Prayer

‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): Which deed is dearest to Allah? He said: "Offering prayer at its earliest appointed time." I said: Then, what comes next? He said: "Dutifulness to one's parents." I said: Then, what comes next? He said: "Jihad in the way of Allah." He said: These were the things he said to me, and if I had asked him for more, he would have given me more.

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer the Fajr prayer while some women from among the believers, wrapped in their garments, would attend the prayer with him. Then they would return to their homes, and no one would recognize them because of the darkness.

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer the Zhuhr prayer at the time of intense heat, and the ‘Asr prayer at the time when the sun was clear, and the Maghrib prayer when its time was due, and as for the ‘Ishā' prayer, he would sometimes hasten to offer it when he saw them already gathered, and at other times he would delay it when they had not gathered yet. As for the Fajr prayer, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer it at the time when darkness at the end of the night mixed with the faint light of the morning.

Abu al-Minhāl Sayyār ibn Salāmah reported: I went with my father to Abu Barzah al-Aslami, and my father asked him: "How did the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) use to perform the obligatory prayers?" Abu Barzah said: "He used to pray Zhuhr, which you call ‘the first one’, as the sun declined at noon, and he prayed ‘Asr at a time after which one of us could go to his house at the farthest place in Madīnah while the sun was still hot." I forgot what he had said about the Maghrib prayer. "And he liked to delay the ‘Ishā' prayer, which you call ‘Atamah, and he disliked to sleep before it and talk after it. After the Fajr prayer, he would leave when a man could recognize the one sitting beside him. He used to recite 60 to 100 verses.'"

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the ‘Ishā' prayer until part of the night had passed and it was dark. ‘Umar came to him saying: "O Messenger of Allah, come to pray, the women and children have slept." He came out with his head dripping with water and said: "Had it not been hard for my Ummah, I would have commanded them to perform that prayer at this hour."

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "No prayer should be offered in the presence of food or when he is resisting the need to relieve himself of the two filths."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: "Some trustworthy men, and the most trustworthy among them in my eyes was ‘Umar, testified before me that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade praying after the Fajr prayer up until the sun rises, and after the‘Asr prayer until the sun sets." Abu Sa‘īd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There should be no prayer after the morning prayer until the sun rises high, and there should be no prayer after the ‘Asr prayer until the sun sets.”

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb came cursing the disbelievers of Quraysh after the sun had set on the Day of the Trench, and he said: "O Messenger of Allah, I could not offer the ‘Asr prayer till the sun had set." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Allah! I have not yet prayed it either." So we went to But-hān, and he performed ablution and so did we, and then he offered the ‘Asr prayer after the sun had set and then followed it with the Maghrib prayer.