Is the Prayer of Gratitude Proven in Islam? A Critical Hadith Review

✍ 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.”

Reference: Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1391

,

Reference: Sunan al-Dārimī: 1503

,

Reference: Musnad al-Bazzār: 3368

,

Reference: Musnad Abī Yaʿlā (cited in Ittiḥāf al-Khiyarah al-Mahrah by Ibn Ḥajar): 1/401

,

Reference: al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr of al-Ṭabarānī (cited in Majmaʿ al-Zawā’id of al-Haythamī): 2/238

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.”

Reference: Majmaʿ al-Zawā’id: 2/237

❖ Ḥāfiẓ al-Būṣayrī رحمه الله wrote:


“I found no one who commented on her with either praise or criticism.”

Reference: Miṣbāḥ al-Zujājah: 1/448

❖ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله stated:


“Salamah ibn Rajāʾ is the only one narrating from her.”

Reference: Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl: 4/608

❖ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله classified her as:


“Unknown.”

Reference: Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: No. 8616

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.”

Reference: al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Rijāl: 7/332

❖ Imām al-Dāraquṭnī رحمه الله said:


“He narrates unique reports from trustworthy narrators.”

Reference: Suʾālāt al-Ḥākim: 7/332

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.”

Reference: Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1319

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.