❖ Incident of a Companion Delaying Jihad to Attend Jumu‘ah Prayer
❀ Question:
The Prophet ﷺ dispatched an army one night, and the next day was Friday. A Companion decided to stay behind to offer the Jumu‘ah prayer before joining the army. The Prophet ﷺ said that those who left earlier had attained greater reward. Is this incident found in any Hadith?
❀ Answer by:
Fadheelat al-Bāḥith Nuʿmān Khaleeq ḥafiẓahullāh
Yes, this incident is transmitted through various narrations found in Musnad Aḥmad and Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī. Two important narrations are as follows:
✿ 1. Incident of Sayyidunā Muʿādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه
As reported in Musnad Aḥmad, the Prophet ﷺ said to Sayyidunā Muʿādh رضي الله عنه:
“Do you know how far ahead your companions have gone from you?”
He replied: “They left me by just one morning.”
The Prophet ﷺ responded:
“They have surpassed you with a virtue greater than the distance between the East and the West.”
➤ [Musnad Aḥmad]
✿ 2. Incident of Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn Rawāḥah رضي الله عنه
Sayyidunā Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما narrates that the Prophet ﷺ sent ʿAbdullāh ibn Rawāḥah رضي الله عنه with a military expedition. The departure happened on a Friday before Jumuʿah. The army left, but ʿAbdullāh ibn Rawāḥah رضي الله عنه thought to stay back and perform Jumuʿah with the Prophet ﷺ and then join the army.
After the prayer, when the Prophet ﷺ saw him, he said:
“Even if you spend all the treasures of the earth, you would still not attain the reward of one morning achieved by your companions.”
➤ [Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, Ḥadīth 527]
✔ Analysis of the Narrations:
◈ Narration of Muʿādh رضي الله عنه:
This event occurred at the time of Ẓuhr prayer and describes the virtue of "one morning’s lead" in jihad. The chain of narration is more reliable and is preserved in Musnad Aḥmad.
◈ Narration of ʿAbdullāh ibn Rawāḥah رضي الله عنه:
This seems to be related to the Battle of Mu’tah, where the army set out on a Friday before Jumuʿah, not the night before. Although popularly cited, Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله graded it as weak due to issues in the chain.
✿ Chain of Transmission Concern:
The isnād of the narration includes the following sequence:
"ḥaddathanā Aḥmad ibn Manīʿ, ḥaddathanā Abū Muʿāwiyah, from Ḥajjāj, from al-Ḥakam, from Miqsam"
Imām at-Tirmidhī رحمه الله reports from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd that Shuʿbah stated:
"al-Ḥakam only heard five ahadith from Miqsam, and this narration was not one of them."
This indicates incomplete transmission (inqiṭāʿ), making the narration weak (ḍaʿīf).
Conclusion:
◈ The narration involving Muʿādh رضي الله عنه is stronger and more authentic.
◈ The narration involving ʿAbdullāh ibn Rawāḥah رضي الله عنه has been declared weak by Shaykh al-Albānī due to a broken chain.
And Allah knows best.
