PRAYER SECTION · 127 – RECITING BRIEFLY IN PRAYER
790 – From ʿAmr (may Allah be pleased with him): He also heard from Jābir. (Jābir) said: Muʿādh would pray behind the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), then return and lead us in prayer. In another narration: then he would return and lead his people in prayer. One night, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the prayer. In another narration, he delayed the night prayer. Muʿādh, after praying behind the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), came and led his people in prayer. And he recited Sūrat al-Baqara. One of the congregation separated from the imam and prayed alone. That man was told: – O so-and-so, you have become a hypocrite. (He replied): – I am not a hypocrite. And he came to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: – O Messenger of Allah, Muʿādh prays with you, then returns and leads us in prayer. Truly, we are people who draw water with camels and work with our hands. Muʿādh came on this day and recited Sūrat al-Baqara in the prayer. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: – “O Muʿādh, are you a cause of tribulation, a stirrer of fitna (discord)? Recite such and such,” he commanded. Abū Zubayr said (in place of ‘such and such’): Sūrat Sabbih isma rabbika al-aʿlā, and Sūrat al-Layl idhā yaghshā. We related this to ʿAmr, and he said: – I think he mentioned these sūrahs. [490]
791 – From Hazm ibn ʿUbayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allah be pleased with him): – When Muʿādh ibn Jabal was leading a people in the evening prayer, Hazm came to him and, referring to the previously mentioned report, said: – The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “O Muʿādh, do not be a cause of tribulation (fitna), for behind you may pray the elderly, the weak, those with needs, and travelers.”
792 – From Abū Ṣāliḥ, from a man among the Companions (ṣaḥāba) of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him): The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a man, “How do you supplicate (dua) in prayer?” That man would perform the tashahhud and say: – O Allah, I ask You for Paradise and seek refuge in You from the Fire. But I am not able to recite your supplication or that of Muʿādh, which I do not understand. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: – “We also supplicate about entering Paradise and being saved from the Fire.” [491]
EXPLANATION
Dandana: Recitation whose sound is heard but whose meaning is not understood is called dandana. The Companion (ṣaḥāba) whom the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) asked about what he recited in prayer was SULAYM al-Anṣārī al-Sulamī. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) would supplicate (dua) in prayer inwardly. Even if the sound of his voice was heard, since he recited quietly, what he said was not understood. For this reason, Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with him) said: – O Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), I cannot supplicate as properly as you and Muʿādh, whose supplication I hear but do not understand. “I ask for Paradise and seek refuge from the Fire,” he said. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: – “We also supplicate about seeking Paradise and protection from the Fire.”
793 – From Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him): The story of Muʿādh was mentioned in narration, and he said: – “O son of my brother, how do you perform prayer?” The young man said: – I recite the Opening (al-Fātiḥa), the beginning of the Qur’an, and I ask Allah for Paradise and seek refuge in Him from the Fire. For I do not know your supplication or that of Muʿādh, which I do not understand. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: – “I and Muʿādh also supplicate about entering Paradise and being protected from the Fire,” or he said something similar to this.
794 – It is narrated from Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When one of you leads the people in prayer, let him make it brief. For among them are the weak, the sick, and the elderly. When he prays alone, let him lengthen it as much as he wishes.” [492]
795 – From Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: – “When one of you leads the people in prayer, let him make it short. Surely among them are the sick, the elderly, and those with needs.”