The teachings of Islam are easy-going and seek to make things easy for people. One example of that is that despite the importance of prayer in congregation in the mosque, Islam takes into consideration people’s circumstances at difficult times, when going to the mosque is hard, such as in the event of high winds, rain, fear, and so on. In this hadith, the Tabi‘i ‘Abdullah ibn al-Harith narrates that whilst Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was addressing the Muslims on a muddy day, when there was a great deal of mud because of rain, he instructed the mu’adhdhin to say, when he reached the words “Hayya ‘ala al-salah” to say: “Al-salatu fi’l-rihal (Pray where you are)” – meaning in their houses and homes. Giving the call in this manner is a concession to allow people to pray at home, and not to pray in congregation, so that no one will encounter difficulty in coming to the mosque. When he instructed the mu’adhdhin to do that, those who were present questioned his doing that, and they looked at one another in astonishment, finding that odd, because they had never seen such a concession before that from any of the other Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them all). When Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) saw their reaction, he said: One who was better than me did that – meaning the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) explained to them that this was not something new that had been introduced into the adhan, and nothing had changed; what he instructed the mu’adhdhin to do was something that the Prophet himself (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had done. This indicates that on a rainy or muddy day, the mu’adhdhin may say in the adhan: “Sallu fi rihalikum (pray in your houses).” Thus it becomes clear to the people that it is permissible to pray in their houses on rainy and muddy days. This is what is meant by the words of Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), “and this prayer is an obligatory prayer”: Jumu‘ah prayer is an obligatory prayer. According to another report, he said: Indeed Jumu‘ah is an obligatory prayer, and I did not like to make you come out and walk in the mud. That was because they would be reluctant to stay away from Jumu‘ah prayer, and would put up with hardship in order to go there in the mud. Hence he instructed the mu’adhdhin to say “Sallu fi rihaalikum” so that they would know that doing so was permissible, and they would not be upset about it. This hadith highlights the easy nature of Islamic teachings, and that the teachings of Islam seek to spare the Muslims hardship by granting concessions allowing them not to pray in congregation in the event of rain, hail and disasters. It also highlights the knowledge of Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and his keenness to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)..