✍ Excerpted from: “Ghair Masnoon Nafli Namazain” by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Ṣalāt al-Shukr – Is There a Prayer of Gratitude?
While Sajdat al-Shukr (Prostration of Gratitude) is legislated and permissible, Ṣalāt al-Shukr (Prayer of Gratitude) is not legislated and has no authentic basis in the Sunnah. The narration reported regarding it is weak and unreliable. Below is a detailed critical analysis:
① Narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Awfā رضي الله عنه
إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صلى يوم بشر برأس أبي جهل ركعتين
“When the Prophet ﷺ received the glad tidings of Abū Jahl’s decapitation, he offered two rakʿahs of gratitude.”
,
,
,
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Chain of narration is weak.
➊ The narrator Shaʿthāʾ bint ʿAbdullāh al-Asadiyyah is majhūlah (unknown).
❖ Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī رحمه الله said:
“I have not found anyone who authenticated her or criticized her.”
❖ Ḥāfiẓ al-Būṣayrī رحمه الله wrote:
“I found no one who commented on her with either praise or criticism.”
❖ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله stated:
“Salamah ibn Rajāʾ is the only one narrating from her.”
❖ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله classified her as:
“Unknown.”
➋ Her hearing (samāʿ) from ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Awfā رضي الله عنه is not proven.
➌ The narrator
❖ Imām Ibn ʿAdī رحمه الله said:
“His narrations are solitary and odd. He narrates from people reports which are not corroborated.”
❖ Imām al-Dāraquṭnī رحمه الله said:
“He narrates unique reports from trustworthy narrators.”
✅ Conclusion:
This ḥadīth is weak and munkar (rejected). The practice of offering a prayer of gratitude (Ṣalāt al-Shukr) is not legislated in Islām and has no sound basis.
Only those acts of worship are accepted by Allah which are proven from the Sunnah.
Self-invented acts of worship hold no validity.
❖ Clarification:
A narration from Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān رضي الله عنه reports:
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا حَزَبَهُ أَمْرٌ، صَلَّى
“Whenever the Prophet ﷺ was faced with difficulty, he would pray.”
This narration is also weak.
➊ Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Dūlī is majhūl al-ḥāl (unknown status).
➋ ʿIkrimah ibn ʿAmmār al-Yamānī is a mudallis and narrates with ʿanʿanah (non-explicit chain).
✅ Summary
- Sajdat al-Shukr (Prostration of Gratitude) is legitimate.
- Ṣalāt al-Shukr (Prayer of Gratitude) is not proven from authentic Sunnah.
- The reported narration is weak, containing unknown and unreliable narrators.
- Only authentic acts of worship will be accepted by Allah.
- Muslims should abstain from innovative practices and adhere strictly to authentic Sunnah.
