The virtue of prayer and its protecting life

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever offers the Subh (dawn) prayer is under the protection of Allah, so do not violate the protection of Allah Almighty, for whoever violates the protection of Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty will call him to account until Allah Almighty throws him down on his face."
Ahmad, al-Bazzar, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, recorded it; its chain contains Ibn Lahi'ah, who is da'if (weak), though some have graded his hadith hasan (good).

Al-Tabarani recorded in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, concerning Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): Al-Hajjaj ordered Salim bin Abdullah to kill a man. Salim asked the man: "Have you offered the Subh prayer?" The man replied: "Yes!" Salim said: "Go away!" Al-Hajjaj asked him: "Why did you not kill him?" Salim said: "My father (that is, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated to me that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Whoever offers the Subh prayer is under the protection of Allah for the whole day.'" Salim said: "I disliked killing a man whom Allah Almighty had already granted protection." Al-Hajjaj asked Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): "Did you hear this from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself?" Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) replied: "Yes!"
Its chain contains Yahya bin Abd al-Hamid al-Himmani, whom Ahmad declared da'if (weak), while Yahya bin Ma'in declared him thiqah (trustworthy). This narration has another, longer chain than this, which will come later in the chapter on tribulations (al-Fitan).

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the eyesight of Sayyiduna Itban bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) became weak, he sent a message to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "I would like you to come to my home, offer the prayer in my house and supplicate for blessing for me." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went with some of his Companions. He went to his home, and they kept talking among themselves. They mentioned Malik bin al-Dukhshum, and a man said: "O Messenger of Allah! He is the refuge and shelter of the hypocrites." They spoke a great deal about him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Does he not offer the prayer?" The people said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah! But he offers a prayer in which there is no good." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been forbidden from killing those who pray." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said this twice.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains Amir bin Yasaf, who is munkar al-hadith (his narrations are rejected).

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade killing those who pray. In one narration the words are: He forbade beating those who pray.
Al-Bazzar and Abu Ya'la recorded it, except that he recorded the words "from beating". Its chain contains Musa bin Ubaydah, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever offers the dawn prayer, and then his protection is harmed, then the sanctuary of Allah Almighty has been violated and His protection has been breached, and I will demand an account for his protection."
Abu Ya'la recorded it; its chain contains Yazid al-Raqashi, who is da'if (weak), though he has also been declared thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever offers the dawn prayer is under the protection of Allah Almighty, so beware lest Allah Almighty call you to account for anything concerning His protection."
Abu Ya'la, al-Bazzar, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, recorded it; its chain contains Salih bin Bashir al-Murri, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever offers the Subh prayer in congregation is under the protection of Allah Almighty, and whoever violates the protection of Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty will throw him face down into Hell."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

From Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him), also in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir,
this narration is reported; he narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever offers the dawn prayer is under the protection of Allah Almighty. So, O son of Adam, let not Allah Almighty call you to account for anything concerning His protection." There is some criticism regarding its chain.

Abu Malik al-Ashja'i narrates from his father this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever offers the Subh prayer is under the protection of Allah Almighty, and his reckoning rests with Allah Almighty."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains al-Haytham bin Yaman, whom al-Azdi declared da'if (weak); the rest of its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Al-Harith, the mawla (freed slave) of Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates: One day Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) was seated, and we were sitting with him. Meanwhile the mu'adhdhin came, and Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) called for a vessel of water. The narrator says: I think the vessel held one mudd of water. He performed ablution and then said: I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) perform ablution like this ablution of mine, and then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever performs ablution like this ablution of mine, then stands and offers the Zuhr prayer, his sins between the Subh prayer and Zuhr are forgiven. Then when he offers the Asr prayer, his sins between Zuhr and Asr are forgiven. Then when he offers the Maghrib prayer, his sins between Asr and Maghrib are forgiven. Then when he offers the Isha prayer, his sins between Maghrib and Isha are forgiven. Then he spends the night in such a state that he tosses and turns; then if he gets up, performs ablution and offers the Subh prayer, his sins between the Isha prayer and Subh are forgiven. These are the 'hasanat' (good deeds) that remove sins." The people said: "O Sayyiduna Uthman! These are the 'hasanat'; then what is meant by the 'baqiyat' (the enduring deeds)?" Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "They are these words: 'La ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah), Subhanallah (Allah is free from every imperfection), Alhamdulillah (All praise belongs to Allah), Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest), La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (Nothing can happen without the help of Allah).'" (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Part of it is reported in the Sahih.
Ahmad, Abu Ya'la and al-Bazzar recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except al-Harith bin Abdullah, the mawla (freed slave) of Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him); however, he is thiqah (trustworthy).

Amir bin Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas narrates: I heard Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) and some of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) relating: In the blessed time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) there were two men who were brothers. One of them was superior to the other. The one who was superior passed away, and after his death the other brother was granted some more life; then he too passed away. The superiority of the first brother over the other was mentioned before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Did he (that is, the brother who died later) not offer prayer afterwards? The people said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How do you know how far his prayer has taken him?" Then, at that point, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The example of prayer is like a river that flows by the door of a man, a river of sweet and clear water, and that man plunges into it five times every day. Do you think any of his dirt would remain?"
Ahmad recorded it, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, except that he recorded these words: "After that, the other brother was granted forty more days of life." The narrators of Ahmad are the narrators of the Sahih.

Abu Uthman narrates: I was with Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) under a tree. He took hold of a dry branch and shook it, and its leaves fell. Then he said: O Abu Uthman! Will you not ask me why I did this? He said: Once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also did the same. I was with him (peace and blessings be upon him) under a tree at that time. He (peace and blessings be upon him) took hold of a dry branch and shook it until its leaves fell, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Salman! Will you not ask me why I did this? I said: Why did you do this? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When a Muslim performs ablution, and performs it well, and then offers the five prayers, his sins fall away just as these leaves have fallen." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: "Establish prayer at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night. Indeed, good deeds wipe out evil deeds. This is a reminder for those who take heed."
Ahmad recorded it, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat and al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. In Ahmad's chain there is a narrator, Ali bin Zayd, about whom there is disagreement regarding using him as evidence. The rest of the narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The example of the five prayers is like a river of clear water that passes by a person's door, and he bathes in it five times every day; then no dirt remains on him."
Abu Ya'la and al-Bazzar recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Dawud bin al-Zibriqan, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, every prayer removes the sins that came before it."
Ahmad recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).

Abu al-Rasafah, who was from the people of Syria, a Bedouin of the tribe of Bahilah, reports from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Any Muslim man for whom the time of an obligatory prayer comes, and he gets up and performs ablution, and performs the ablution well, and offers the prayer, and offers the prayer well, that person is forgiven the sins between this prayer and the prayer before it."
Ahmad recorded it, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Regarding the narrator named Abu al-Rasafah, I have not seen any criticism (jarh) or any accreditation (ta'dil).

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The five prayers are an expiation for the sins between them." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What do you think: if a man goes to work, and between his home and his place of work there are five rivers; when he comes to his place of work he does whatever work Allah wills, and dirt gets on him and he sweats; then whenever he passes by a river he bathes. Would any of his dirt remain? Such is the example of the prayers: whenever a person commits a sin, then supplicates and seeks forgiveness, his earlier sins are forgiven."
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat and al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and he added these words to it: "Then he offers a prayer and seeks forgiveness, and Allah Almighty forgives his earlier sins." Its chain contains a narrator, Abdullah bin Quraiz, whom Ibn Hibban mentioned in the book al-Thiqat, and the rest of the narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "These five prayers are true, and they are an expiation for the sins committed between them, as long as major sins are avoided."
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, Salih bin Musa, who is munkar al-hadith (his narrations are rejected).

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The five prayers, and one Friday to the next Friday, are an expiation for the sins committed in between, as long as major sins are avoided. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said: On Friday there is an hour in which, whatever good any Muslim man or Muslim woman asks of Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty grants him that (good)." The narrator says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The example of the five prayers is like a river of clear water that is by a person's door, and that person bathes in it five times every day. Would any of his dirt remain?"
Al-Bazzar recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Za'idah bin Abi al-Rifad, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You burn, you burn; when you offer the morning prayer, it washes it away. Then you burn, you burn; when you offer the Zuhr prayer, it washes it away. Then you burn, you burn; when you offer the Asr prayer, it washes it away. Then you burn, you burn; when you offer the Maghrib prayer, it washes it away. Then you burn, you burn; when you offer the Isha prayer, it washes it away. Then you sleep, and nothing is recorded against you until you wake up."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in all three of his books, except that in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir it is recorded as a mawquf report (attributed to the Companion). The narrators of the mawquf report are the narrators of the Sahih. Among the narrators of the marfu' report (attributed to the Prophet) is Asim bin Bahdalah, and his hadith is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty has an angel who announces at the time of every prayer: O children of Adam! Get up and go to your fires which you have kindled against yourselves, and extinguish them!" Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat and al-Mu'jam al-Saghir, and he said: Yahya bin Zuhayr al-Qurashi is alone in narrating it. I say: I have not found anyone who mentions him, except that he narrated from Azhar bin Sa'd al-Samman, and Ya'qub bin Ishaq al-Mukharrimi narrated from him.
The rest of the narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "At the time of every prayer a caller is sent, who says: O children of Adam! Get up and extinguish what you have kindled against yourselves! The people get up and purify themselves, and their sins fall from their eyes; they offer the prayer, and the sins between the two prayers are forgiven for them. Then, in the period until the next prayer, they kindle fire again. When the time of the next prayer comes, the angel calls out: O children of Adam! Get up and extinguish what you have kindled against yourselves! They get up, purify themselves and offer the prayer, and the sins between the two prayers are forgiven for them. When the time of the Asr prayer comes, the same happens; when the time of the Maghrib prayer comes, the same happens; when the time of the Isha prayer comes, the same happens again. Then when those people sleep, they have already been forgiven." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "So one spends the night in goodness, and another spends the night in evil."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, Aban bin Abi Ayyash, whom Ayyub and Salm al-Alawi declared thiqah (trustworthy), while Shu'bah, Ahmad, Yahya bin Ma'in and Abu Hatim declared him da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "Indeed, the prayers are the good deeds. The expiation for what is between the first prayer (that is, the Zuhr prayer) and the Asr prayer is the Asr prayer; the expiation for the sins between the Asr prayer and the Maghrib prayer is the Maghrib prayer; the expiation for the sins between Maghrib and Isha is the Isha prayer. Then the Muslim comes to his bed with no sin upon him; this is so when major sins have been avoided." Then he recited this verse: "Indeed, good deeds wipe out sins."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, Dirar bin Surad, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Abu Malik al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The prayers are an expiation for the sins committed between them. Allah Almighty has said: 'Indeed, good deeds wipe out sins.'"
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, Muhammad bin Isma'il bin Ayyash; Abu Hatim said: He did not hear anything from his father. I say: This report is from his narration from his father. The rest of the narrators of this report have been declared trustworthy.

Tariq bin Shihab narrates that once he stayed the night with Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) in order to observe his night worship. The narrator says: He got up in the last part of the night and began to pray, and this was contrary to his expectation. So he mentioned this to Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Guard these five prayers! For they are an expiation for these wounds (that is, sins), as long as the fatal wound is not struck. When people have offered the Isha prayer, they return in three conditions: among them are some against whom there is something and nothing in their favour; some in whose favour there is something and nothing against them; and some for whom there is nothing in their favour and nothing against them. The person who takes advantage of the darkness of the night and the heedlessness of people mounts his horse in sins; this is the one against whom there is something and nothing in his favour. And the one in whose favour there is something and nothing against him is a person who takes advantage of the darkness of the night and the heedlessness of people and gets up and offers prayer; this is the one in whose favour there is something and nothing against him. And there are some people for whom there is nothing in their favour and nothing against them: this is the person who offers the prayer and then sleeps; this is the one for whom there is nothing in his favour and nothing against him. So beware of extremism, and hold to moderation and regularity!
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its narrators have been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "An obligatory prayer is an expiation for the sins between it and the prayer before it; Friday is an expiation for the sins between it and the Friday before it; the month of Ramadan is an expiation for the sins until the Ramadan before it; and Hajj is an expiation for the sins between it and the Hajj before it." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is not permissible for a Muslim woman to go for Hajj, unless her husband or a mahram relative is with her, in which case the ruling is different.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, al-Mufaddal bin Sadaqah, who is matruk al-hadith (abandoned in hadith).

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The example of the five prayers is like a river of clear water that flows by a person's door, and that person bathes in it five times every day. Would any of his dirt remain?"
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, Ufayr bin Ma'dan, who is extremely da'if (weak).

Abu Muslim narrates: I came to Sayyiduna Abu Umamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was picking out lice in the mosque and burying the lice in the pebbles. I said: O Abu Umamah! A man narrated this hadith to me from you, that you heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever performs ablution, and performs it well, washing both his hands and his face, and wiping his head and his ears, and then gets up and offers an obligatory prayer, Allah Almighty forgives that person the sins of that day towards which his feet walked, or which his hands seized, or which his ears listened to, or at which his eyes looked, or the evil that he thought of in his heart." Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I heard this from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) many times.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir as the narration of Abu Muslim al-Tha'labi from him, and I have not seen anyone who mentions this narrator. The rest of the narrators of this report have been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The five prayers, and one Friday to the next Friday, are an expiation for the sins committed between them, as long as major sins are avoided."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, al-Khalil bin Zakariyya, who is matruk (abandoned) and a kadhdhab (liar).

Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When a Muslim offers prayer, his sins are placed upon his head; whenever he prostrates, they fall away from him. When he finishes his prayer, his sins have already fallen away from him."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Saghir, and al-Bazzar also recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Ash'ath bin Ash'ath al-Sa'dani, and I have not found anyone who gives his biography.

Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "When a believing servant gets up to pray, his sins are placed upon his head, and then those sins separate from him just as the branches of a tree spread out to the right and the left."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, Aban bin Abi Ayyash, whom Shu'bah, Ahmad and others declared da'if (weak), while Salm al-Alawi and others declared him thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "When a servant stands up to pray, his sins are gathered together and placed upon his neck, and when he bows (in ruku'), they (the sins) fall away."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain contains a narrator, Marwan bin Salim, who is extremely da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no state in which a servant is more beloved to Allah Almighty than that Allah Almighty sees that servant in prostration, having placed his forehead in the dust."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat by way of Uthman bin al-Qasim from his father, and he said: The narrator Uthman is alone in narrating it. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: The narrator Uthman bin al-Qasim was mentioned by Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) in the book al-Thiqat, and he did not trace his lineage beyond his father; and I do not know him.

Al-Harith reports this statement of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "We were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the mosque, waiting for the prayer. A man stood up and said: I have committed a sin. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from him. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) completed the prayer, that man stood up and repeated his words. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: Have you not offered this prayer with us? And did you not perform ablution well for it? He replied: Yes! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is an expiation for your sin."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Saghir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. The narrator al-Harith is da'if (weak).

Yusuf bin Abdullah bin Salam narrates: I came to Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) in Syria. He asked: O my son! For what purpose have you come to this city? And what is your aim in coming here? Yusuf replied: I have come only to honour the bond that existed between you and my father. Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) took my hand, seated me in front of him, and said: Wretched is the hour in which a lie is attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Any Muslim who commits a sin, then performs ablution and offers two rak'ahs or four rak'ahs, whether they (the two or four rak'ahs) are obligatory or not obligatory, and then he (the Muslim) seeks forgiveness from Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty forgives him."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and he said: The narrator Sadaqah bin Abi Sahl is alone in narrating it. I say: I have not seen anyone who mentions him.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him (peace and blessings be upon him) about the most excellent deed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Prayer. He asked: Then which? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Prayer. Three times he (peace and blessings be upon him) said prayer. Then, when he asked the same question again, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: Striving (jihad) in the path of Allah Almighty. The man said: I have parents. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I command you to be good to your parents. The man said: By the One who sent you as a Prophet with the truth, I will certainly take part in jihad and leave them both. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You know best.
Ahmad recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Ibn Lahi'ah, who is da'if (weak); al-Tirmidhi declared a narration of his hasan (good). The rest of the narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) Hadiths about the excellence of prayer will also come in the chapter on the excellence of voluntary prayer, if Allah wills.