In the Name of Allaah, the Merciful,
the Bestower of Mercy
Praise
be to Allaah, who made Prayer compulsory
on his slaves and ordered them to establish
it and perform it well; who linked success
and felicity to humility in Prayer; who
made it the criterion to distinguish
between Eeman and Kufr ; and who made
it a restrainer from shameful and unjust
deeds.
Prayers and peace be upon our Prophet
Muhammad, who was addressed in the Words
of the Exalted:
"And
We have sent down to you the Message,
that you may explain clearly to the people
what is sent for them"1,
and
who fully carried out this task. The
Prayer was one of the most important
things which he explained to the people,
verbally and practically, even praying
on the pulpit once - standing, bowing
and prostrating, and then saying to them,
I have done this so that you may follow
me and learn my prayer.2
He obligated us to copy him in his prayer,
saying, Pray as you have seen me praying.3
He also gave the good tidings to whoever
prayed like him that such a person has
a covenant with Allaah that He will enter
him into the Garden, saying, There
are five prayers which Allaah, Mighty
and Sublime, has made compulsory: he
who performs ablution well for them,
prays them at their proper times, and
is complete in their bowings, prostrations
and humility, he has a guarantee from
Allaah that He will forgive him; but
he who does not do so, has no guarantee
from Allaah: if He wishes, He will forgive
him or if He wishes, He will punish him.4
Prayers and peace be also on his family
and his pious and just Companions, who
passed on to us his worship, prayer,
sayings and actions (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam), and who made these, and these
alone, a Madhhab and a path for them
to follow; and also on those who follow
in their footsteps and tread their path
until the Day of Judgment.
When I finished reading the book of prayer
in At-Targheeb wat-Tarheeb by al-Haafiz
al-Mundhiri (rahimahullaah) and teaching
it to our brothers, four years ago, it
became clear to us all the important
position of the Prayer in Islaam; and
the reward, grace and respect awaiting
those who establish and perform it well;
and that all this varies, depending on
its closeness to the Prophet's prayer
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam). This
is what he indicated in his saying, Verily
the slave prays a prayer of which nothing
is written down for him except a tenth,
ninth, eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth,
quarter, third or half of it.5
Therefore, I reminded the brothers that
it is not possible for us to perform
prayer as it should be performed, or
even approach that, unless we know the
detailed description of the Prophet's
prayer (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam),
including its essentials, manners, forms,
supplications (du'aas) and remembrances
(adhkaar), and then we make an effort
to put that knowledge into practice carefully,
for then we could hope that our prayers
would restrain us from shameful and unjust
deeds, and that the reward and blessings
mentioned in the narrations would be
written down for us.
However, detailed familiarity with all
these aspects of prayer is unlikely to
be achieved by most people nowadays,
even many scholars, because of their
limiting themselves to a particular Madhhab.
But, as anyone concerned with assisting
in compiling and studying the purified
Sunnah knows, in every Madhhab there
are sunnahs which are not found in other
Madhhabs; moreover, in every Madhhab
there are sayings and actions which cannot
be authentically traced back to the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) - most
of these are found in the sayings of
the later scholars6,
many of whom we see firmly attributing
these to the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam)!7
This is why the scholars of Hadeeth -
may Allaah reward them well - have produced
books of Takhreej on the famous books
of the later scholars, explaining the
rank of each hadeeth given in them: whether
e.g. authentic, weak or fabricated. Examples
of these books of Takhreej are: Al-'Inaayah
fi Ma'rifah Ahaadeeth al- Hidaayah and
At-Turuq wal-Wasaa'il fi Takhreej Ahaadeeth
Khulaasah ad-Dalaa'il by Shaikh 'Abdul
Qaadir ibn Muhammad al- Qurashi al-Hanafi;
Nasb ar-Raayah li Ahaadeeth al-Hidaayah
by Haafiz Zayla'i, and its abridged version
ad-Dirayah by Haafiz Ibn Hajr al-Asqalaani,
who also wrote Talkhees al-Habeer fi
Takhreej Ahaadeeth ar-Raafi'i al-Kabir;
there are many others, naming which will
only lengthen this discussion.8
Since
I had not come across a comprehensive
book covering this topic, I felt obliged
to produce a book which collected together
as many features of the Prophet's prayer
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) from
the takbeer to the tasleem as possible,
for the benefit of my Muslim brothers
who wished to follow the guidance of
their Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam) in their worship, such that it
would be easy for any who truly loved
the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
to use this book to fulfil his command,
"Pray as you have seen me praying."
Thus I embarked on a difficult task,
and researched the relevant ahaadeeth
from the various sources of Hadeeth,
the book in your hands being the end
result of it all. I stipulated on myself
that I would only give ahaadeeth which
had an authentic sanad according to the
principles and regulations of the science
of Hadeeth. I disregarded any hadeeth
which depended on unknown or weak narrators,
whether it dealt with the outward form,
adhkaar, excellence, etc. of the Prayer.
This is because I hold that the authentic
ahadeeth9
are sufficient, leaving no need for anything
weak, for the latter does not amount
to anything except zann (conjecture,
suspicion), and incorrect conjecture
at that; as the Exalted says:
"...
And conjecture is of no use against the
truth"10
and the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam) said, Beware of suspicion,
for truly, suspicion is the most false
of speech.11
Therefore, we cannot worship Allaah by
acting according to inauthentic ahaadeeth;
in fact, the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) forbade us from this
saying, Keep away from saying things
about me, except what you know12;
since he has forbidden us from relating
weak narrations, it goes without saying
that it is forbidden to act according
to them.
I have compiled the book as two texts:
the main text and the subsidiary text.
The main text includes the text of ahaadeeth
or phrases taken from them, as well as
appropriate words to string them together
to give the book a fluency from start
to finish. I have been careful to preserve
the text of each hadeeth as it is found
in the books of Sunnah; where a hadeeth
has different wordings, I have chosen
the version which best fits the fluency
etc., but I have brought together other
wordings thus: "(in one version: ...
)" or "(in one narration: ...)". Only
rarely have I given the Companion who
narrated the hadeeth, or explained in
the main text which of the Imaams of
Hadeeth have collected each hadeeth,
in order to provide easier reading and
reference.
As for the subsidiary text, it is a commentary
on the main text. In it I have traced
the ahaadeeth to their sources, exploring
their various versions and routes of
narration. Along with this, I have commented
on their isnaads and supporting narrations,
with authenticating and disparaging remarks
on narrators, whether authentic or weak,
judged according to the rules of the
science of Hadeeth. Often, one route
of narration has additional words which
are not found in other routes, so I have
inserted these into the original hadeeth
in the main text whenever it is possible
to do so without destroying the fluency,
enclosing the addition in square brackets:
[...], usually without stating which
of the sources were alone in containing
that addition. This has been done only
if the hadeeth is originally on the authority
of the same Companion, otherwise I have
given it separately, e.g. in the opening
supplications etc. This insertion of
additional wordings is a tremendous advantage
which you will not find in many books
- Praise be to Allaah, by Whose Favour
good actions are completed.
Next, I have mentioned in the subsidiary
text the madhhabs of the scholars regarding
the hadeeth traced, as well as the evidence
and counter-evidence for each view, along
with the strengths and weaknesses of
each argument. We have then selected
out of that the correct view which we
have given in the main text. Also in
the subsidiary text, we have given some
issues for which there is no text in
the Sunnah, but which require ijtihaad,
and do not come under the title of this
book.
Since the publication of this book with
both main and subsidiary texts is not
feasible right now due to various reasons,
we have decided to publish only the main
text of the book (along with brief footnotes)
by Allaah's Will, and named it "Sifah
Salaah an-Nabi (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam), min at-takbeer ilaa at-tasleem
ka'annaka taraahaa (The Prophet's Prayer
Described, from beginning to end, as
though you were watching it)".
I ask Allaah to make this work sincerely
for His Face, and to help my brothers
in faith to benefit from it, for He is
the Hearer, the Answerer.
Since
the purpose of this book is to convey
the guidance of the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) regarding Prayer,
it was elementary that I would not limit
myself to a particular Madhhab, for the
reasons mentioned previously. Therefore,
I would give whatever is authentically
proved from him (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam), as has always been the way
of the scholars of Hadeeth13,
whether of old or of the recent past14,
as the excellent saying goes:
The People of Hadeeth are the People
of the Messenger, although They accompany
him not, they are with his every movement.15
Thus this book would, Allaah Willing,
gather whatever is relevant to each topic
from the various contents of the books
of Hadeeth and the books on the differences
between the Madhhabs, such that the correct
verdicts found in this book would not
be found totally in any one Madhhab.
Hence the one acting on it, Allaah Willing,
would be among those whom Allaah had
guided "by
His Grace to the Truth concerning that
in which they differed, for Allaah guides
whom He will to a path that is straight."16
When I adopted these principles for myself,
i.e. to adhere to the authentic Sunnah,
and to implement them in this book as
well as others, I knew for sure that
this would not satisfy every group of
people or sect; in fact, it would result
in some, if not most of them, insulting
or criticising me. This does not matter
to me, for I also know that to please
everyone is an unattainable notion, and
that "He who pleases the people by
angering Allaah, Allaah will entrust
him to the people", as the Messenger
of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
said.17
The reward is with Allaah for the author
of the following lines:
Nor could I ever escape from abuse, Even
were I in a cave in a rugged mountain;
For who can escape from the people unharmed,
Even if he hides behind the eagle's wings?
It is enough for me that I believe that
this is the most upright way, which Allaah
has commanded the believers to take;
which our Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam), Chief of the Messengers,
has explained. This is the path which
was trodden by the Pious Predecessors:
the Companions, their Successors and
those after them, including the four
Imaams to whose Madhhabs the majority
of Muslims today attribute themselves.
All of them were agreed on the obligation
to stick to the Sunnah and to refer to
it; to ignore every view contradictory
to it, no matter how great the holder
or propounder of that view, for the status
of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) is far greater, and
his example is far truer. Because of
this, I have acted on their guidance,
followed in their footsteps and carried
out their commands to stick to the authentic
hadeeth, even if this opposes their view.
These commands of theirs have influenced
me greatly in my perusal of this path,
and my rejection of blind taqleed (following
of opinion). I ask Allaah Exalted to
reward them greatly.
It
would be beneficial if we gave some of
these here, for perhaps this will admonish
or remind those who follow the opinion
of the Imaams - nay, of those far below
the Imaams in rank - blindly18,
sticking to their madhhabs or views as
if these had descended from the heavens!
But Allaah, Mighty and Sublime, says:
"Follow
(O men!) the revelation given to you
from your Lord, and follow not, as friends
and protectors, other than Him. Little
is it you remember of admonition."19
The
first of them is Abu Haneefah Nu'maan
ibn Thaabit, whose companions have narrated
from him various sayings and diverse
warnings, all of them leading to one
thing: the obligation to accept the Hadeeth,
and to give up following the opinions
of the imaams which contradict it:
1. "When a hadeeth is found to be saheeh,
then that is my madhhab."20
2. "It is not permitted21
for anyone to accept our views if they
do not know from where we got them."22
In one narration, "It is prohibited23
for someone who does not know my evidence
to give verdicts24
on the basis of my words."
Another narration adds, "... for we are
mortals: we say one thing one day, and
take it back the next day."
In another narration, "Woe to you, O
Ya'qub25!
Do not write down everything you hear
from me, for it happens that I hold one
opinion today and reject it tomorrow,
or hold one opinion tomorrow and reject
it the day after tomorrow."26
3. "When I say something contradicting
the Book of Allaah the Exalted or what
is narrated from the Messenger (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam), then ignore my saying."27
As
for Imaam Maalik ibn Anas, he said:
1. "Truly I am only a mortal: I make
mistakes (sometimes) and I am correct
(sometimes). Therefore, look into my
opinions: all that agrees with the Book
and the Sunnah, accept it; and all that
does not agree with the Book and the
Sunnah, ignore it."28
2. "Everyone after the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) will have his sayings
accepted and rejected - not so the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)."29
3. Ibn Wahb said: "I heard Maalik being
asked about cleaning between the toes
during ablution. He said, 'The people
do not have to do that.' I did not approach
him until the crowd had lessened, when
I said to him, 'We know of a sunnah about
that.' He said, 'What is that ?' I said,
'Laith ibn Sa'd, Ibn Lahee'ah and 'Amr
ibn al-Haarith narrated to us from Yazeed
ibn 'Amr al-Ma'aafiri from Abu 'Abdur-Rahman
al-Hubuli from Mustawrid ibn Shaddaad
al-Qurashi who said, 'I saw the Messenger
of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
rubbing between his toes with his little
finger.' He said, 'This hadeeth is sound;
I had not heard of it at all until now.'
Afterwards, I heard him being asked about
the same thing, on which he ordered cleaning
between the toes."30
As
for Imaam Shaafi'i, the quotations from
him are most numerous and beautiful31,
and his followers were the best in sticking
to them:
1. "The sunnahs of the Messenger of Allaah
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) reach,
as well as escape from, every one of
us. So whenever I voice my opinion, or
formulate a principle, where something
contrary to my view exists on the authority
of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam), then the correct
view is what the Messenger of Allaah
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) has said,
and it is my view."32
2. "The Muslims are unanimously agreed
that if a sunnah of the Messenger of
Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
is made clear to someone, it is not permitted33
for him to leave it for the saying of
anyone else."34
3. "If you find in my writings something
different to the Sunnah of the Messenger
of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam),
then speak on the basis of the Sunnah
of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam), and leave what I
have said."
In one narration: "... then follow it
(the Sunnah), and do not look sideways
at anyone else's saying."35
4. "When a hadeeth is found to be saheeh,
then that is my madhhab."36
5. "You37
are more knowledgeable about Hadeeth
than I, so when a hadeeth is saheeh,
inform me of it, whether it is from Kufah,
Basrah or Syria, so that I may take the
view of the hadeeth, as long as it is
saheeh."38
6. "In every issue where the people of
narration find a report from the Messenger
of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
to be saheeh which is contrary to what
I have said, then I take my saying back,
whether during my life or after my death."39
7. "If you see me saying something, and
contrary to it is authentically-reported
from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam), then know that my intelligence
has departed."40
8. "For everything I say, if there is
something authentic from the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) contrary
to my saying, then the hadeeth of the
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
comes first, so do not follow my opinion."41
9. "Every statement on the authority
of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam) is also my view, even if you
do not hear it from me."42
Imaam
Ahmad was the foremost among the Imaams
in collecting the Sunnah and sticking
to it, so much so that he even "disliked
that a book consisting of deductions
and opinions be written."43
Because of this he said:
1. "Do not follow my opinion; neither
follow the opinion of Maalik, nor Shaafi'i,
nor Awzaa'i, nor Thawri, but take from
where they took."44
In one narration: "Do not copy your Deen
from anyone of these, but whatever comes
from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam) and his Companions, take it;
next are their Successors, where a man
has a choice."
Once he said: "Following45
means that a man follows what comes from
the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
and his Companions; after the Successors,
he has a choice."46
2. "The opinion of Awzaa'i, the opinion
of Maalik, the opinion of Abu Haneefah:
all of it is opinion, and it is all equal
in my eyes. However, the proof is in
the narrations (from the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) and his Companions)."47
3. "Whoever rejects a statement of the
Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam) is on the brink of destruction."48
These are the clear, lucid sayings of
the Imaams (Allaah Exalted be pleased
with them) about sticking to the Hadeeth
and forbidding the following of their
opinion without clearly- visible evidence,
such that mere opinion and interpretation
is not acceptable.
Hence, whoever adhered to whatever of
the Sunnah that was proved authentic,
even if it opposed some of the Imaams'
sayings, he would not be conflicting
with their madhhab, nor straying from
their path; rather, such a person would
be following all of them and would be
grasping the most trustworthy hand-hold,
which never breaks. However, this would
not be the case with the one who abandoned
any of the authentic Sunnah simply because
it contradicted their views; nay, such
a person would be being disobedient to
them and opposing their above mentioned
sayings, while Allaah says:
"But
no, by Your Lord, they can have no (real)
faith, until they make you judge in all
disputes between them, and find in their
souls no resistance against your decisions,
but accept them with the fullest conviction."49.
He
also says:
"Then
let those beware who withstand the Messenger's
order, lest some trial befall them or
a grievous penalty be inflicted on them."50
Haafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (rahimahullaah)
says:
"Therefore
it is obligatory on anyone who hears
of a command of the Messenger of Allaah
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) or knows
it, to explain it to the Ummah, advise
them sincerely, and order them to follow
his command, even if it contradicts the
opinion of someone great. This is because
the authority of the Messenger of Allaah
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) has the
most right to be respected and followed,
over and above the opinion of anyone
great who has unknowingly contradicted
the Messenger's command in any matter.
This is why the Companions and those
after would refute anyone who contradicted
the authentic Sunnah, sometimes being
very stern in their refutation51,
not out of hatred for that person, for
they loved and respected him, but because
the Messenger of Allaah was more beloved
to them, and his command was superior
to the command of any other created being.
Hence, when the order of the Messenger
and that of someone else conflicted,
the order of the Messenger would be more
fitting to be enforced and followed.
None of this would stop them respecting
the person they had opposed because they
knew that he would be forgiven52;
in fact, the latter would not mind his
instruction being opposed when the command
of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) was clearly shown
to be opposite."53
Indeed, how could they mind that, when
they had ordered their followers to do
so, as we have seen, and had enjoined
on them to abandon any of their views
which contradicted the Sunnah. In fact,
Imaam Shaafi'i (rahimahullaah) told his
companions to attribute the authentic
Sunnah to him also, even if he had not
adopted it or had adopted something contradictory
to it. Hence, when the analyst Ibn Daqeeq
al-'Eid (rahimahullaah) collected together,
in a bulky volume, the issues in which
one or more of the four Imaams' madhhabs
had contradicted the authentic hadeeth,
he wrote at the beginning of it, "It
is prohibited to attribute these answers
to the Mujtahid Imaams, and obligatory
on the jurists who follow their opinions
to know of these so that they do not
quote them regarding these and thus lie
against them."54
Due
to all that we have mentioned, the disciples
of the Imaams, a number of people from
those of old, and a few from those of
later time55,
would not accept all of their Imaam's
views; they actually ignored many when
they found them to be clearly against
the Sunnah. Even the two Imaams, Muhammad
ibn al-Hasan and Abu Yoosuf (rahimahullaah)
differed from their shaikh Abu Haneefah
"in about a third of the Madhhab"56,
as the books of masaa'il prove. Similarly
is said about Imaam al- Muzani57
and other followers of Shaafi'i and other
Imaams; were we to start giving examples,
the discussion would become exceedingly,
long, and we would digress from what
we set out to do in this Introduction,
so we shall limit ourselves to two instances:
1) Imaam Muhammad says in his Muwatta'58(p.
158), "As for Abu Haneefah, he did not
regard there being a prayer to ask for
rain, but we hold that the imaam prays
two rak'ahs and then supplicates and
holds out his wrapping garment ..."
2) We have 'Isaam ibn Yoosuf al-Balkhi,
one of the companions of Imaam Muhammad59
and a servant of Imaam Abu Yoosuf60,
who "would give verdicts contrary to
Imaam Abu Haneefah because he did not
know the latter's evidence, and other
evidence would present itself to him,
so he would give verdicts using that."61
Hence, "he would raise his hands on bowing
(in prayer) and on rising from it"62,
as is the mutawaatir sunnah of the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam); the
fact that his three Imaams (i.e. Abu
Haneefah, Abu Yoosuf and Muhammad) said
otherwise did not prevent him from practising
this sunnah. This is the approach which
every Muslim is obliged to have, as we
have already seen from the testimony
of the Four Imaams, and others.
To sum up: I sincerely hope that no follower
of an Imaam will race to condemn the
principles of this book and abandon benefiting
from the sunnahs of the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) which it contains,
with the argument that they are contrary
to his Madhhab. I hope that such a person
will instead consider what we have given
of the exhortations of the Imaams towards
the obligation to act on the Sunnah and
ignore their sayings contradictory to
it. I hope also that he will realise
that to condemn the attitude of this
book is to condemn whichever Imaam he
is following, for we have taken these
principles from those Imaams, as we have
explained. Therefore, whoever refuses
to be guided by them on this path is
in great danger, for such refusal necessitates
turning away from the Sunnah, the Sunnah
to which we have been ordered to refer
in cases of difference of opinion and
on which we have been commanded to depend.
I ask Allaah to make us among those about
whom He says,
"The
answer of the believers, when summoned
to Allaah and His Messenger, in order
that he may judge betweeen them, is no
other than this: they say, "We hear and
we obey" - it is such as these that will
attain Success. It is those who obey
Allaah and His Messenger, and fear Allaah,
and keep their duty to Him, who will
triumph."63