Neglected Sunnah of the Prayer – Sitting Mutawarrikan in the last tashahhud

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

A description of al-tawarruk:

Shaykh Al-Albānī said: He (ﷺ) would sit mutawarrikan in the last tashahhud, with his left upper thigh on the ground, and both his feet protruding from one side (i.e. right side), his left foot would be under his (right) thigh and shin, his right foot would be upright on its toes, or sometimes he would spread it along the ground. His left palm would cover his left knee, leaning heavily on it. (Sifat al-Salāh pg. 981-989)





Evidence of sitting mutawarrikan 





1) Abū Humayd al-Sā’idī said in the presence of ten companions of the prophet (ﷺ): “I am more knowledgeable than any of you regarding the prayer of the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ).” They said: “So present it (i.e. what you know).” He then mentioned the hadīth, saying: “he (ﷺ) bent the toes of his feet (turning them towards the Qiblah) when he prostrated, then he would say “Allāhu Akbar,” and raise his head (to sit up). He would place his left foot horizontally (on the ground) sitting on it. And he would perform the second rak’ah in a similar manner.” Then he mentioned the hadīth. And said: “Until (when) he would perform the prostration (i.e. rak’ah) that precedes the Taslīm (salutation), he would move his left leg further and sit Mutawarrikan (on the buttocks) – on the left side.” They said: “You are right. This is how he (ﷺ) used to pray.” (Abū Dawūd 963. Declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī. A more detailed account of the above can be found in no. 730 of Abū Dawūd)







2) In the version in Sahīh al-Bukhārī (828) he said:… “On sitting in the second rak’ah he (ﷺ)  sat on his left foot and propped up the right one (i.e muftarishan); and in the last rak’ah he pushed his left foot forward (under the shin) and kept the other foot propped up and sat on the buttocks.” 












3) ‘Abdullāh ibn Zubayr narrated on the authority of his father: “When the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) sat in prayer, he would place the left foot between his (right) thigh and shin, and stretch the right foot (along the ground). He placed his left hand on his left knee and placed his right hand on his right thigh, and pointed with his finger.” (Sahīh Muslim 579)










When to sit mutawarrikan







Ibn al-Qayyim said: 





The prophet (ﷺ) performed the tawarruk posture in the last tashahhud that is followed by Taslīm (salutation). 





The context of the hadīth is clear that the tawarruk is legislated in the tashahhud that is followed by the salām in the prayers that contain three or four rak’ah. 





Abū Humayd described how the prophet (ﷺ) sat in the first tashahhud – wherein he sat on his left foot – that he stood up afterwards, and then “Until (when) he would perform the prostration (i.e. rak’ah) that precedes the Taslīm (salutation), he would sit Mutawarrikan.”  This text clearly indicates that the prophet (ﷺ) sat in the tawarruk posture in the second tashahhud. (Abridged from Zād al-Ma’ād 2/112-115)
 












Shaykh Al-Albānī said: 

As for two rak’ah prayers, such as Fajr, the sunnah is to sit muftarishan (i.e. placing the left foot horizontally and sitting on its ankle, whilst raising the right foot vertically so it’s toes are facing the Qiblah). (Sifat al-Salāh pg. 981-989)












Imām Ahmad was asked regarding al-Tawarruk in prayer. He said: It is (done) in Dhuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib, and ‘Ishā. (Masā’il Imām Ahmad of Ibn Hāni no. 389)

	


	





	

		
Those who do not preserve the prayer will be punished alongside Pharaoh & ‘Ubayy ibn Khalaf!
	


	
	

		

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم





Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr narrated: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) mentioned the prayers one day and he said, “Whoever preserves the prayers, they will be his light, proof, and salvation on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever does not preserve them will not have proof, nor light, nor salvation, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be with Qar’ūn, Pharaoh, Hāmān, and Ubayy ibn Khalaf.”

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو عن النَّبِيِّ صلَّى اللَّهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ أنَّهُ ذَكرَ الصَّلاةَ يومًا فقالَ من حافَظَ عليها كانت لَه نورًا وبُرهانًا ونجاةً إلى يومِ القيامةِ ومن لَم يُحافِظ عليها لم يَكن لَه نورٌ ولا برهانٌ ولا نجاةٌ وَكانَ يومَ القيامةِ معَ فرعونَ وَهامانَ وأبَيِّ بنِ خلفٍ

(Ahmad 6576 and Ibn Hibbān 1467. Declared Sahīh by Shu’ayb al-Arnā’ūt, Ahmad Shākir, and al-‘Irāqī. Al-Mundhirī declared the chain of transmission as jayyid (strong))










Explanation :





Alī al-Qārī said:





(He mentioned the prayers one day): Al-Tibī said: he (ﷺ) wanted to mention its virtues and honor.





(Whoever preserves the prayers): That is, from the occurrence of deviation in its obligations, sunnahs, manner (of praying), and maintaining them and not becoming lax (regarding them).





(They will be his light, proof and salvation) : Ibn Hajr said: Meaning an increase in light of his īmān (faith) and a clear proof of the perfection of his knowledge. Al-Tayyibī said: proof, meaning, evidence of his preservation of all other acts of obedience.





(On the day of Resurrection): because prayer is the first thing he will be asked about from the acts of worship. And it is also light, proof, and salvation for him in the grave, as stated in the narrations, for whoever dies, his resurrection has occurred.





(Whoever does not preserve them): that is, in accordance with it’s conditions and pillars. Whoever abandons it (i.e. the prayer) completely is more deserving of being deprived. 





(On the Day of Resurrection he will be with… ): joined, imprisoned, or punished. 





(with Qar’ūn): the one whose wealth prevented him from obeying. 





(Pharaoh and Hāmān): his (i.e. Pharaoh’s) minister, whom their prestige carried them to disobey.  





(Ubayy ibn Khalaf): He was a polytheist and the enemy of the Prophet (ﷺ) whom the Prophet (ﷺ)  killed with his own hand on the day of Uhud.





Al-Tayyibī said: There is an indication that whoever preserved (the prayers) will be with the prophets, the truthful ones, the martyrs, and the righteous. (Mirqāt al-Mafātīh 2/515, slightly abridged)










Al-Mubārakfūrī said:





And his (ﷺ) saying : on the Day of Resurrection he will be with Qar’ūn… : (contains) an indirect expression for entering Hellfire, meaning: he will be with them in Hellfire, even if the circumstance and the manner of punishment differs.  





It contains severe sternness and a great threat to those who leave out the preservation of prayer.  Some of them (i.e. people of knowledge) used it as evidence for the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer – because those mentioned (i.e. in this narration) are (from) the people of Hellfire who will receive from the most severe of punishments – and (likewise) the abiding in Hellfire of the one who abandons it (i.e. prayer) is just like the abiding of those who are placed with them in the punishment (i.e. they will abide in hellfire eternally). 





(Mir’āt al-Mafātīh 2/282)










Ibn al-‘Uthaymīn said (after the mention of some ahādīth including the one above): 





These narrations provide useful rulings, the most important of which is that the one who abandons the prayer is an apostate, a disbeliever who leaves the religion.  

‘Abdullāh ibn Shaqīq – who was from the tābi’īn – conveyed the consensus of the companions that the one who abandons the prayer is an disbeliever [‘The Companions of Muhammad (ﷺ) didn’t consider leaving anything to be disbelief except for the prayer’- al-Tirmidhī 2622].

Some of the people of knowledgeable held that if a person leaves a prayer intentionally, until the time exits for it, without an excuse, then he has disbelieved. And this was the opinion of our Shaykh, ‘Abdul-‘Azīz ibn Bāz rahimaullāh. [This was also the opinion of the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ), like ‘Umar, Abū Hurayrah, Mu’ādh ibn Jabal and others as mentioned by Ibn Hazm in al-Muhallā] (Sharh Mishkāt of al-‘Uthaymīn 1/459-460)

	


	





	

		
The meaning & virtue of sending Salāh and Salām upon the prophet
	


	
	

		

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 





﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَـئِكَـتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِىِّ يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً ﴾





Allāh sends His Salāh on the Prophet, and also His angels (do so). O you who believe! Send your Salāh on him, and greet him with Taslīm. (Al-Ahzāb:56) 










The meaning of Salāh upon the prophet (ﷺ) 





Al-Bukhārī said: 





Abū ‘Āliyah said: “Allāhs Salāh is His praising him before the angels, and the Salāh of the angels is their supplication.” Ibn ‘Abbās said: “They send (supplicate for) blessings.” 





(Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Chapter of Tafsīr)





Shaykh Ibn Uthaymīn said: “Allāhs Salāh upon an individual is Allāhs praising him in the highest gathering.” 





(Qawlul Mufīd pg. 458)










The meaning of Salām upon the prophet (ﷺ)





Shaykh Sālih al-Sālih said: “The salām is Allāh’s safeguarding of the Prophet (ﷺ) from deficiencies and any kind of evil, and the protection of the Message with which he was entrusted.





When the Muslim says “sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam”, he invokes Allāh to grant His Praise and Security to Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and the protection of the Message of Islām which was revealed to him (ﷺ).” 





(Tafsīr of Āyat al-Kursī pg. 4)










Does salāh mean mercy?





Shaykh Ibn Uthaymīn said: “The Salāh from Allāh upon His Messenger (ﷺ) does not mean what some of the people of knowledge understand: that it means mercy. This is not correct, from the evidence that show the incorrectness of this opinion is Allāh’s saying :





أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ صَلَوَٰتٞ مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡ وَرَحۡمَةٞۖ وَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُهۡتَدُونَ ١٥٧





They are those on whom are the Salawāt (i.e. Praise) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Rahmah (Mercy), and it is they who are the guided-ones. (al-Baqarah:157)





Allāh connected mercy with Salawāt, and conjuction implies difference.”





 (Qawlul Mufīd pg. 458 & Sharh Riyād al-Sālihīn 1/186, slightly abridged)















The virtues of sending Salāh upon the prophet (ﷺ)





“أَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَكْثَرُهُمْ عَلَىَّ صَلاَةً”





The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The person closest to me on the Day of Judgement is the one who sent the most Salāh upon me.” (al-Tirmidhī 484. Declared Hasan lighayrihi by Al-Albānī in al-Mawārid al-Dhamān 2027) 















“إِنَّهُ جَاءَنِي جِبْرِيلُ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ أَمَا يُرْضِيكَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ أَنْ لاَ يُصَلِّيَ عَلَيْكَ أَحَدٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِكَ إِلاَّ صَلَّيْتُ عَلَيْهِ عَشْرًا وَلاَ يُسَلِّمَ عَلَيْكَ أَحَدٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِكَ إِلاَّ سَلَّمْتُ عَلَيْهِ عَشْرًا ‏”‏ ‏





The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) came one day with a joyful expression on his face. He said: “Jibrīl came to me and said: ‘Will it not please you, O Muhammad, (to know) that no one of your Ummah will send salāh upon you but I will send salāh upon him tenfold, and no one will send salām upon you but I will send salām upon him tenfold?” (Al-Nasā’ī 1295. Declared Hasan by Al-Albānī) 















 ‏ “‏ مَنْ صَلَّى عَلَىَّ صَلاَةً وَاحِدَةً صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ عَشْرَ صَلَوَاتٍ وَحُطَّتْ عَنْهُ عَشْرُ خَطِيئَاتٍ وَرُفِعَتْ لَهُ عَشْرُ دَرَجَاتٍ ‏





“The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: “Whoever sends salāh upon me once, Allāh will send salāh upon him tenfold, and will erase ten sins from him, and will raise him ten degrees in status.” (An-Nasā’ī 1297. Declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī)





Shaykh Ibn Uthaymīn said: Therefore, whoever sends Salāh upon the prophet once, Allāh will exalt his mention ten times in the highest gathering. (Qawlul Mufīd pg. 458)










How the Salāh is conveyed to the prophet (ﷺ)





إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَلاَئِكَةً سَيَّاحِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ يُبَلِّغُونِي مِنْ أُمَّتِي السَّلاَمَ





The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Indeed Allāh has angels who roam the earth and they convey to me the greetings of salām of my Ummah (nation).” (An-Nasā’ī 1282. Declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī)










Recommended occasions to send Salāh upon the prophet (ﷺ) 





1) Jumu’ah 





The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said:





أَكْثِرُوا الصَّلاَةَ عَلَىَّ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ فَإِنَّهُ مَشْهُودٌ تَشْهَدُهُ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ





“Send a great deal of Salāh upon me on Fridays, for it is witnessed by the angels.” (Ibn Mājah 1637. Al-Mundhirī said the chain of transmission is good, and declared Hasan lighayrihi by Al-Albānī in Sahīh al-Targhīb 1672)






	


	





	

		
Raising the hands when bowing (Rukū) and rising from bowing
	


	
	

		

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 





Imām al-Bukhārī:
باب رَفْعِ الْيَدَيْنِ إِذَا كَبَّرَ وَإِذَا رَكَعَ وَإِذَا رَفَعَ 





Chapter: To raise both hands upon saying the (opening) Takbir, and when performing Rukū’ (bowing) and on rising from it (i.e. Rukū’):

Ibn ‘Umar narrated: I saw that whenever Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) stood for the prayer, he used to raise both his hands up to the shoulders, and used to do the same on saying the Takbīr for Rukū’ (bowing) and on raising his head from Rukū’… (Sahīh al-Bukhārī 736)





Abū Zubair narrated that Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh would raise his hands when he began the prayer, and when he made Rukū’, and when he raised his head from Rukū’ he would do likewise, and he said: “I saw the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) doing the same.” (Ibn Mājah 868. Declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī)

Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr said: Dawūd ibn ‘Alī said: Raising the hands at the opening Takbīr is obligatory and one of the pillars of prayer. Some of the people of knowledge said: The raising (of the hands) upon the opening (takbīr) and upon Rukū’, and rising from Rukū’ is obligatory, based on his (ﷺ) statement, “Pray as you have seen me pray.”(Sahīh al-Bukhārī 631). (At-Tamhīd 6/345)

Nāfī’ narrated that if Ibn ‘Umar saw a man who did not raise his hands when making Rukū’, and upon rising from it, he would throw pebbles at him. (Kitāb Raf’ al-Yadayn of al-Bukhārī pg. 53)

Abū Hamzah narrated: I saw Ibn ‘Abbās raise his hands when he performed Rukū’, and when he raised his head from Rukū’.  (At-Tamhīd 6/350)

al-Hasan (al-Basrī) said: The Companions of the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ), would raise their hands in prayer, when they made rukū, and when they rose from it. (At-Tamhīd 6/350)

Al-Bukhārī said: al-Hasan did not exclude anyone from the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ), and it has not been proven with the people of knowledge that any one among the companions did not raise his hands. (Kitāb Raf’ al-Yadayn pg. 31)

Hishām narrated upon al-Hasan and Muhammad Ibn Sirīn that they would raise their hands when they said Takbīr, when they made Rukū’, and when they rose (from Rukū’). Muhammad bin Sirīn said: It is part of the completion of the prayer (At-Tamhīd 6/351)

Rabī ibn Subayh narrated: I saw ‘Atā, Tawūs, Mujāhid, Al-Hasan, Ibn Sirīn, Nafī’, Ibn Abī Najīh, Hasan ibn Muslim, and Qatādah raising their hands when making Rukū and upon rising from it. (At-Tamhīd 6/351)

	


	





	

		
Whoever doesn’t pray the ‘Asr prayer his good deeds will be nullified
	


	
	

		

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم












حَافِظُواْ عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ والصَّلاَةِ الْوُسْطَى وَقُومُواْ لِلّهِ قَانِتِينَ ٢٣٨





Guard strictly the prayers, and the Salātul-Wustā (middle prayer), and stand before Allāh truly devout.

Sūrah al-Baqarah 2:238





Ibn Kathīr said: “Allāh commands that the prayer should be performed correctly and on time.” (Tafsīr of Ibn Kathīr) 





Ibn al-Jawzī said: “To preserve and maintain the five daily prayers. The waw (‘and’) indicates virtue of the thing that is specified (i.e. ‘Asr prayer). 





The middle (wasat) of something (means) : the best and fairest. It also means the middle, as the ‘Asr prayer is preceeded by the prayers of the day (i.e. Fajr, Dhuhr) and followed by the prayers of the night (i.e. Maghrib,’Ishā).” (Abridged from Zād al-Masīr 2/292-293)





The proof that the ‘Asr prayer is al-Salātul-Wustā:





    

  • The Prophet (ﷺ)said: “The middle prayer (Salātul-Wustā) is the ‘Asr prayer”. (Al-Tirmidhī 182. Declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī)
    • 




  • The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “They (the disbelievers) busied us from offering the middle prayer (Salātul-Wustā) the ‘Asr prayer”. (Sahīh Muslim 628)
    • 

















Abū Al-Malīh narrated: We were with Buraidah in a battle on a cloudy day and he said, “Offer the ‘Asr prayer early as the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whoever leaves the ‘Asr prayer (intentionally), all his (good) deeds will be nullified.”

عَنْ أَبِي الْمَلِيحِ، قَالَ كُنَّا مَعَ بُرَيْدَةَ فِي غَزْوَةٍ فِي يَوْمٍ ذِي غَيْمٍ فَقَالَ بَكِّرُوا بِصَلاَةِ الْعَصْرِ فَإِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ “‏ مَنْ تَرَكَ صَلاَةَ الْعَصْرِ فَقَدْ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُ ‏”‏‏.‏





(Sahīh Bukhārī 553)










Abū Hurairah narrated: Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Angels come to you in succession by night and day and they gather at the time of the Fajr and ‘Asr prayers. Those who have spent the night with you ascend (to the heavens) and Allāh asks them – though He knows best about them –  “In what state did you leave my slaves?” The angels reply: “When we left them they were praying and when we came to them, they were praying.”

 عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ “‏ يَتَعَاقَبُونَ فِيكُمْ مَلاَئِكَةٌ بِاللَّيْلِ وَمَلاَئِكَةٌ بِالنَّهَارِ، وَيَجْتَمِعُونَ فِي صَلاَةِ الْفَجْرِ وَصَلاَةِ الْعَصْرِ، ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ الَّذِينَ بَاتُوا فِيكُمْ، فَيَسْأَلُهُمْ وَهْوَ أَعْلَمُ بِهِمْ كَيْفَ تَرَكْتُمْ عِبَادِي فَيَقُولُونَ تَرَكْنَاهُمْ وَهُمْ يُصَلُّونَ، وَأَتَيْنَاهُمْ وَهُمْ يُصَلُّونَ ‏”‏‏.‏





(Sahīh Bukhārī 555)










Ibn ‘Umar narrated: Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Whoever misses the ‘Asr prayer (intentionally) then it is as if he lost his family and wealth. “

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ “‏ الَّذِي تَفُوتُهُ صَلاَةُ الْعَصْرِ كَأَنَّمَا وُتِرَ أَهْلَهُ وَمَالَهُ ‏”‏‏.‏





(Sahīh Bukhārī 552)










Abū Bakr ibn Abī Mūsā narrated: My father said, “Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, ‘Whoever prays the two cool prayers (‘Asr and Fajr) will enter Paradise.”

عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ أَبِي مُوسَى، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ “‏ مَنْ صَلَّى الْبَرْدَيْنِ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ ‏”‏‏





(Sahīh Bukhārī 574)

	


	





	

		
Sīrah series: Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd recites Sūrah Al-Rahmān to the Quraysh
	


	
	

		

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم














Ibn Ishāq said: Yahyā ibn ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr told me, on the authority of his father, he said: The first to recite the Qur’ān out loud after the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) was ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd. 





He said: One day the companions of the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ)  gathered together, and they said: 

“By Allāh, the Quraysh have never heard this Qur’ān recited aloud to them, so who among you will make them hear it?” 

‘Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd said: “I (will)”. They said: “We fear for you. We want a man with a clan who will protect him from the people if they intend to harm him.” He said: “Leave me. Allāh will protect me.”

So Ibn Mas’ūd went in the forenoon until he came to the Maqām (of Ibrāhīm) whilst the Quraysh were in their assemblies. He stood in front of the Maqām and then recited [Sūrah al-Rahmān 55]: Bismillahi al-Rahmān al-Rahīm, Al-Rahmān, ‘Alama-l Qur’ān… He said: So they looked at him and started saying: “What is he saying?” 





Then they said: “He is reciting some of what Muhammad brought.” So they stood up to him, and they started hitting him in the face, and he continued to recite until he went on as much as Allāh willed for him to recite.  





Then he returned to his companions, and they looked at him (with traces of beating visible on his face), and they said to him: “This is what we feared for you.” So he said: “The enemies of Allāh have never been more insignificant in my sight than they are now! And if you wish, I will do the same thing tomorrow.” They said: “No, it is enough. You have made them hear what they dislike.”





(Sīrah of Ibn Hishām 1/314-315)

	


	





	

		
Story of Prophet Mūsā: the splitting of the sea
	


	
	

		

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم







وَإِذۡ فَرَقۡنَا بِكُمُ ٱلۡبَحۡرَ فَأَنجَيۡنَٰكُمۡ وَأَغۡرَقۡنَآ ءَالَ فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَأَنتُمۡ تَنظُرُونَ ٥٠

And (remember) when We separated the sea for you and saved you and drowned Fir’aun’s (Pharaoh) people while you were looking (at them). (Al-Baqarah 2:50)





Muqātil ibn Sulaymān said: The waters parted to the right and left like two mountains facing each other, and in them were openings through which each tribe looked to the other. (Zād al-Masīr fī ‘ilm al-Tafsīr 1/351 of Ibn al-Jawzī)







Ibn ‘Abbās narrated: Allāh revealed to Mūsā to ‘take away My servants by night, you will be pursued.’ So Mūsā walked with the Children of Israel at night, and Pharaoh followed them with one million in number on horseback, except for females, and Mūsā had six hundred thousand in number.  When Pharaoh saw them, he said: “Indeed, these are a small group. And indeed, they have done what has enraged us. But we are host all assembled, amply fore-warned.” [Al-Shu’arā’: 54-56]. 





So Mūsā walked with the Children of Israel until they came upon the sea, so they turned around and saw that there were a group of riding beasts (Pharaohs army). And they said: “O Mūsā, we have been harmed before you came to us and after you have come to us.” [Al-A’rāf:129], this sea is before us, and the Pharaoh and those with him are getting closer to us! So he said, “Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and grant you succession in the land and see how you will act .” [Al-A’rāf:129].





Then Allāh revealed to Mūsā:  “Strike the sea with your staff..” [Al-Shu’arā’:63], and He revealed to the sea, “listen to Mūsā and obey if he strikes you.” Then the sea began to tremble – meaning tremor – and Mūsā did not know which side to strike the sea from. Then Yūshā said to Mūsā: ‘What were you commanded with?’ He said: ‘I was ordered to strike the sea.’ He said: ‘So strike it!.’ 





So Mūsā struck the sea with his staff, and it split, and there were twelve paths in it, each path was like a great mountain (beside them). Each tribe had a path to take. When they started on their path, they said to each other: ‘Why do we not see our companions?’ So they said to Mūsā: ‘Where are our companions that we do not see?’  He said: ‘Walk, for they are on a path similar to yours.’  They said: ‘We will not be satisfied until we see them.’ Mūsā said: ‘Oh Allāh, help and aid me with their evil character.’ 





Then Allāh revealed to him: ‘Do like this with your staff’.  Ibrāhīm [narrator] gestured with his hand (in a circular manner) to direct it to the sea.  Mūsā gestured with his staff on the walls (of the sea) like so, and there were openings in it so they could see one another. 





So they walked until they emerged from the sea.  When the last of Mūsās people passed, Pharaoh and his companions entered the sea, And it was said to Mūsā: ‘Leave the sea alone’ – as it is – [Ibn Kathīr said: as Mūsā wanted to strike the sea again so it would return to its original state to block the way of Pharaoh and his people] and Pharaoh and his people entered the sea, and when the last of Pharaoh’s people entered, and the last of Mūsās people passed, the sea closed in on Pharaoh and his people, and they drowned.





 (Jāmi’ al-Bayān ‘an Tawīl al-Qurān of al-Tabarī 2/485. Qisās al-Anbīyā of Ibn Kathīr) 






	


	





	

		
The night of the Jinn with ‘Abdullāh Ibn Mas’ūd
	


	
	

		

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 





Ibn Mas’ūd narrated :





The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) performed ‘Ishā, then he turned and asked for me. He took my hand and we set out until I came to the wide valley of Makkah. He drew a line for me and said to me: ‘Stay within this line, and do not cross it, for indeed there shall come some men to you, but do not speak to them for they shall not speak to you, and if you cross (the line), you will perish. ‘ So I stayed within it. So the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) went on a little, as far as one could throw a stone or a little further.





While I was sitting within the line, some men/shapes of figures [i.e. jinn] came to me that appeared as if they were black people (i.e. dark people, like from North Africa or India), both their hair and bodies. They were not wearing any clothes but I could not see their private parts, and they were tall and they had little flesh (i.e. slim). 





Then they returned towards Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) and began towering on top of the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ). The Prophet of Allāh (ﷺ) began to recite the Qur’ān to them. And they started coming to me and surrounding me, and getting in my way. I was extremely scared of them, so I sat down – or words to that effect. 





When dawn entered, they started to leave. Then the Messenger of Allāh came and entered into the line with me, looking heavy and in pain, or almost like he was in pain from their towering over him.  He (ﷺ)  said:’I find myself tired’ – or words to that effect. So the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) placed his head on my lap to sleep. And the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) would snore when he slept. 





While I was sitting there, after a while, these men came, wearing long white garments, and Allāh knows best how handsome they were. The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) had gone to sleep. They came towards me – I was more afraid than I was the first time – a group of them sat at the head of the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ)  and a group at his feet. So some of them said to each other: This servant has been given good, his eyes are asleep, but his heart is awake. 





Some of them said to one another: Come, let us give him a parable. Some of them said to one another: You coin for him a parable, and we will interpret it, or we will coin for him a parable and you will interpret it.  





So some of them said to each other: His parable is that of a leader who built a fortified fort, then he placed a table-spread in it and he invites people to eat and drink. So whoever answers his invitation, he eats from his food and drinks from his drink. And whoever does not come and eat his food, or who does not answer his invitation, he will punish him with a severe punishment. 





The others said: As for the leader, he is the Lord of the worlds, and as for the fort, it is Islām, and the food is Paradise, and he (the prophet) is the one who invites, so whoever follows him will be in Paradise. And whoever does not follow him will be punished. 





Then the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) woke up and said: ‘What did you see, Oh Ibn Umm ‘Abd?’ ‘Abdullāh said: I saw such-and-such.  The Prophet (ﷺ)  said: ‘Nothing of what they said was hidden from me.’ The Prophet of Allāh (ﷺ) said:’ They are a group of the angels.’ Or he said:’ They are the angels.’





(Musnad Imām Ahmad 3788 – declared Sahīh by Ahmad Shākir. Al-Tirmidhī 2861 – declared Hasan Sahīh by Al-Albānī)





















	


	





	

		
The obligation to say Bismillah before wudu & the ruling on saying it in the bathroom
	


	
	

		

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم





Abū Hurayrah narrated: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, 





 لاَ صَلاَةَ لِمَنْ لاَ وُضُوءَ لَهُ وَلاَ وُضُوءَ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَذْكُرِ اسْمَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ

The prayer of a person who does not perform ablution is not valid, and the ablution of a person who does not mention the name of Allāh (in the beginning) is not valid. 





(Abū Dawūd 101, Musnad of Imām Ahmad 9418, al-Hākim 524. 
Declared Hasan by Al-Albānī in Irwā 81. 
Also declared as being Hasan or Sahīh by Ibn Kathīr in al-Irshād p. 50. 
Declared Hasan by al-‘Irāqī in Muhajat al-Qurāb ilā Mahabat al-‘Arab 150. 
al-Tirmidhī 25, Ahmad Shākir declared the chain of transmission as good, Hasan. 
Imām al-Mundhirī mentions that the many ways of transmission are gathered together and gain strength (in terms of authenticity) – (Sahīh Targhīb 1/201)








Anas narrated: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, 





 ‏تَوَضَّئُوا بِسْمِ اللَّه 
Perform Wudū’ in the Name of Allāh.





(al-Nasā’ī 78 – declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī. 
Al-Dāraqutnī 221 – declared Sahīh by Shu’ayb al-Arnaūt. 
Sunan al-Kubrā of al-Bayhaqī 191 – who said ‘this is the most authentic on (what has been related regarding) the Tasmiyah [i.e. saying Bismillāh])




















Imām al-Mundhirī said:





al-Hasan (al-Basrī), Ishāq ibn Rahwayh, and the people of al-Dhāhir held that it is obligatory to pronounce the name of Allāh during ablution, to the point that if one deliberately neglects it, he would have to repeat the ablution. And this was (also) reported from Imām Ahmad. (Sahīh Targhīb wa Tarhīb 1/201)















al-‘Adhīm al-Ābādī said:





al-Sha’rānī said in al-Mīzān: Dawūd (al-Dhāhirī) and Ahmad (ibn Hanbal) said: It (i.e. tasmiyah) is obligatory and ablution is not valid without it, whether done (i.e. left out) intentionally or out of forgetfulness. And Ishāq (ibn Rahwayh) said: If he forgets, his ablution is valid, otherwise it is not. (‘Awn al-Ma’būd 1/183).















Saying the Tasmiyah whilst in the bathroom






Q: What is the ruling on saying Adhkār  (invocations and remembrances said at certain times on a regular basis) when performing Wudū’ (ablution) inside bathrooms?






A: It is an act of Sunnah to keep silent inside bathrooms and not to say Adhkār because this is a place for relieving oneself. However, if one is to perform Wudū’ inside bathrooms, one should say Tasmiyah (saying, “Bismillāh [In the Name of Allāh]”) at the beginning of Wudū’ for Tasmiyah is Wājib (obligatory) according to a group of scholars and, consequently, it is not to be neglected even if it is Makruh (disliked) to say anything in this place (washroom), for the obligatory act takes precedence over a reprehensible one. Hence, Muslims should say Tasmiyah upon starting Wudū’ when they wash their hands and before Madmadah (rinsing the mouth) and Istinshāq (sniffing water into the nose and then expelling it) or upon Madmadah or Istinshāq. To sum up, one should say Tasmiyah upon Wudū’ even if having to perform Wudū’ in the bathroom because saying the Tasmiyah is Wājib according to some scholars and a stressed Sunnah according to most of them. In accordance, it should not be neglected.










(Fatāwā of Ibn Bāz, Volume 29, 17 – Ruling on saying the Tasmiyah inside the washroom) 
           
Al-Ifta Link: https://www.alifta.gov.sa/En/IftaContents/IbnBaz/Pages/FatawaDetails.aspx?cultStr=en&View=Page&PageID=5532&PageNo=1&BookID=14

	


	





	

		
The Du’ā of the Prophet for the one who seeks hadīth!
	


	
	

		

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم















استَسقى رسولُ اللهِ صلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّمَ، فأتَيتَه بإناءٍ فيه ماءٌ، وفيه شَعرةٌ فرَفَعتُها، ثُمَّ ناوَلتُه، فقال: اللَّهُمَّ جَمِّلْه { وأدِمْ جمالَه }، قال: فرَأَيتُه بعدَ ثَلاثٍ وتِسعينَ سَنةً وما في رَأسِه ولِحيَتِه شَعرةٌ بَيضاءُ





‘Amr ibn Akhtab al-Ansārī narrated: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) asked for water, so I brought him a vessel containing water, and in it was a hair which I removed, then gave it to him, and he said: “Oh Allāh, beautify him, and make his beauty last.” He said (the narrator): I saw him after ninety-three years, and there was no white hair on his head or beard.





(Musnad of Imām Ahmad 22883, 20733. Declared Sahīh by Shu’ayb al-Arnāūt)










Shaykh Abdul-Razzāq al-Badr said:





‘And this great, blessed supplication can be attained even in our time, for the one Allāh has honored in caring for the Sunnah of the Prophet and the noble ahādīth, in terms of memorising, understanding, applying, and calling (people) to them. It is authentically reported from him that he (ﷺ) said in the Khayf of Minā (in Makkah):





نضَّر اللهُ امرأً سمِعَ مقالَتي{ فحفِظَها} فوَعاها فأدَّاها كما سمِعَها





May Allāh make radiant (the face of) the one who hears a saying of mine, {memorised it}, understood it, and applied it as it was heard. 





[Other narrations such as in Ibn Hibbān 66, contain the wording ‘conveyed it as he heard it’ – فَبَلَّغَهُ كما سمِعَها -. Likewise some contain the wording ‘May Allāh have mercy upon the one…’- رَحِمَ الله امرأً – Ibn Hibbān 67/68. Authenticated by Shu’ayb al-Arnāūt)] 





This is a supplication from him (ﷺ) for anyone who looks after his sunnah by memorising, understanding, applying, and calling to it, that Allāh would enlighten his face.





This is an ongoing supplication, so whoever wants to attain this blessed supplication in any time, and in any century, then let him devote himself to ahādīth by memorising them, studying them, acting upon them, and calling (people) to them.





Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah said: ‘No one seeks the (knowledge of) hadīth except that his face is bright’.’





(Sharh al-Shamā’il al-Muhammadiyyah pg. 54-55)