Mukhtasar Muslim

Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed us and said: "Today, after the sun passes its zenith, and throughout the night, keep moving; if Allah wills, you will reach water by morning." So the people set out in such a way that no one paid attention to anyone else. Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) kept moving until half the night had passed, and I was at his side. He (peace and blessings be upon him) began to doze off and leaned over on his mount (i.e., overcome by sleep), and I came and supported him (so that he would not fall), without waking him, until he (peace and blessings be upon him) sat upright again. Then we continued until much of the night had passed, and again he (peace and blessings be upon him) leaned over, and I again supported him without waking him, until he (peace and blessings be upon him) sat upright again. Then we continued until the last part of the night, and then he (peace and blessings be upon him) leaned over much more than the previous two times, almost about to fall. Then I came and supported him. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head and said, "Who is this?" I replied, "Abu Qatadah." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "How long have you been walking with me like this?" I replied, "I have been walking with you like this since the night began." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "May Allah protect you as you have protected His Prophet." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Do you see that we are hidden from the people's sight?" Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Do you see anyone?" I said, "Here is a rider," then I said, "Here is another rider," until we gathered seven riders. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) moved aside from the path and laid his head on the ground (i.e., to sleep) and said, "You people, take care of our prayer (i.e., wake us at the time of prayer)." The first to wake up was the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself, and the sun was on his back. Then we all woke up in a panic, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Mount up!" So we mounted and continued until the sun had risen high. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) dismounted and asked for his ablution vessel, which was with me, and there was a little water in it. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution with it (less than the usual ablution, i.e., with very little water and very quickly), and a little water remained in it. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), "Put our vessel aside, for it will have a strange quality." Then Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) called the adhan for prayer, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed two rak‘ahs, then performed the obligatory morning prayer, and performed it as he did every day. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) and we mounted with him, and some of us whispered to others, "What will be the expiation for our shortcoming in the prayer today?" Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Am I not an example for you?" Then he said, "What fault is there in sleep? The fault is when a man does not pray until the time for the next prayer comes (i.e., he deliberately delays it until it is missed). So whoever does so (i.e., misses it and makes it up), it is obligatory that when he becomes aware, he should perform it. And when the next day comes, he should perform his prayer at its appointed time (i.e., just because it was missed once does not mean the time for prayer changes)." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "What do you think the people have done?" Then he said, "When the people woke up in the morning and did not find their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said, 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is behind you; he would not leave you behind.' And other people said, 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is ahead of you.' If the people had listened to Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), they would have found the right path (this information was given by the Prophet as a miracle)." The narrator said: Then we reached the people when the day had advanced and everything had become hot, and the people began to say, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! We are dying and thirsty." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "No, you are not dead." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Bring our small bowl," and he asked for the vessel, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) began to pour water, and Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) began to give people water to drink. When the people saw that there was only one vessel full of water, they rushed towards it (i.e., each person feared that the water was little and he might miss out). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Take it calmly and gently; you will all be satisfied." So the people began to take it calmly, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) kept pouring water, and I kept giving it to drink, until none remained except me and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The narrator said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) poured again and said to me, "Drink!" I said, "I will not drink until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) drinks." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "The one who serves the people drinks last." So I drank. The narrator said: Then the people happily and contentedly reached the water. The narrator said: Abdullah bin Rabah said: I used to narrate this hadith to people in the congregational mosque, when Sayyiduna Imran bin Husain (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "O young man, consider what you are saying, for I was one of the riders that night." He said: I said, "Then you must be well acquainted with this hadith." He said, "Which tribe are you from?" I said, "I am from the Ansar." He said, "Narrate, for you people know your hadiths well." Then I narrated the whole story to the people. Then Sayyiduna Imran (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I was also present that night, but I do not know that anyone remembered it as well as you have."