا رَفِيقًا، فَظَنَّ أَنَّا قَدْ اشْتَقْنَا أَهْلَنَا، فَسَألَنا عمَّنْ تَرَكْنا مِنْ أَهلِنا، فأَخبَرنَاه، فقال: «ارْجِعُوا إلى أَهْلِيكُم، فَأَقِيمُوا فيهم، وَعَلِّمُوهُم وَمُرُوهُم، وَصَلُّوا صَلاَةَ كَذَا في حِينِ كذَا، وصَلُّوا كَذَا في حِينِ كَذَا، فَإِذا حَضَرَتِ الصلاةُ فَلْيُؤذِّن لكم أَحَدُكُم وَلْيَؤُمَّكُم أكبركم». زاد البخاري في رواية له: «وصَلُّوا كَمَا رَأَيتُمُونِي أُصَلِّي».

Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "We came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) when we were young and of about the same age.” That was in the Year of Delegations, 9 A.H. They were young men and they stayed with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) for twenty nights. They came to him to learn the religion of Allah. Mālik said: "The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was merciful and compassionate. He realized our longing for our families. He asked us about our families whom we had left behind and we told him about them. Thereupon, he said: "Go back to your people and stay with them. Teach them (religion) and command them (to adhere to it), pray so-and-so prayer at so-and-so time, and when prayer becomes due, let one of you pronounce the Adhān and let the eldest among you lead you in prayer." Another version by Al-Bukhāri adds: “Pray as you saw me pray.” This indicates that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was famous for his mercy and compassion. He was the most merciful and the most compassionate among people towards people. When he perceived their longing for their families and asked them about their people whom they had left behind and they informed him about them, he ordered them to return home. "And let the eldest among you lead you in prayer" points out that older one should take precedence when it comes to leading prayer. And by the way, this does not contradict the Prophet’s statement: "Let the best reciter of the Book of Allah among the people lead them in prayer.” This is because these young men came to the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) at the same time and apparently there was no significant difference between them in terms of the Qur’an’s recitation. Hence, he said: "And let the eldest among you lead you in prayer", because they were equal, or almost equal, in reciting the Qur’an. If they were the same in terms of reciting the Qur’an, knowledge of the Sunnah, and making the Hijrah, then the eldest among them should take precedence and lead the prayer. His statement "Pray as you saw me pray" confirms the fact that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach people their religion by words and deeds. For example, he taught the man who offered prayer hastily, saying: "When you get up to pray, perform ablution perfectly, stand facing the Qiblah, make Takbīr, recite some of what you memorize of the Qur’an, and then bow down." In the case of those young men, he chose to teach by deeds.

رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين، للإمام أبي زكريا النووي، تحقيق د. ماهر الفحل، دار ابن كثير-دمشق، الطبعة الأولى، 1428هـ. دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين، لمحمد بن علان الشافعي، دار الكتاب العربي- بيروت - بدون تاريخ. بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، تأليف سليم الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي- الطبعة الأولى1418ه نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، تأليف د. مصطفى الخِن وغيره، مؤسسة الرسالة - بيروت، الطبعة الرابعة عشر، 1407هـ. صحيح البخاري، للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب - الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. كنوز رياض الصالحين، لحمد بن ناصر العمار، دار كنوز إشبيليا - الطبعة الأولى 1430هـ. شرح رياض الصالحين، للشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين، مدار الوطن، الرياض، 1426هـ.

عَنْ عُثْمَانَ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «مَا مِنَ امْرِئٍ مُسْلِمٍ تَحْضُرُهُ صَلَاةٌ مَكْتُوبَةٌ فَيُحْسِنُ وُضُوءَهَا وَخُشُوعَهَا وَرُكُوعَهَا، إِلَّا كَانَتْ كَفَّارَةً لِمَا قَبْلَهَا مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ، مَا لَمْ يُؤْتِ كَبِيرَةً، وَذَلِكَ الدَّهْرَ كُلَّهُ».

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that no Muslim who, when the time for an obligatory prayer becomes due, perfects and completes its ablution, then prays with humility in such a way that his heart and all of his body organs are devoted to Allah and heedful of His greatness, and he perfects the acts of prayer like bowing, prostration and other actions, except that this prayer will serve as an expiation for the preceding minor sins as long as he has not committed a major sin; and this merit applies to all times and every prayer.

• The prayer that expiates sins is that in which one perfects its ablution and performs it with humility and which is fully devoted to Allah Almighty.
• The merit of performing acts of worship regularly and that these are a means of forgiving minor sins.
• The merit of perfecting ablution and excellently performing prayer with humility.
• The importance of avoiding major sins to have the minor sins forgiven.
• Major sins are forgiven only through repentance.

صحيح مسلم (1/ 206) (228). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (2/ 257). تطريز رياض الصالحين، لفيصل آل مبارك (ص611). فيض القدير شرح الجامع الصغير، لعبدالرؤوف المناوي (5/ 472). كنوز رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (13/ 243). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، مجموعة من الباحثين (2/ 773).

عن بريدة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: «إِنَّ الْعَهْدَ الَّذِي بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمُ الصَّلَاةُ، فَمَنْ تَرَكَهَا فَقَدْ كَفَرَ».

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pointed out that the covenant and pledge between the Muslims and the disbelievers and hypocrites is prayer. So, whoever abandons it has become a disbeliever.

• The Hadīth shows the great status of the prayers and that they are the distinguishing feature between the believer and the disbeliever.
• The rulings of Islam are established based on the outward circumstances of people, regardless of their inward circumstances.

سنن النسائي (1/ 231) (463)، سنن الترمذي (4/ 365) (2621)، سنن ابن ماجه (2/ 181) (1079)، مسند أحمد (38/ 20) (22937)، فيض القدير (4/ 395)، ذخيرة العقبى في شرح المجتبى (6/ 192) (6/ 193).