SIFAT SALAAT AN NĀBI ﷺ* *(The Prophet's Prayer Described From The Beginning To The End As Though You See It) Episode 32

 ﷽

*SIFAT SALAAT AN NĀBI ﷺ*

*(The Prophet's Prayer Described From The Beginning To The End As Though You See It)*

*Episode 32*

*Forbiddance of Reciting the Qur'aan in Sujood*

He (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) used to forbid recitation of the Qur'aan

in rukoo' and sujood, and commanded striving in, and a lot of,

supplication in this posture, as explained previously under "Rukoo'". He

also used to say, The slave is closest to his Lord when he is

prostrating, so increase supplication [in it].488

Lengthening the Sajdah

He (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) would make his sujood about as long

as his rukoo', and sometimes he would make it extremely long due to the

circumstances, as one of his Companions said: 

"The Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) came out to us

for one of the two later prayers, [Zuhr or 'Asr,] carrying Hasan or Husain.

The Prophet (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) then came to the front and

put him down [next to his right foot], said takbeer for the prayer and

commenced praying. During the prayer, he performed a very long

prostration, so I raised my head [from among the people], and there was

the child, on the back of the Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa

Sallam), who was in prostration. I then returned to my prostration. When

the Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) had offered the

prayer, the people said, 'O Messenger of Allaah! In the middle of [this]

your prayer, you performed a prostration and lengthened it so much that

we thought either something had happened, or that you were receiving

revelation!' He said, Neither of those was the case: actually, my son

made me his mount, so I did not want to hurry him until he had

satisfied his wish "

489

In another hadeeth, "He (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) was praying.

When he performed sajdah, al-Hasan and al-Husain jumped onto his

back. When the people tried to stop them, he gestured to them to leave

the two alone. After offering his prayer, he placed them in his lap and

said, Whoever loves me should love these two."

490

488 Muslim, Abu `Awaanah & Baihaqi . It is given in Irwaa' (456).

489 Nasaa'i, Ibn `Asaakir (4/257/1-2) & Haakim, who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.

490 Ibn Khuzaimah in his Saheeh, with a hasan isnaad from Ibn Mas'ood (887) & Baihaqi in mursal form. Ibn Khuzaimah prefixed it

with, "Chapter: evidence that gesturing which is understood during prayer neither invalidates nor spoils the prayer" - this action

is one which the People of Opinion have prohibited! In this regard, there are also ahaadeeth in Bukhaari, Muslim and others.

 

The Excellence of the Sajdah 

He (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) used to say, There is no one among

my ummah whom I will not recognise on the Day of Resurrection.

They said, "How will you recognise them, O Messenger of Allaah, among

the multitude of created beings?" He said, Do you not see that were

one of you to enter an enclosure in which there was a jet black491

steed and a horse with a white forehead and legs492, would you

not recognise the latter from the former? They said, "Of course." He

said, Thus, my ummah on that day will surely have white faces493

because of sujood, and white arms and feet494 because of

ablution.495

He would also say, When Allaah intends to have mercy on

whomsoever he wishes of the people of the Fire, He will order the

angels to bring out whoever used to worship Allaah; so they will

bring them out, recognising them from the marks of sujood, for

Allaah has prohibited the Fire from devouring the marks of

sujood. Thus, they will be brought out from the Fire, for the Fire

devours all of a son of Aadam except the marks of sujood.496

Sajdah on the Ground, and on Mats497

He would often prostrate on the (bare) ground.498

"His Companions would pray with him in the intense heat, so when one of

them could not press his forehead against the ground, he would spread

491 i.e. its colour is pure black, with no other colours mixed with it. (Nihaayah)

492 the whiteness refers to that part of the horse where chains and bangles are put, including the lower legs but not the knees.

493 i.e. the shining of the face due to the light of sujood.

494 i.e. the shining of the parts covered in ablution: the face, hands and feet. The shining marks of ablution on the face,

hands and legs of humans is compared to the whiteness of a horse's face and legs.

495 Ahmad, with a saheeh isnaad. Tirmidhi related a part of it and declared it saheeh.

It is given in Silsilah al- Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah.

496 Bukhaari & Muslim; the hadeeth shows that the sinful from among those regular at Prayer, will not remain the Fire forever; in fact,

even those given to missing prayers out of laziness will not remain in the Fire forever, this is authentic - see as-Saheehah (2054).

497 Ar. haseer: a mat made of date-palm leaves or straw, etc.

498 This was because his mosque was not covcered with mats, etc. This is evident from a great many ahaadeeth, such as

the next one and the one of Abu Sa`eed later.

 

his robe and prostrate on that."499

He also used to say, the whole earth has been made a place of

worship (masjid) and a purification for me and my ummah; so

wherever prayer becomes due on someone of my ummah, he has

his place of worship (masjid) and his purification next to him.

Those before me used to think that this was too much: indeed,

they would only pray in their churches and synagogues.500

Sometimes, he would prostrate in mud and water, and that happened to

him once at dawn on the twenty-first night of Ramadaan, when it rained

and the roof of the mosque, which was made of palm-branches, was

washed away. So he (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) prostrated in mud and

water; Abu Sa'eed al- Khudri said, "So I saw, with my own eyes, the

Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam), with traces of mud

and water on his forehead and nose."501

Also, "he would pray on a khumrah"502 sometimes, or "on a mat"503

sometimes, and "he prayed on it once when it had become blackened due

to prolonged use."504

Rising from Sajdah

Next, "he (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) would raise his head from

prostration while saying takbeer"505, and he ordered "the one who prayed

badly" to do that, saying, The prayer of any person is not complete

until ... he prostrates until his limbs are at rest, then he says,

'Allah is the Greatest' and raises his head until he is sitting

straight.506 Also, "he would raise his hands with this takbeer"

499 Muslim & Abu `Awaanah.

500 Ahmad, Siraaj & Baihaqi, with a saheeh isnaad.

501 Bukhaari & Muslim.

502 ibid. A khumrah is a piece of matting, palm-fibre, or other material which is big enough for a man to place his face on

it in sajdah; the term does not apply to larger pieces.

503 ibid.

504 Muslim & Abu `Awaanah. Ar. labisa usually means 'to wear', but here it is used to mean 'to use', i.e. to sit on; hence

'wearing' includes 'sitting on', so this indicates that it is prohibited (haraam) to sit on silk, because of the prohibition on

wearing it established in the Saheehs of Bukhaari and Muslim, and others. In fact, a clear forbiddance of sitting on silk

is related in these, so do not be confused by the fact that some leading scholars allow it.

505 Bukhaari & Muslim.

506 Abu Daawood & Haakim who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.

 

sometimes.507

To sit muftarishan between the Two

Sajdahs

Next, "he would lay his left foot along the

ground and sit on it [relaxed]"508, and he

ordered "the one who prayed badly" thus,

saying to him, When you prostrate,

prostrate firmly, then when you rise,

sit on your left thigh.509

"He would have his right foot upright"510, and "point its toes towards the

qiblah."511 [See diagram]

507 Bukhaari in his Juz' Raf` al-Yadain, Abu Daawood with a saheeh isnaad, Muslim & Abu `Awaanah. It is given in Irwaa'

(316).

To raise the hands here, and with every takbeer, was a view voiced by Ahmad, as in Ibn al-Qayyim's Badaa'i` 

(3/89): "Athram quoted from him (Imaam Ahmad) that on being asked about raising the hands, he said: With 

every movement down and up. Athram said: I saw Abu `Abdullaah (i.e. Imaam Ahmad) raising his hands in prayer 

with every movement down and up."

This was also the opinion of Ibn al-Mundhir & Abu `Ali of the Shaafi`is, and also a view of Maalik and Shaafi`i 

themselves, as in Tarh at-Tathreeb. The raising of the hands here is also authentically-reported from Anas bin 

Maalik, Ibn `Umar, Naafi`, Taawoos, Hasan Basri, Ibn Seereen & Ayyoob as-Sikhtiaani, as in Musannaf Ibn Abi 

Shaibah (1/106) with saheeh narrations from them.

508 Ahmad & Abu Daawood with a good isnaad.

509 Bukhaari & Baihaqi.

510 Nasaa'i with a saheeh isnaad.

511 Muslim, Abu `Awaanah, Abu Shaikh in Maa Rawaahu Abu az-Zubair `an Ghair Jaabir (nos. 104-6) & Baihaqi.

 

Iq'aa' Between the Two Sajdahs

"He would sometimes practise iq'aa' [resting on both his heels and (all)

his toes]."512

The Obligation of Being at Ease between the Two Sajdahs 

"He (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) would be relaxed until every bone

returned to its (proper) position"513, and he ordered "the one who prayed

badly" likewise, and said to him, The prayer of any of you is not

complete until he does this.514

Lengthening the Sitting between the Two Sajdahs

Also, "he would lengthen it until it was about almost as long as his

sajdah"515, and sometimes, "he would remain (in this position) until one

would say: He has forgotten."516

The Adhkaar between the Two Sajdahs

In this sitting, he (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) would say: 

512 ibid. Ibn al-Qayyim (Rahimahullaah) overlooked this, so after mentioning the Prophet's (Sallallaahu `Alaihi wa Sallam)

iftiraash between the two sajdahs, he said, "No other way of sitting here is preserved from him" ! How can this be

correct, when iq`aa' has reached us via: the hadeeth of Ibn `Abbaas in Muslim, Abu Daawood & Tirmidhi, who declared

it saheeh, and others (see Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah 383); the hadeeth of Ibn `Umar with a hasan isnaad in

Baihaqi, declared saheeh by Ibn Hajar. Also, Abu Ishaaq al-Harbi related in Ghareeb al-Hadeeth (5/12/1) from Taawoos,

who saw Ibn `Umar and Ibn `Abbaas practising iq`aa'; its sanad is saheeh. May Allaah shower His Mercy on Imaam

Maalik, who said, "Every one of us can refute and be refuted, except the occupant of this grave", and he pointed to the

grave of the Prophet (Sallallaahu `Alaihi wa Sallam). This sunnah was practised by several Companions, Successors and

others, and I have expanded on this in al-Asl. 

Of course, this iq`aa' is different to the one which is forbidden, and follows under "Tashahhud".

513 Abu Daawood & Baihaqi with a saheeh isnaad.

514 Abu Daawood & Haakim , who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.

515 Bukhaari & Muslim.

516 ibid. Ibn al-Qayyim said, "This sunnah was abandoned by the people after the time of the Companions. But as for the

one who abides by the Sunnah, and does not glance sideways towards whatever contradicts it, he is unworried by

anything opposing this guidance."

 

The Second Sajdah

Next, "he would say takbeer and prostrate for the second time."520 He

also ordered "the one who prayed badly" to do so, saying to him after he

517 Abu Daawood, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah & Haakim , who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.

518 Ibn Maajah with a hasan sanad. Imaam Ahmad chose to supplicate with this one; Ishaaq bin Raahawaih said, "If he

wishes, he can say this three times, or he can say O Allaah! Forgive me ..., because both of them have been reported

from the Prophet (Sallallaahu `Alaihi wa Sallam) between the two sajdahs." (Masaa'il of Imaam Ahmad & Ishaaq bin

Raahawaih as related by Ishaaq al-Marwazi, p. 19).

519 This does not negate the validity of the expressions in the obligatory prayers due to the absence of anything to

differentiate between those and voluntary prayers. This is the view of Shaafi`i, Ahmad & Ishaaq, who held that this was

allowed in compulsory and voluntary prayers, as Tirmidhi has narrated. Imaam Tahaawi has also taken this view in

Mushkil al-Aathaar. Proper analysis supports this argument, for there is no position in prayer where a dhikr is not valid,

and so it is fitting that this should be the case here.

520 Bukhaari & Muslim.

had ordered him to be at ease between sajdahs, then say 'Allaah is the

Greatest' and prostrate until your joints are relaxed [and do that

in all your prayer].521 He would perform this sajdah exactly as he

performed the first one. Also, "he would raise his hands with this

takbeer" sometimes.522

Next, "he would raise his head while saying takbeer"523, and he ordered

"the one who prayed badly" to do likewise, saying to him after ordering

him to prostrate for the second time, "then raise your head and say

takbeer"

524. He also said to him, "[then do that in all your bowings

and prostrations,] for if you do that, your prayer will be complete,

and if you fall short in any of this, you will be deficient 

in your prayer."

525 Also, "he would raise his hands"526 sometimes with

this takbeer. 

The Sitting of Rest

Next, "he would sit straight [on his left foot, upright, until every bone

returned to its position]."527

521 Abu Daawood & Haakim , who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed; the addition is from Bukhaari & Muslim.

522 Abu `Awaanah & Abu Daawood with two saheeh sanads. this raising of the hands has supported by Ahmad, Maalik &

Shaafi`i in narrations from them. See the previous note under Sujood.

523 Bukhaari & Muslim.

524 Abu Daawood & Haakim , who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.

525 Ahmad & Tirmidhi, who declared it saheeh.

526 see the fourth last note.

527 Bukhaari & Abu Daawood. This sitting is known as jalsah al-istiraahah (the sitting of rest) by the scholars of fiqh.

Shaafi`i supported it, as did Ahmad in Tahqeeq (111/1) and favoured it more strongly, as is well-known of him that he

would insist on following a sunnah which had nothing to contradict it. Ibn Haani said in his Masaa'il of Imaam Ahmad

(p. 42), "I saw Abu `Abdullaah (i.e. Imaam Ahmad) sometimes leaning on his hands when standing up for the next

rak`ah, and sometimes sitting straight and then getting up." It was also the preference of Imaam Ishaaq bin Raahawaih,

who said in Marwazi's Masaa'il (1/147/2), "The example was set by the Prophet (Sallallaahu `Alaihi wa Sallam) of

supporting himself with his hands when getting up, whether he was old or young." See also Irwaa' (2/82-3).

 

Supporting Oneself with the Hands on Rising for the Next Rak'ah 

Next, "he (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) would get up for the second

rak'ah, supporting himself on the ground."528 Also, "he would clench his

fists529 during prayer: supporting himself with his hands when getting

up."530

528 Bukhaari & Shaafi`i.

529 literally, "as one who kneads dough".

530 Abu Ishaaq al-Harbi with a faultless sanad, and its meaning is found in Baihaqi with a saheeh sanad. As for the

hadeeth, "He used to get up like an arrow, not supporting himself with his hands", it is mawdoo` (fabricated), and all

narrations of similar meaning are weak, not authentic, and I have explained this in Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth ad-Da`eefah

(562, 929, 968).