Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 1100
sahih

Narrated Anas bin Seereen:

We went to receive Anas bin Malik when he returned from Sham and met him at a place called 'Ainat- Tamr. I saw him praying riding the donkey, with his face to this direction, i.e. to the left of the Qibla. I said to him, "I have seen you offering the prayer in a direction other than that of the Qibla." He replied, "If I had not seen Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) doing it, I would not have done it."

حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا حَبَّانُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا هَمَّامٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَنَسُ بْنُ سِيرِينَ، قَالَ اسْتَقْبَلْنَا أَنَسًا حِينَ قَدِمَ مِنَ الشَّأْمِ، فَلَقِينَاهُ بِعَيْنِ التَّمْرِ، فَرَأَيْتُهُ يُصَلِّي عَلَى حِمَارٍ وَوَجْهُهُ مِنْ ذَا الْجَانِبِ، يَعْنِي عَنْ يَسَارِ الْقِبْلَةِ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ رَأَيْتُكَ تُصَلِّي لِغَيْرِ الْقِبْلَةِ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لَوْلاَ أَنِّي رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَعَلَهُ لَمْ أَفْعَلْهُ‏.‏ رَوَاهُ ابْنُ طَهْمَانَ عَنْ حَجَّاجٍ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ سِيرِينَ عَنْ أَنَسٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 18, Hadith 20
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 2, Book 20, Hadith 204 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Companion’s (may Allah be pleased with them) eagerness towards following the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺwas remarkable; thus, none of them would do an action or deed if the Prophet ﷺ had not done it or encouraged it; especially the prayer whose actions are fixed, and the Prophet ﷺ stipulated them by his words and actions. In this hadeeth, the taabiʿee, Anas ibn Seereen reports that they had [set out] to receive Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him), who was returning from the region of Shaam; and they met him near ʿAyn al-Tamr - which is a town to the west in the governorate of Anbaar, [which is] the biggest of the governorates in Iraq. When they saw him, he was praying while he atop of a donkey; and he was facing towards the left of the Qiblah, and not in the direction of the Qiblah [itself]. Upon seeing this, Anas ibn Seereen asked him in a state of awe: ‘I saw you performing the prayer facing in a direction other than the Qiblah?!’ Then, Anas ibn Maalik responded to him by saying: ‘If I had not seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ praying on top of his mount towards [a direction] other than the Qiblah, I would not have done so. Rather, the Prophet ﷺ would do that for the supererogatory and sunnah - and not for the obligatory prayers; like what is established in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them). Some of the other benefits that we can conclude from this hadeeth is knowing the permissibility of performing supererogatory prayers on [any] means of transportation, even if we are [facing in] a direction other than that of the Qiblah. This narration also elucidates the ease that we have in our acts of worship, especially when it comes to the prayer. .
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