Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that there was a black slave girl owned by an Arab tribe, and they set her free, but she remained with them. The slave girl said: "Once, one of their girls (of that tribe) came out wearing a red leather scarf decorated with precious stones. It fell from her or she placed it somewhere. A kite passed by that place, saw it lying there and thought it a piece of meat; so it flew away with it. People looked for it but did not find it. So they accused me of stealing it, and started searching me even my private part." The slave girl added: "By Allah! While I was standing (in that state) with those people, the same kite passed by them and dropped the red scarf, and it fell in front of them. I told them, "This is what you accused me of and I was innocent; and here it is." ‘Ā'ishah added: "That slave girl came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and embraced Islam." She had a tent or a small room with a low roof in the mosque. She used to visit me, and every time she came, she would say the following: "The day of the scarf was one of the wonders of our Lord, for He rescued me from the disbelievers' town. ‘Ā'ishah added: "Once, I asked her, "What is the matter with you? Every time you sit with me, you say these words." Then ‘Ā'ishah said: "so she told me the whole story."

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Spitting in the mosque is a sin and its expiation is to bury it.”

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Hour will not be established until people boast about mosques."

Rifā‘ah ibn Rāfi‘ Az-Zuraqi, a Companion of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting in the mosque when a man came in and prayed near him. When the man moved toward the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to greet him after the prayer, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go back and pray again, for you have not prayed." The man went back and prayed as he had prayed before and he came to the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who said: "Go back and pray again, for you have not prayed." The man said: "O Messenger of Allah, teach me how to do it." He said: "When you stand facing the Qiblah, say the Takbīr and recite the Mother of the Qur’an (Sūrat al-Fātihah), then recite whatever you like of the Qur’an. Then bow with your palms resting on your knees and your back unbent for enough time. When you rise your head, stand up straight until the bones fit well in their joints. Then prostrate until you are at ease in prostration, and when you raise your head, sit on your left thigh. Then do that in every bowing and prostration." In another narration, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The prayer of any one of you is not complete until he performs ablution perfectly, as Allah, the Almighty, has ordered. He should wash his face and then his hands up to the elbows, wipe his head and (wash) his feet up to the ankles. Then he should say the Takbīr and praise Allah, the Almighty. He should then recite the Qur'an as much as it is convenient for him.” He said: “He then says the Takbīr and prostrates himself, so his face or forehead is at rest on the ground and his joints return to their places and are loosened. Then he should say the Takbīr and sit to the right on his hips and keep his back erect.” He described the nature of prayer in this way by offering four Rak‘ahs until he finished it. Then he said: “The prayer of any of you is not complete unless he does this.” In another version, he said: “Perform ablution as Allah, the Almighty, ordered you to, then utter the two testimonies of faith, announce the Iqāmah, and say the Takbīr. If you have memorized some parts of the Qur’an, recite them, otherwise, busy yourself praising and exalting Allah.”

Muhammad ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Atā reported: While Abu Humayd As-Sā‘idi was sitting among ten of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) including Abu Qatādah, he said: "I am the most knowledgeable among you about the (manner of the) prayer of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)." They said: "Why? By Allah, you did not follow him more than we did, nor did you accompany him before us." He said: "Indeed, I am." They said: "Then show us." He said: "When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stood up for prayer, he would raise his hands parallel to his shoulders, say Takbīr, and then wait until every bone of his body would settle properly in its place. Then he would recite (the Qur’an), then he would raise his hands parallel to his shoulders and say Takbīr, and then bow, placing his palms on his knees. Then he would stand up straight, and he would neither lower his head nor raise it much. Then he would say: ‘Allah hears those who praise Him'; and he would then raise his hands to the level of his shoulders while standing straight. Then he would say Takbīr and prostrate himself on the ground, keeping his arms away from his sides. Then he would raise his head and tuck his left foot and sit on it, and he would spread out his toes while prostrating. Then he would prostrate, then say Takbīr, raise his head, tuck his left foot, and sit on it until every bone returned to its place. Then he would stand up and do the same in the next Rak‘ah. Then, when he stood up after two Rak‘ahs, he would raise his hands up to the level of his shoulders as he did at the beginning of the prayer. Then he would offer the rest of his prayer in the same manner, and when he came to the prostration that is followed by Taslīm, he would draw his left foot backward and sit, placing his left posterior on the ground." They said: "You have spoken the truth; this is how the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform the prayer."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) got up to pray at night, he would make Takbīr and then say: "Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise. Blessed is Your name, exalted is Your greatness, and there is nothing worthy of worship but You," three times. Thereafter, he would say: "Allah is the absolute Greatest," three times, and: "I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing and All-Knowing, from the accursed Devil, from his evil suggestions, blowing, and spitting." After that, he would recite.

‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to start the prayer with Takbīr and then recite: {All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds}. When he bowed, he neither raised his head nor lowered it, but kept it level. When he raised his head from bowing, he would not prostrate until he had fully stood upright. When he raised his head from prostration, he would not prostrate (again) until he had sat upright. After each two Rak‘ahs (units of prayer), he would recite the Tahiyyah (greeting). He would spread his left foot out and erect his right foot. He would forbid sitting in the manner of the devil and resting the forearms on the ground, as a wild beast (i.e., lion) does. He would conclude the prayer with Taslīm (a salutation of peace that ends the prayer).

Mālik ibn al-Huwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) made Takbīr, he would raise his hands up to the level of his ears. When he bowed, he would raise his hands up to the level of his ears, and when he raised his head from bowing and said: "Allah hears those who praise Him," he would do the same.

Wā’il ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and he placed his right hand above his left hand on his chest.

‘Ubādah ibn As-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were praying the Fajr prayer behind the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He started to recite, but the recitation became difficult for him. When he finished, he said: "Perhaps you recite behind your Imām?" We said: "Yes, that is so, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "Do not do so except with Sūrat al-Fātihah, since the prayer is invalid for the one who does not recite it."

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) as well as Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, used to begin the prayer with {All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds}Lord of the worlds)". Imām Muslim added: "They did not recite 'In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful' at the beginning of the recitation or at the end of it." Another narration reported by Ahmad, An-Nasā'i, and ibn Khuzaymah reads: "They did not recite 'In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful' loudly." Another narration reported by Ibn Khuzaymah reads: "They used to recite it silently." This explains the negation mentioned in Imām Muslim's narration and answers the questions raised by scholars about it.

‘Abdullāh ibn Abu Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "I cannot retain any of the Qur'an. Teach me what suffices me." He said: "Say: 'Glory to Allah, praise to Allah, there is no god but Allah, Allah is the greatest, and there is no power and no strength but from Allah, the Exalted, the Great.'" The man said: "O Messenger of Allah, these words are for Allah, Exalted and Glorified, what is for me?" He said: "Say: 'O Allah, have mercy on me, give me provision, keep me sound, and guide me.'" When the man stood up, he made a gesture with his hand [that he received a lot], the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "As for this man, he has filled his hand with good."

Abu Qatādah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite Al-Fātihah followed by another Sūrah in the first two Rak‘āhs of the Zhuhr prayer and used to recite only Al-Fātihah in the last two Rak‘āhs of it. Sometimes a verse or so was audible. He used to prolong the first Rak‘ah more than the second and used to do the same in the ‘Asr and Fajr prayers.

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We used to estimate the time that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would stand when performing the Zhuhr and the ‘Asr prayers. We estimated that the time he stood in the first two Rak‘ahs of the Zhuhr prayer as the being the time taken to recite Sūrat As-Sajdah and it would be half of that time in the last two Rak‘ahs. We also estimated the time he stood in the first two Rak‘ahs of the ‘Asr prayer as being the same as the time he stood in the last two Rak‘ahs of the Zhuhr prayer and half of that time in the last two Rak‘ahs of the ‘Asr prayer." Abu Bakr did not mention Sūrat As-Sajdah in his narration, instead he said: “the time taken to recite thirty verses.”

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I have never prayed behind anyone whose prayer more closely resembles that of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) than so-and-so. We prayed behind him and he would lengthen the first two Rak‘ahs (units of prayer) of the Zhuhr and shorten the last two, and he would make the ‘Asr shorter; in the Maghrib, he would recite the short Mufassal Sūrahs; and he would recite Sūrat Ash-Shams and similar-sized Sūrahs in the ‘Ishā' and recite two long Sūrahs in the Fajr prayer.

Jubayr ibn Mut‘im (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) recite Sūrah At-Tūr during the Maghrib prayer. When he reached this verse: {Were they created by nothing? Or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain. Or have they the depositories [containing the provision] of your Lord? Or are they the controllers [of them]?}, it was as if my heart was about to take flight.

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) drew the curtain (of his chamber) aside to see the people standing in rows behind Abu Bakr in prayer. He then said: "O people, there is nothing remaining of the glad tidings of prophet-hood except a good vision that a Muslim sees or someone else sees it for him. Verily, I have been forbidden to recite the Qur'an while bowing or prostrating. So, while bowing, glorify the Lord, and while prostrating, engage in supplication diligently, for it is most likely that your supplications would be answered."

Al-Hakam reported: Kufah was conquered by a man called Zamān ibn al-Ash‘ath. He ordered Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn ‘Abdullāh to lead people in prayer. When he performed the prayer, he would rise from bowing and stand for as long it took me to say: "O Allah, our Lord, to You is all praise that fills the heavens and earth and whatever You will beyond that. All praise and glory belong to You. No one can withhold what You have given and no one can give what You have withheld. And the good fortune of a person will not avail him before You." Al-Hakam added: "I mentioned this to ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Abu Layla and he said: ‘I head Al-Barā' ibn ‘Āzib say: 'In the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), the bowing, rising from bowing, prostration, and sitting between the two prostrations were all roughly the same (in length).''' Shu‘bah said: "I related this to ‘Amr ibn Murrah and he said: ‘I saw Ibn Abu Layla, and his prayer was not like that.'"

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones: the forehead (and he pointed to his nose), the hands, the knees, and the extremities of the feet, and not to tuck up the clothes and hair."

Al-Barā’ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you prostrate, place your palms and raise your elbows."