Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 102

(Ayah 102) ➊ { وَ اِذَا كُنْتَ فِيْهِمْ … :} In this verse, permission—and in fact, command—is being given for Salat al-Khawf. This is the occasion for the prayer of fear when the enemy is present and there is a danger of attack, though actual fighting is not taking place, but even a little negligence can cause great harm. In such circumstances, if the time for prayer comes, the command is to perform Salat al-Khawf, the various forms of which have been described in hadith. For example, the army was divided into two parts; one part (group) stood facing the enemy so that the disbelievers would not dare to attack, and the other part came and prayed behind the Prophet (peace be upon him). When this group finished the prayer, they took the place of the first group at the front, and the group at the front came for prayer. In some narrations, it is mentioned that the Prophet (peace be upon him) led both groups in one rak‘ah each, thus the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed two rak‘ahs and the rest of the soldiers performed one rak‘ah each. In some narrations, it is mentioned that he led them in two rak‘ahs each, thus the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed four rak‘ahs and the soldiers performed two rak‘ahs each. Also, in some narrations, it is mentioned that after performing one rak‘ah, he sat as in at-tahiyyat, and the soldiers stood up and completed another rak‘ah on their own to complete two rak‘ahs and then stood firm before the enemy. The other group then came and prayed behind the Prophet (peace be upon him); he led them in one rak‘ah and sat in at-tahiyyat and remained seated until the soldiers completed their second rak‘ah, then he said salam with them. In this way, the Prophet (peace be upon him) also performed two rak‘ahs and both groups of the army performed two rak‘ahs each.

➋ Ibn al-‘Arabi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) performed Salat al-Khawf fourteen times, and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) says that all the hadiths regarding Salat al-Khawf are sahih and established, therefore, whichever form the prayer is performed in, it is permissible. Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says that all the hadiths refer back to six or seven forms, any of which can be acted upon as appropriate to the situation. (Zad al-Ma‘ad: 1/512) Imam Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) has mentioned the forms of Salat al-Khawf in great detail with sahih chains. All these forms are for when congregation is possible; if not, then one should pray alone, on foot or mounted, or by gesture, in whatever way possible «{ فَاِنْ خِفْتُمْ فَرِجَالًا اَوْ رُكْبَانًا }» [ البقرۃ : ۲۳۹ ] “Then if you fear, then pray on foot or mounted.” If fighting is ongoing and even praying by gesture is not possible, then make up the prayer later. In Sahih Bukhari, Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I was present at the conquest of Tustar fortress; when dawn was breaking and the fighting was intense, we could not pray, so we prayed after the day had risen. We prayed that prayer with Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), and Allah granted victory. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Even if I were given the world and all that is in it, I would not be as happy as I was with that prayer.” [ بخاری، صلاۃ الخوف، باب الصلاۃ عند مناھضۃ الحصون و لقاء العدو، قبل ح : ۹۴۵ ]