Sahih al-Bukhari, 1657
sahihNarrated `Abdullah bin Mas`ud:
I offered (only a) two rak`at prayer with the Prophet (at Mina), and similarly with Abu Bakr and with `Umar, and then you d offered in opinions. Wish that I would be lucky enough to have two of the four rak`at accepted (by Allah).
حَدَّثَنَا قَبِيصَةُ بْنُ عُقْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ صَلَّيْتُ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم رَكْعَتَيْنِ، وَمَعَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ رَكْعَتَيْنِ وَمَعَ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ رَكْعَتَيْنِ، ثُمَّ تَفَرَّقَتْ بِكُمُ الطُّرُقُ، فَيَا لَيْتَ حَظِّي مِنْ أَرْبَعٍ رَكْعَتَانِ مُتَقَبَّلَتَانِ.
Isnad
6 transmittersReferences2 variants
- In-Book Reference
- Book 25, Hadith 138
- USC-MSA web (English) reference
- Vol. 2, Book 26, Hadith 719 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Hajj has its own rulings and some of which are so unique that it gives pilgrims concessions in certain acts of worship like shortening the prayer, and it lifts hardship by allowing certain rites to be shifted to perform them before other rites, and so on. ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ood (ra) reports that he was with the Prophet ﷺin the Farewell Hajj and that he prayed behind him in Minaa the four-units prayers, namely Thuhr, ‘Asr, and ‘Ishaa. He (ra) adds that he ﷺshortened them and offered each one of them as a two units prayer. Minaa is a valley surrounded by mountains, located in the east of Makkah on the road between Makkah and Mount of ‘Arafah, about 6 km away from the Sacred Mosque, and it is the site where the rite of throwing stones is performed. He continued to explain that he prayed behind Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (ras) and they did the same i.e., they shortened the four-units prayers. His statement: "Then you differed in opinions" refers to what ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Afaan (ra) did in the second half of his ruling, when he stopped shortening the four-units prayers in Minaa. It is said that ‘Uthmaan (ra) opted for offering the four-units prayers without shortening them because he decided to live in the Taaif. By this, he considered him a resident hence cannot benefit from the concession of shortening prayers as he held the view that the concession of shortening prayers in Minaa is only for the travelling pilgrims. It is also said that he did not take the concession and insisted on offering the four units prayers without shortening them for the public good i.e., at that time he noticed that the number of Muslims had dramatically increased after the large groups of people entering Islam and many of the pilgrims were new Muslims who did not know well the rulings and laws of Islam. He feared that the ignorant ones among them would think that the four units prayers consist of two units. As for the statement of Ibn Mas’ood (ra) said: "Wish that I would be lucky enough to have two of the four units accepted (by Allah)", it is intended to mean that ‘Uthmaan (ra) should have shortened the prayer and followed the way of Aboo Bakr and ‘Umar (ras) because it agrees with the practice of the Prophet ﷺ. While Ibn Mas’ood, (ra) held the view that it is better to shorten the prayer, he held the view that it is permissible not offer the four units prayer without shortening it in Minaa. This is evident because he prayed behind ‘Uthmaan (ras) and if he held the view that shortening the prayer is obligatory, he would have refused to offer the four units prayer behind ‘Uthaman without shortening it. From the benefits that can be concluded from this hadeeth is learning about the eagerness and insistence of the Companions (ras) to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This hadeeth shows that little work that corresponds to the Sunnah is more likely to be accepted. .