Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:

Although this narration does not explicitly state that the Christians worked until the afternoon (‘asr), this meaning is implied from the statement that you Muslims worked from the ‘asr prayer until sunset. This is because the Muslims’ work would have commenced after the Christians’ work had ended.

In this, there is also an indication of the Ummah of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) being the last of the nations, and also that, in terms of reward, this Ummah holds superiority over all the previous nations.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
We have been entrusted with the responsibility of preserving and propagating the Qur’an and Hadith.
Due to this great achievement, Allah Ta’ala has bestowed His blessings upon this ummah and granted it superiority over the Jews and Christians.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the ability to maintain this blessing.

(2)
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has narrated this hadith in several places and has derived various rulings and issues from it.
In this hadith, the comparison between the Jews, Christians, and the people of Islam is presented in an illustrative manner.

Hadith Commentary:
What right do you have to object?
From this, the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah is established that reward from Allah is given in the best manner.
It is Allah’s grace upon the Ummah of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) that for every good deed they perform, they are given tenfold reward, and at times even more than that.
They perform the five daily prayers, but the reward given is as if for fifty prayers.
This is among the special characteristics of this blessed Ummah.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
From this heading and the presented hadith, it is established that for part-time work, in which the exact determination of time is not possible, a laborer can be hired on wages, even though nowadays clocks have made the determination of time easy. In ancient times as well, the times for Zuhr, Asr, and Qailulah (midday rest) were all known, but their exact determination was not fixed. Despite this, such hiring (ijarah) is permissible.

(2)
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has presented an analogy for its permissibility, in which Allah Ta'ala appointed the Jews for the service of the Hanif religion from morning until Zuhr, the Christians from Zuhr until Asr, and the Muslims from Asr until Maghrib. From this, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has established that part-time hiring (ijarah) is also valid and there is no legal objection to it, provided that the portion of the day is specified, for example: a laborer is hired for one hour or two hours. In short, from such headings, Imam Bukhari's purpose is to show that it is not necessary for hiring (ijarah) to be for the whole day; rather, hiring can also be done for parts of the day, which we call (part time).