What may not be done during Prayer and what is permitted - Section 1

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‘Umar b. al-Khattab said that the Prophet (ﷺ) sent to Najd an expedition which took much booty and came back quickly. A man who had not gone out said, “We have never seen an expedition return more quickly or bring finer booty than this one," whereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Shall I not indicate to you people who have most excellent booty and a most excellent return? They are people who have been present at the Morning Prayer, then sat making mention of God till the sun rose. Those have the quickest return and most excellent booty." Tirmidhi transmitted it and said this is a <i>gharib</i> tradition and Hammad b. Abu Humaid the transmitter is weak in tradition.

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Mu'awiya b. al-Hakam said:

While I was praying along with God's Messenger a man in the campany sneezed, and I said, “God have mercy on you!” The people gave me disapproving looks, so I said, “Woe is me! What do you mean by looking at me?” They began to strike their hands on their thighs, and when I saw them urging me to be silent [I became angry],[1] but I said nothing. When God’s Messenger finished his prayer (and I declare that neither before him nor after him have I seen a teacher who gave better instruction than he for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom), I swear by God that he did not scold, beat, or revile me, but said, “No talk to others is fitting during this prayer, for it consists only of glorifying God, declaring His greatness, and recitation of the Qur’an,” or words to that effect. I said, “Messenger of God, I have only recently been a pagan, but God has brought Islam to us, and among us there are men who have recourse to <i>kahins</i>.”[2] He replied, “Do not have recourse to them.” I said, “Among us there are men who take omens.” He replied, “That is something which they find in their breasts, but let it not turn them away [from freedom of action]”. I said, “Among us there are men who draw lines.”[3] He replied, “There was a prophet who drew lines, so if any do it as he did, that is allowable.” 1. Some such phrase as that in brackets is required to complete the sense. It can be seen from the remarks at the end of the tradition that the text has been considered difficult. 2. Diviners, soothsayers. 3. The reference is to geomancy. The diviner draws many lines and obliterates them in pairs. If two are left it is a good sign, but if only one remains it indicates disappointment. The reference to the prophet may be a recollection of the statement in John 8:6 that Jesus wrote on the ground with his finger when the people asked what should be done with the woman caught in adultery; but this has no connection with geomancy. Muslim transmitted it. I found the phrase “But I said nothing” given thus in Muslim’s <i>Sahih</i> and al-Humaidi’s book. In <i>Jami' al-usul</i> it is stated to be correct, the word “thus”* being written above “but I.” *This corresponds to the use of (<i>sic</i>) to indicate an accurate quotation.

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‘Abdallah b. Mas'ud said:

We used to greet the Prophet (ﷺ) while he was engaged in prayer and he would respond to our greeting, but when we returned from the Negus* we greeted him and he did not respond to us, so we said, “Messenger of God, we used to greet you when you were engaged in prayer and you would respond to us.” He replied, “Prayer demands one’s whole attention.” * The reference is to the return of those who had gone from Mecca to Abyssinia when Muslims were being persecuted. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

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Mu'aiqib quoted the Prohpet as saying about a man who smoothed the ground where he prostrated himself, “If you do it, do it only once.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

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Abu Huraira said that God’s Messenger forbade putting the hands on the waist during prayer. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

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‘A’isha said:

I asked God’s Messenger about looking to the side during prayer and he said, “It is something which the devil snatches from a servant’s prayer.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

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Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “People must stop raising their eyes to heaven while making supplication in prayer, otherwise their sight will be taken away.” Muslim transmitted it.

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Abu Qatada said:

I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) leading the people in prayer with Umama daughter of Abul ‘As on his shoulder. When he bowed he put her down, and when he got up after the prostration he put her back. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

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Abu Sa'id reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When one of you yawns during prayer he must restrain it as much as possible, for the devil gets in.” Muslim transmitted it. In a version by Bukhari from Abu Huraira he said, “When one of you yawns during prayer he must restrain it as much as possible and not say ‘Ha’, for that comes from the devil who is laughing at him.”(Or “at it”, i.e. at this action).

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Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “An ‘ifrit of the jinn escaped yesterday to interrupt my prayer, but God gave me power over him, so I seized him and intended to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque in order that you might all look at him; but I remembered the supplication of my brother Solomon, ‘My Lord, give me such a kingdom as will not be fitting for anyone after me’ (Al-Qur’an; 38:35) so I made him clear out.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

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Sahl b. Sa‘d reported God's Messenger as saying, “If anything happens to someone during prayer he should say, ‘Glory be to God,’ for clapping applies only to women.” In a version he said, “Saying 'Glory be to God’ applies to men and clapping to women.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

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'Abdallah b. Mas'ud said:

Before we went to Abyssinia we used to greet God’s Messenger when he was engaged in prayer and he would respond to us, but when we returned from Abyssinia I came to him and found him praying. I greeted him and he did not respond to me, but when he finished his prayer he said, “God creates new commands as He wishes, and one of them is that you must not talk during prayer.” He then returned my greeting and said, “Prayer is solely for the purpose of reciting the Qur’an and making mention of God, so when you are engaged in it let that be what occupies your attention.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

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Ibu ‘Umar said he asked Bilal how the Prophet (ﷺ) responded to them when they greeted him while he was engaged in prayer, and he replied, “He used to make a sign with his hand.” Tirmidhi transmitted it. In Nasa'i’s version there is something similar, but Suhaib occurs instead of Bilal.

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Rifa'a b. Rafi‘ said :

I prayed behind God's Messenger, and on sneezing I said, “Praise be to God, great, good, blessed and abounding in good, as our Lord wishes and is pleased with.” When God's Messenger finished his prayer he moved away and asked, “Who was it who spoke during the prayer?” but no one replied. He asked a second time, but no one replied. He asked a third time, and Rifa'a said, “I did, Messenger of God.” Thereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “By Him in whose hand my soul is, over thirty angels raced to it to see which of them would ascend with it.” Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it.

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Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Yawning during prayer comes from the devil, so when one of you yawns he must restrain it as much as possible.” Tirmidhi transmitted it. In another version by him and by Ibn Majah it says, “He should put his hand over his mouth.”

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Ka‘b b. ‘Ujra reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When one of you performs ablution and does it well, then goes out making for the mosque, he must not interwine his fingers for he is engaged in prayer.” Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i and Darimi transmitted it.

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Abu Dharr reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God most high continues to turn favourably towards a servant while he is engaged in prayer as long as he does not look to the side, but if he does so He departs from him.” Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i and Darimi transmitted it.

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Anas told that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Keep looking in the direction towards which you prostrate yourself, Anas.” Baihaqi transmitted it in <i>[Kitab] as-sunan al-kabir</i> through al-Hasan from Anas, tracing it back to the Prophet.

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He reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Sonny, avoid turning to the side when you are engaged in prayer, for turning to the side produces destruction. If you must do it, do it in the voluntary, but not in the obligatory prayer.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

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Ibn ‘Abbas said that God’s Messenger used to glance right and left during prayer but did not turn his neck to look behind him. Tirmidhi and Nasa’i transmitted it.

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‘Adi b. Thabit quoted his father as saying that his grandfather traced the following back to the Prophet, “Sneezing, drowsing and yawning during prayer, also menstruation, vomiting and nose bleeding come from the devil.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

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Mutarrif b. ‘Abdallah [b.] ash-Shikhkhir quoted his father as saying, “I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) when he was engaged in prayer, and heard a sound from within him like the bubbling of a pot,” meaning that he was weeping. In a version he said, “I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) praying and a sound came from his breast like the rumbling of a mill, owing to weeping.” Ahmad transmitted it. Nasa’i transmitted the first version and Abu Dawud the second.

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Abu Dharr reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When one of you gets up to pray he must not remove pebbles, for mercy is facing him.”* * Meaning that such an action is unfitting when one is in God’s presence. Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

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Umm Salama said:

The Prophet (ﷺ) saw a servant of ours called Aflah blowing when he prostrated himself, and said, “Throw dust on your face, Aflah.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

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Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Resting the hands on the waist in prayer is the comfort of those who go to hell.” [Baghawi] transmitted it in <i>Sharh as-sunna</i>.