He said, "Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi related to me from
Malik ibn Anas from Ibn Shihab that one day Umar ibn
Abdal-Aziz delayed the prayer. Urwa ibn az-Zubayr came and
told him that al-Mughira ibn Shuba had delayed the prayer
one day while he was in Kufa and Abu Masud al-Ansari had
come to him and said, 'What's this, Mughira? Don't you
know that the angel Jibril came down and prayed and the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, prayed.' Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed.
Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Then he
prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, prayed. Then he prayed again, and
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, prayed. Then Jibril said, 'This is what you have
been ordered to do.' Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz said, 'Be sure
of what you relate, Urwa. Was it definitely Jibril who
established the time of the prayer for the Messenger of
Allah?' " Urwa said, "That's how it was related to Bashir
ibn Abi Masud al-Ansari by his father."
Urwa said that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace used to pray asr while
the sunlight was pouring into her room, before the sun
itself had become visible (i.e. because it was still high
in the sky).
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that
Ata ibn Yasar said, "A man came to the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and asked him
about the time of the subh prayer. The Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not answer
him, but in the morning he prayed subh at first light. The
following morning he prayed subh when it was much lighter,
and then said, 'Where is the man who was asking about the
time of the prayer?' The man replied, 'Here I am,
Messenger of Allah.' He said,'The time is between these
two.' "
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from
Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, used to pray subh and the women would leave wrapped
in their garments and they could not yet be recognised in
the darkness."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from
Ata ibn Yasar and from Busr ibn Said and from al-Araj-all
of whom related it from Abu Hurayra - that the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"Whoever manages to do a raka of subh before the sun has
risen has done subh in time, and whoever manages to do a
raka of asr before the sun has set has done asr in time."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from the mawla
of Abdullah ibn Umar that Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to his
governors, saying, "The most important of your affairs in
my view is the prayer. Whoever protects it and observes it
carefully is protecting his deen, while whoever is
negligent about it will be even more negligent about other
things." Then he added, "Pray dhuhr any time from when the
afternoon shade is the length of your forearm until the
length of your shadow matches your height. Pray asr when
the sun is still pure white, so that a rider can travel
two or three farsakhs before the sun sets. Pray maghrib
when the sun has set. Pray isha any time from when the
redness in the western sky has disappeared until a third
of the night has passed - and a person who sleeps, may he
have no rest, a person who sleeps, may he have no rest.
And pray subh when all the stars are visible and like a
haze in the sky."
Yahya related to me from Malik, from his uncle Abu
Suhayl from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to
Abu Musa saying that he should pray dhuhr when the sun had
started to decline, asr when the sun was still pure white
before any yellowness had entered it maghrib when the sun
had set, and to delay isha as long as he did not sleep,
and to pray subh when the stars were all visible and like
a haze in the sky and to read in it two long suras from
the mufassal.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa
from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to Abu Musa
al-Ashari that he should pray asr when the sun was still
pure white so that a man could ride threefarsakhs (before
maghrib) and that he should pray isha during the first
third of the night, or, if he delayed it, then up until
the middle of the night, and he warned him not to be
forgetful.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Ziyad
that Abdullah ibn Rafi, the mawla of Umm Salama, the wife
of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
asked Abu Hurayra about the time of the prayer. Abu
Hurayra said, "Let me tell you. Pray dhuhr when the length
of your shadow matches your height, asr when your shadow
is twice your height, maghrib when the sun has set, isha
in the first third of the night, and subh in the very
first light of dawn," i.e. when the dawn has definitely
come.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ishaq ibn Abdullah
ibn Abi Talha that Anas ibn Malik said, "We would pray asr
and anyone who then went to the Bani Amr ibn Awf would
find them praying asr."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that
Anas ibn Malik said, "We would pray asr and anyone who
then went to Quba would arrive there while the sun was
still high."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd
ar-Rahman that al Qasim ibn Muhammad said, "None of the
companions that I met prayed dhuhr until well after
noon,"(i.e.until when the sun had lost its fierceness).
Yahya related to me from Malik from his uncle Abu
Suhayl ibn Malik that his father said, "I used to see a
carpet belonging to Aqil ibn Abi Talib spread out on the
day of jumua up to the west wall of the mosque. When the
shadow of the wall covered the whole carpet, Umar ibn al-Khattab
would come out and pray the jumua prayer."
Malik, Abu Suhayl's father, added, "We would then
return after the jumua prayer and take our midday sleep."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Amr ibn Yahya ibn
Yahya al-Mazini from Ibn Abi Salit that Uthman ibn Affan
prayed jumua in Madina and asr in Malal (a place seventeen
miles from Madina).
Malik commented, "That was by praying jumua just past
midday and then travelling fast."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu
Salama ibn Abdar-Rahman from Abu Hurayra that the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said "Whoever catches a raka of the prayer has
caught the prayer."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that
Abdullah ibn Umar and Zayd ibn Thabit used to say,
"Whoever catches the ruku has caught the sajda."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that
Abu Hurayra used to say, "Whoever catches the ruku has
caught the sajda and whoever misses the recitation of the
umm al-Qur'an has missed much good."
Yahya related to me from Malik that Da'ud ibn al-Husayn
said that someone had told him Abdullah ibn Abbas used to
say, "Duluk ash-shams begins from when the sun passes the
meridian. Ghasaq al-layl is the gathering of the night and
its darkness."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah
ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, "If someone misses the asr
prayer it is as if he has suffered a great misfortune in
his family and wealth ."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that
once Umar ibn al-Khattab left after doing the asr prayer
and met a man who had not been there. Umar asked him what
had kept him from the prayer and eventhough the man gave a
good reason, Umar said, "You have given yourself short
measure."
Yahya added that Malik commented, "It is said that
everything has a short measure and a full measure."
Yahya related to me from Malik thatYahya ibn Said used
to say, "Even if someone manages to pray before the time
of the prayer has passed, the time that has passed him by
is more important, or better, than his family and wealth."
Yahya said that Malik said, "If the time for a prayer
comes and a traveller delays a prayer through neglect or
forgetfulness until he reaches his family, he should do
that prayer in full if he arrives within the time. But if
he arrives when the time has past, he should do the
travelling prayer. That way he only repays what he owes."
Malik said, "This is what I have found the people and
men of knowledge doing in our community." Malik explained
that shafaq was the redness in the sky after the sun had
set, and said, "When the redness has gone then the isha
prayer is due and you have left the time of maghrib."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from
Said ibn al-Musayyab that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, travelled by night on
the way back from Khaybar.Towards the end of the night he
stopped for a rest and told Bilal to stay awake to keep
watch for the subh prayer. The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his companions
slept. Bilal stayed on guard as long as was decreed for
him and then he leant against his riding camel facing the
direction of the dawn and sleep overcame him and neither
he nor the Messenger of Allah nor any of the party woke up
until the sun's rays had struck them. The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was
alarmed. Bilal excused himself, saying, "Messenger of
Allah! The One who took your self was the One who took
myself. "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, ordered the party to move on and so they
roused thei r mounts and rode on a short distance. The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, ordered Bilal to give the iqama and then led them
in the subh prayer. When he had finished he said, "Anyone
who forgets a prayer should pray it when he remembers.
Allah theBlessed and Exalted says in His book, 'Establish
the prayer to remember Me.'"
Yahya related to me from Malik that Zayd ibn Aslam
said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, stopped for a rest one night on the way
to Makka and appointed Bilal to wake them up for the
prayer. Bilal slept and everyone else slept and none of
them woke up until the sun had risen. When they did wake
up they were all alarmed. The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered them to ride
out of the valley, saying that there was a shaytan in it.
So they rode out of the valley and the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered them to
dismount and do wudu and he told Bilal either to call the
prayer or to give the iqama. The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, then led them in the
prayer. Noticing their uneasiness, he went to them and
said, 'O people! Allah seized our spirits (arwah) and if
He had wished He would have returned them to us at a time
other than this. So if you sleep through the time for a
prayer or forget it and then are anxious about it, pray it
as if you were praying it in its time.' The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, turned to
Abu Bakr and said, 'Shaytan came to Bilal when he was
standing in prayer and made him lie down and lulled him to
sleep like a small boy.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, then called Bilal and told
him the same as he had told Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr declared,
'I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah.' "
Section: Prohibition against Doing the Prayer at the
Hottest Hour of the Day
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from
Ata ibn Yasar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "Scorching heat is a part
of the blast of Jahannam. So, when the heat is fierce,
delay the prayer until it gets cooler."
He added in explanation, "The Fire complained to its
Lord and said, 'My Lord, part of me has eaten another
part,' so He allowed it two breaths in every year, a
breath in winter and a breath in summer."
Malik related to us from Abdullah ibn Yazid the mawla
of al-Aswad ibn Sufyan, from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman
from Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Thawban from Abu
Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, "When the heat is fierce delay
the prayer until it gets cooler, for scorching heat is a
part of the blast of Jahannam."
He added, "The Fire complained to its Lord, so He
allowed it two breaths in each year, a breath in winter
and a breath in summer."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from
al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When the heat
is fierce, wait until it gets cooler before you do the
prayer, for scorching heat is from the blast of Jahannam."
Section: The Prohibition against Entering the Mosque
Smelling of Garlic and the Prohibition against covering the
Mouth in Prayer
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from
Said ibn al-Musayyab that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Anyone who
eats this plant should not come near our mosques. The
smell of the garlic will offend us."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn
al-Mujabbar that he used to see Salim ibn Abdullah pull
the cloth away fiercely from the mouth of any man he saw
covering his mouth while praying.