On the virtue of the five prayers

Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) and other Companions narrate: In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) there were two brothers, one of whom was more excellent (in worship) than the other. The more excellent brother died, and the other lived on for forty days after him and then he too died. People mentioned before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) the superiority of the first brother over the other, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Did he (the second brother) not pray?" They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah, he did pray, and there was nothing wrong with him." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How do you know what rank his prayer brought him to? The example of prayer is like a sweet, clear, flowing river at a man's door in which he plunges five times every day; do you think any dirt would remain on his body? You do not know what rank his prayer has brought him to."
This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri and Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrate that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat on the pulpit and said three times: "By the One in whose hand is my soul!" Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) fell silent, and every one of us began to weep in grief because of this oath of his (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Any servant who performs the five prayers, fasts Ramadan and avoids the seven major sins, the gates of Paradise will be opened for him on the Day of Resurrection, until they clang against one another." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: "If you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will remove from you your evil deeds" [Surah al-Nisa: 31].
This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man asked: "O Messenger of Allah, how many prayers has Allah made obligatory upon His servants?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Five prayers." He asked: "Is there anything before them or after them?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said (again): "Allah has made five prayers obligatory upon His servants." The man swore by Allah that he would neither add to them nor diminish from them, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If he has spoken the truth, he has entered Paradise."
This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sabrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When your children reach seven years of age, separate their beds, and when they reach ten years, beat them for (not offering) the prayer."
This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim; Imam Muslim used Abd al-Malik bin al-Rabi' as evidence, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it. Its supporting narration (shahid) is the narration of Amr bin Shu'ayb.

Amr bin Shu'ayb narrates from his father, from his grandfather (Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Command your children to pray at the age of seven, beat them for (abandoning) it at the age of ten, and separate their beds."
Imam al-Hakim says that Yahya bin Ma'in declared Amr bin Shu'ayb trustworthy, and Imam Ishaq bin Rahawayh said that if the one narrating from Amr bin Shu'ayb is trustworthy, then this narration is as strong as Nafi' from Ibn Umar.

Yahya bin Ma'in says that Amr bin Shu'ayb is trustworthy.
Imam al-Hakim says that the imams criticised this chain only because of its being mursal (with a gap), since Shu'ayb did not hear directly from his grandfather Abdullah bin Amr.

Imam Ishaq bin Rahawayh says that if the narrator from Amr bin Shu'ayb is trustworthy, then this chain will be considered equal in reliability and strength to 'Ayyub from Nafi' from Ibn Umar'.