Toggle above to switch between keyword search and direct hadith lookup
الفتح الربانی
Fath al-Rabbani
أبواب صفة الصلاةChapters on the Description of Prayer
بَابُ مَكْثِ الْإِمَامِ بِالرِّجَالِ قَلِيلا لِتَخْرُجَ النِّسَاءُ وَالفَصْلِ بَيْنَ الْفَرْضِ وَالنَّافِلَةِ بِخُرُوجِ أَوْ كَلَامِ أَوْ انْتِقَالِChapter on the Imam Remaining Briefly with the Men so Women May Leave, and Separating Obligatory and Voluntary Prayers by Leaving, Speaking, or Moving
Hadith 1851
اُردوEn
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: ((أَيَعْجِزُ أَحَدُكُمْ إِذَا صَلَّى أَنْ يَتَقَدَّمَ أَوْ يَتَأَخَّرَ أَوْ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ أَوْ عَنْ شِمَالِهِ))
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Are you incapable that after performing the (obligatory) prayer, you move forward or backward or to the right or to the left (and then perform the next prayer)?
Brief Explanation
A Companion of the Messenger of Allah, radi Allahu anhu, says: The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, led the ‘Asr prayer. Then a man stood up to pray (immediately after). ‘Umar, radi Allahu anhu, saw him and said to him: “Sit down, for indeed the People of the Book were destroyed because there was no interval between their prayers.” The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: “Ibn al-Khattab has done well.” (Musnad Ahmad: 5/368, al-Sahihah: 2549)
From ‘Abdullah ibn Rabah, from a man among the Companions of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, led the ‘Asr prayer. A man stood up after it to pray more, and ‘Umar, radi Allahu anhu, saw him and took hold of his cloak or garment and said to him: “Sit down, for indeed the People of the Book were destroyed because there was no interval between their prayers.” The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: “Ibn al-Khattab has done well.” And in another narration: “Ibn al-Khattab has spoken the truth.” (Musnad Ahmad: 5/368, and Abu Ya‘la in his Musnad: 13/107/3166, al-Sahihah: 3173)
Imam al-Albani, rahimahullah, writes: This hadith is a clear text that performing a voluntary (nafl) prayer immediately after an obligatory (fard) prayer is forbidden, unless the worshipper engages in some external speech or moves forward or backward. Most non-Arabs, and especially the Turks, have the habit that they begin performing the sunnah prayers immediately after the obligatory prayer in the same place. Even in the Haramain Sharifain, their practice is that as soon as the imam says salam, these people immediately stand up in the same spot to perform the sunnah rak‘ahs. (al-Sahihah: 2549)
It is thus understood that there should be some interval between the obligatory prayer and the voluntary prayer performed after it, even if it is by moving forward or backward or by engaging in some external speech. However, this sunnah has now been abandoned; only rarely do people observe it. The real calamity is that among the general public and the elite, the criterion for the importance or lack thereof of a sunnah, or for acting upon it or not, is their own mindset or their own school of thought. The sunnah that our elders gave importance to, we also consider important, and the sunnah that was not practiced before us, we also do not pay attention to it.
It is also appropriate to mention here, by way of example, that my personal experience is that when people are asked about their prayer, those who do not pray respond: “Why should we lie? We are negligent regarding prayer.” Dear readers! Reflect for yourselves: a person is not at all serious about prayer and, by abandoning it, expresses disbelief and rebellion, yet when it comes to lying, he becomes fearful. The piety that prevents him from lying, why does it not prevent him from abandoning prayer? In reality, the matter is that after observing one or two aspects of Islam, we begin to consider ourselves complete Muslims, and in this way, we prove to be great deceivers to ourselves.
From ‘Abdullah ibn Rabah, from a man among the Companions of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, led the ‘Asr prayer. A man stood up after it to pray more, and ‘Umar, radi Allahu anhu, saw him and took hold of his cloak or garment and said to him: “Sit down, for indeed the People of the Book were destroyed because there was no interval between their prayers.” The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: “Ibn al-Khattab has done well.” And in another narration: “Ibn al-Khattab has spoken the truth.” (Musnad Ahmad: 5/368, and Abu Ya‘la in his Musnad: 13/107/3166, al-Sahihah: 3173)
Imam al-Albani, rahimahullah, writes: This hadith is a clear text that performing a voluntary (nafl) prayer immediately after an obligatory (fard) prayer is forbidden, unless the worshipper engages in some external speech or moves forward or backward. Most non-Arabs, and especially the Turks, have the habit that they begin performing the sunnah prayers immediately after the obligatory prayer in the same place. Even in the Haramain Sharifain, their practice is that as soon as the imam says salam, these people immediately stand up in the same spot to perform the sunnah rak‘ahs. (al-Sahihah: 2549)
It is thus understood that there should be some interval between the obligatory prayer and the voluntary prayer performed after it, even if it is by moving forward or backward or by engaging in some external speech. However, this sunnah has now been abandoned; only rarely do people observe it. The real calamity is that among the general public and the elite, the criterion for the importance or lack thereof of a sunnah, or for acting upon it or not, is their own mindset or their own school of thought. The sunnah that our elders gave importance to, we also consider important, and the sunnah that was not practiced before us, we also do not pay attention to it.
It is also appropriate to mention here, by way of example, that my personal experience is that when people are asked about their prayer, those who do not pray respond: “Why should we lie? We are negligent regarding prayer.” Dear readers! Reflect for yourselves: a person is not at all serious about prayer and, by abandoning it, expresses disbelief and rebellion, yet when it comes to lying, he becomes fearful. The piety that prevents him from lying, why does it not prevent him from abandoning prayer? In reality, the matter is that after observing one or two aspects of Islam, we begin to consider ourselves complete Muslims, and in this way, we prove to be great deceivers to ourselves.
