Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah
ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, "Prayer in congregation is
better than the prayer of a man by himself by twenty-seven
degrees."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from
Said ibn al-Musayyab from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"Prayer in congregation is better than the prayer of one
of you on his own by twenty-five parts."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'zZinad from al-Araj
from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, "By Him in whose hand
myself is! I had in mind to order firewood to be
collected, then to order the prayer to be called, and to
appoint a man to lead the people in prayer, and then to
come up behind certain men and burn their houses down
about them! By Him in whose hand myself is! If one of them
knew that he would find a meaty bone or two good legs of
meat, he would be present at isha.''
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n-Nadr, the
mawla of Umar ibn Ubaydullah from Yusr ibn Said that Zayd
ibn Thabit said, "The most excellent prayer is your prayer
in your house, except for the prescribed prayers."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn
Harmala al-Aslami from Said ibn al-Musayyab that the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, "What separates us from the hypocrites is
being present at isha and subh. They cannot do it," or
words to that effect.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Sumayy, the mawla
of Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman from Abu Salih from Abu
Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, "If a man who is walking along
a road finds a branch of thorns on the road and removes
it, Allah thanks him for doing it and forgives him."
He also said, "Martyrs are five: the one killed by a
plague, the one killed by a disease of the belly, the one
who drowns, the one killed by a collapsing building, and
the martyr in the path of Allah.'
He also said, "If people knew what there was in the
call to prayer and the first row, and they could find no
other way except to draw lots for it, they would draw lots
for it. And if they knew what there was in doing dhuhr at
its time, they would race each other to it. And if they
knew what there was in the prayers of isha and maghrib,
they would come to them even if they had to crawl .
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu
Bakr ibn Sulayman ibn Abi Hathma that Umar ibn al-Khattab
missed Sulayman ibn Abi Hathma in the subh prayer. In the
morning he went to the market, and Sulayman's house was
between the market and the Prophet's mosque. He passed
ash-Shifa, Sulayman's mother, and said to her, "I did not
see Sulayman at subh." She replied, "He spent the night in
prayer and his eyes overcame him. Umar said, "I would
rather be present at subh than stand the whole night in
prayer.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Amra al-Ansari
said that Uthman ibn Affan came to the isha prayer and
seeing only a few people in the mosque, he lay down at the
back of the mosque to wait for the number of people to
increase. Ibn Abi Amra went and sat down beside him and
Uthman asked him who he was, so he told him. Uthman said,
"What have you memorised of the Qur'an?", and he told him.
Uthman said, "If someone is present at isha, it is as if
he had stood in prayer for half a night, and if some one
is present at subh, it is as if he had stood in prayer for
a whole night.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from
a man of the Bani'd-Dil called Busr ibn Mihjan from his
father Mihjan that he was in a gathering with the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, and the call to prayer was made. The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, rose and
prayed and then returned. Mihjan remained sitting and did
not pray with him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "What prevented you from
praying with the people? Aren't you a muslim?" He said,
"Of course, Messenger of Allah, but I have already prayed
with my family." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "When you come, pray with
the people, even if you have prayed already."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that a man
asked Abdullah ibn Umar, "Sometimes I pray in my house,
and then catch the prayer with the imam. Should I pray
with him?" Abdullah ibn Umar said to him, "Yes," and the
man said, "Which of them do I make my prayer?" Abdullah
ibn Umar said, "Is that up to you? It is up to Allah. He
will decide on whichever of them He wishes."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that
a man asked Said ibn al-Musayyab, "I pray in my house, and
then I come to the mosque and find the imam praying.
Should I pray with him?" Said said, "Yes," and the man
said, "Which of them is my prayer?" Said said, "Are you
the one to decide that? That is up to Allah."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Afif as-Sahmi that
a man from the tribe of Bani Asad asked Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.
"Sometimes I pray in my house, and then come to the mosque
and find the imam praying. Should I pray with him?" Abu
Ayyub said, "Yes, pray with him, for some one who does so
has the reward of the group, or the equivalent of the
reward of the group."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah
ibn Umar used to say, "Someone who prays maghrib or subh
and then catches them with the imam should not repeat
them."
Malik said, "I do not see any harm in someone who has
already prayed in his house praying with the imam, except
for maghrib, because if he repeats it, he makes it even."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from
al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When you lead
people in the prayer, make it short, because there are
among them some people who are weak, ill and old. But when
you pray on your own, make it as long as you wish."
Yahya related to me from Malik that Nafi said, "I stood
behind Abdullah ibn Umar in one of the prayers when there
was no one else with him, and he reached behind with his
hand and placed me beside him."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that
a man used to lead the people in prayer in al-Aqiq (a
place near Madina), and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz sent a
message to him forbidding him to do so.
Malik said, "He only forbade him because his father was
not known."
Section: Prayer Behind an Imam when He Prays Sitting
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from
Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, fell off his horse when
riding, and his right side was scraped, so he did one of
the prayers sitting, and we prayed behind him sitting.
When he left, he said, "The imam is appointed to be
followed. If he prays standing, then pray standing, and
when he goes into ruku, go into ruku, and when he rises,
rise, and when he says, 'Allah hears whoever praises him,'
say, 'Our Lord, praise belongs to You,' and if he prays
sitting, then all of you pray sitting."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa
from his father that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed
while he was ill. He prayed sitting, and some people
prayed behind him standing, and he indicated to them to
sit down. When he left, he said, 'The imam is only
appointed to be followed. When he goes into ruku, go into
ruku and when he rises, rise and if he prays sitting, pray
sitting .' "
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa
from his father that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, came out during his
illness, and approached and found Abu Bakr standing,
leading the people in prayer. Abu Bakr began to go back,
but the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, indicated to him to stay where he was. The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, sat by the side of Abu Bakr, and Abu Bakr prayed
following the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, who was sitting, and the
people prayed following the prayer of Abu Bakr.
Section: The Excellence of the Prayer of Someone
Standing over the Prayer of Someone Sitting
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ismail ibn Muhammad
ibn Said ibn Abi Waqqas from a mawla of Amr ibn al-As or
of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As that the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The prayer
of one of you sitting down is only equal to half the
prayer of one of you when he is standing."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al As said, "When we arrived at
Madina we were struck down by a severe epidemic which
debilitated us greatly. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, came out to the people
while they were praying nawafil prayers sitting down. The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, 'The prayer of the one sitting is equal to
only half the prayer of the one standing.' "
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from as-Sa'ib
ibn Yazid from al Muttalib ibn Abi Wadaa as-Sahmi that
Hafsa, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, said, "I never saw the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, praying
nawafil sitting, until a year before his death, when he
began to pray them sitting. He would recite the sura with
a measured slowness so that it would seem to be longer
than other suras which were actually longer than it."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa
from his father that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, told him that she had
never seen the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, doing night prayers sitting down until he
was getting on in years. He would recite sitting down
until when he wanted to go into ruku, he would stand up
and recite about thirty or forty ayats and then go into
ruku.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Yazid
al-Madani and from Abu'n Nadr from Abu Salama ibn Abd
ar-Rahman from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, that the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to
pray sitting. He would recite sitting, and then, when
about thirty or forty ayats of what he was reciting
remained, he would stand up and recite standing and then
go into ruku and sajda. He would do the same in the second
raka.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from
al-Qaqa ibn Hakim that Abu Yunus, the mawla of A'isha, umm
al-muminin said, ''A'isha ordered me to write out a Qur'an
for her. She said, 'When you reach this ayat, let me know,
"Guard the prayers carefully and the middle prayer and
stand obedient to Allah." ' When I reached it I told her,
and she dictated to me, 'Guard the prayers carefully and
the middle prayer and the asr prayer and stand obedient to
Allah.' A'isha said, 'I heard it from the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.' "
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that
Amr ibn Rafi said, "I was writing a Qur'an for Hafsa, umm
al-muminin, and she said, 'When you reach this ayat, let
me know, "Guard the prayers carefully and the middle
prayer and stand obedient to Allah." When I reached it I
told her and she dictated to me, 'Guard the prayers
carefully and the middle prayer and the asr prayer and
stand obedient to Allah.' "
Yahya related to me from Malik from Da'ud ibn al-Husayn
that Ibn Yarbu al-Makhzumi said, "I heard Zayd ibn Thabit
say, 'The middle prayer is the prayer of dhuhr.' "
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa
from his father that Umar ibn Abi Salama saw the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, praying
in one garment in the house of Umm Salama. He was
completely covered by it, and had put both ends over his
shoulders.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from
Said ibn al-Musayyab from Abu Hurayra that some one asked
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace about praying in one garment. The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do
you all have two garments?"
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that
Said ibn al-Musayyab said that Abu Hurayra was asked, "May
a man pray in one garment?" He said, "Yes." The man then
said to him "Do you do that?" and he replied, "Yes, I pray
in one garment while my clothes are on the clothes-rack."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard from
Jabir ibn Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, "Let anyone who
cannot find two garments pray in one garment and wrap
himself in it, and if the garment is short, let him wrap
it around his waist."
Malik said, "In my view it is preferable for someone
who prays in a single shirt to put a garment or a turban
over his shoulders."
Section: Permission for a Woman to Pray in a Shift and
Head-Covering
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that
A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, used to pray in a shift and
head-covering.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Zayd
ibn Qunfudh that his mother asked Umm Salama, the wife of
the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
"What clothes can a woman wear in prayer?" She said, "She
can pray in a shift that reaches down and covers the top
of her feet."
Yahya related to me from Malik from a reliable source
from Bukayr ibn Abdullah ibn al-Ashajj from Busr ibn Said
that when Ubaydullah ibn al-Aswad al-Khawlani was in the
room of Maimuna, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, she used to pray in a shift and
head-covering, without a waist-wrapper.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa
from his father that a woman asked him for a decision,
saying, "Waist-wrappers are painful to me. Can I pray in a
shift and head-covering?" He replied, "Yes, if the shift
is long."