Book 4: Prayer

‘Umar b. al-Khattab said that the Prophet (ﷺ) sent to Najd an expedition which took much booty and came back quickly. A man who had not gone out said, “We have never seen an expedition return more quickly or bring finer booty than this one," whereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Shall I not indicate to you people who have most excellent booty and a most excellent return? They are people who have been present at the Morning Prayer, then sat making mention of God till the sun rose. Those have the quickest return and most excellent booty." Tirmidhi transmitted it and said this is a gharib tradition and Hammad b. Abu Humaid the transmitter is weak in tradition.

Mu'awiya b. al-Hakam said: While I was praying along with God's Messenger a man in the campany sneezed, and I said, “God have mercy on you!” The people gave me disapproving looks, so I said, “Woe is me! What do you mean by looking at me?” They began to strike their hands on their thighs, and when I saw them urging me to be silent [I became angry],¹ but I said nothing. When God’s Messenger finished his prayer (and I declare that neither before him nor after him have I seen a teacher who gave better instruction than he for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom), I swear by God that he did not scold, beat, or revile me, but said, “No talk to others is fitting during this prayer, for it consists only of glorifying God, declaring His greatness, and recitation of the Qur’an,” or words to that effect. I said, “Messenger of God, I have only recently been a pagan, but God has brought Islam to us, and among us there are men who have recourse to kahins.”² He replied, “Do not have recourse to them.” I said, “Among us there are men who take omens.” He replied, “That is something which they find in their breasts, but let it not turn them away [from freedom of action]”. I said, “Among us there are men who draw lines.”³ He replied, “There was a prophet who drew lines, so if any do it as he did, that is allowable.” 1. Some such phrase as that in brackets is required to complete the sense. It can be seen from the remarks at the end of the tradition that the text has been considered difficult. 2. Diviners, soothsayers. 3. The reference is to geomancy. The diviner draws many lines and obliterates them in pairs. If two are left it is a good sign, but if only one remains it indicates disappointment. The reference to the prophet may be a recollection of the statement in John 8:6 that Jesus wrote on the ground with his finger when the people asked what should be done with the woman caught in adultery; but this has no connection with geomancy. Muslim transmitted it. I found the phrase “But I said nothing” given thus in Muslim’s Sahih and al-Humaidi’s book. In Jami' al-usul it is stated to be correct, the word “thus”* being written above “but I.” *This corresponds to the use of (sic) to indicate an accurate quotation.

‘Abdallah b. Mas'ud said: We used to greet the Prophet (ﷺ) while he was engaged in prayer and he would respond to our greeting, but when we returned from the Negus* we greeted him and he did not respond to us, so we said, “Messenger of God, we used to greet you when you were engaged in prayer and you would respond to us.” He replied, “Prayer demands one’s whole attention.” * The reference is to the return of those who had gone from Mecca to Abyssinia when Muslims were being persecuted. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Mu'aiqib quoted the Prohpet as saying about a man who smoothed the ground where he prostrated himself, “If you do it, do it only once.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira said that God’s Messenger forbade putting the hands on the waist during prayer. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

‘A’isha said: I asked God’s Messenger about looking to the side during prayer and he said, “It is something which the devil snatches from a servant’s prayer.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “People must stop raising their eyes to heaven while making supplication in prayer, otherwise their sight will be taken away.” Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Qatada said: I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) leading the people in prayer with Umama daughter of Abul ‘As on his shoulder. When he bowed he put her down, and when he got up after the prostration he put her back. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Sa'id reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When one of you yawns during prayer he must restrain it as much as possible, for the devil gets in.” Muslim transmitted it. In a version by Bukhari from Abu Huraira he said, “When one of you yawns during prayer he must restrain it as much as possible and not say ‘Ha’, for that comes from the devil who is laughing at him.”(Or “at it”, i.e. at this action).

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “An ‘ifrit of the jinn escaped yesterday to interrupt my prayer, but God gave me power over him, so I seized him and intended to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque in order that you might all look at him; but I remembered the supplication of my brother Solomon, ‘My Lord, give me such a kingdom as will not be fitting for anyone after me’ (Al-Qur’an; 38:35) so I made him clear out.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Sahl b. Sa‘d reported God's Messenger as saying, “If anything happens to someone during prayer he should say, ‘Glory be to God,’ for clapping applies only to women.” In a version he said, “Saying 'Glory be to God’ applies to men and clapping to women.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)