Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform (nafl) prayers during travel, in whatever direction his mount was facing. Then, when he intended to perform a fard prayer or witr, he would make his mount kneel down and would perform the prayer on the ground. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that some people have misunderstood and thought that this hadith is evidence against the hadith of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). They have taken from this hadith the evidence that it is not permissible to perform witr on a mount, whereas this is a mistake and negligence on the part of the one who says this. According to the scholars who understand the differences between our narrations and other narrations, this narration is not contrary or opposed to the narration of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). Rather, both narrations are in agreement and are to be acted upon. Both Companions have reported what they saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) doing. Therefore, whoever knows both narrations should consider it permissible to act upon both. Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performing witr on his mount and thus narrated accordingly. And Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) making his mount kneel and performing witr on the ground, so he narrated accordingly. Therefore, it is permissible for the one praying to perform witr on his mount as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did, and it is also permissible to make his mount kneel and descend to the ground to perform witr, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed witr in both ways, and did not prohibit either method after performing them. And this is a type of permissible difference. If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had not performed witr on the ground and had only performed witr on his mount, then it would not have been permissible for a mounted traveler to descend and perform witr on the ground. But since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed witr in both ways, the one performing witr during travel has the choice: if he wishes, he may perform it on his mount, and if he wishes, he may descend and perform it on the ground. None of the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) can be abandoned as long as it is possible to act upon it, and a hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) will only be abandoned in favor of another when it is not possible to act upon both at the same time and one hadith completely contradicts the other (and reconciliation is not possible). When it is not possible to act upon both, then the abrogating (nasikh) and abrogated (mansukh) will be sought, and then the abrogating will be acted upon instead of the abrogated. And if it is permissible for a person to act upon the hadith of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) along with the hadith of Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), then it is even more permissible for another person to act upon the hadith of Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) along with the hadith of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). Because the hadith of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) regarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performing witr on his mount is narrated through many chains which are stronger and more authentic than the hadith of Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), but it is not permissible for any scholar to reject either of these two hadiths because of the other. Rather, according to the method we have explained, both should be acted upon. I have mentioned the chains of narration of the hadith of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) in Kitab al-Kabir.