The angels invoke blessings on everyone among you so long as he is in a place of worship with these words: O Allah! pardon him, O Allah, have mercy upon him, (and they continue to do so) as long as, he ablution (of the worshipper) is not broken, and one among you is in prayer and so long as he is detained for the prayer.

The servant is constantly in prayer so long as he is in a place of worship waiting for the prayer (to be observed in congregation), and the angels invoke (blessings upon him in these words): O Allah! pardon him. O Allah! show mercy to him, (and they continue to do so) till he returns (from the mosque having completed the prayer) or his ablution breaks. I said: How is the ablution broken? He said: By breaking of the wind noiselessly or with noise.

Everyone among you is constantly in prayer so long as the prayer detains him (for this noble objective) and nothing prevents him to return to his family but the prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Anyone amongst you who sat in a place of worship waiting for the prayer is in prayer and his ablution is not broken, the angels invoke blessing upon him (in these words): O Allah! pardon him. O Allah! have mercy upon him.

The most eminent among human beings (as a recipient of) reward (is one) who lives farthest away, and who has to walk the farthest distance, and he who waits for the prayer to observe it along with the Imam, his reward is greater than one who prays (alone) and then goes to sleep. In the narration of Abu Kuraib (the words are):" (He waits) till he prays along with the Imam in congregation."

There was a man, and I do not know of any other man, whose house was farther than his from the mosque and he never missed the prayer (in congregation). It was said to him or I said to him: It you were to buy a donkey you could ride upon it In the dark nights and in the burning sand. He said: I do not like my house to be situated by the side of the mosque, for I (eagerly) desire that my steps towards the mosque and back from it, should be recorded when I return to my family. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Allah has gathered all (rewards) for you.

There was a person among the Ansar whose house was situated at the farthest end of Medina, but he never in missed any prayer along with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). We felt pity for him and said to him: O, so and so, had you bought a donkey it would have saved you from the burning sand and would have saved you from the reptiles of the earth. He said: Listen I by Allah, I do not like my house to be situated by the side of Muhammad (may peace be upon him). I took (these words of his) ill and came to the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and informed him about (these words). He (the Holy Prophet) called him and he said exactly like that (which he had mentioned to Ubbay b. Ka'b), but made a mention of this (also) that he wanted a reward for his steps. Upon this the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: In fact for you is the reward which you expect.

Our houses were situated far away from the mosque; we, therefore, decided to sell our houses so that we may be able to come near the mosque. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) forbade us (to do so) and said: There is for every step (towards the mosque) a degree (of reward) for you.

There were some plots vacant around the mosque. Banu Salama decided to shift (to this land) and come near the mosque. This (news) reached the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he said to them (Banu Salama): I have received (information) that you intend to shift near the mosque. They said: Yes, Messenger of Allah, we have taken this decision. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) said: O Banu Salama, live in your houses, for your steps are recorded; live in your houses, for your steps are recorded.

O people of the Salama tribe, you better stay in your houses (where you are living), for your footsteps are recorded They said. We could not be more delighted even by shifting (near the mosque) as we were delighted (on hearing these words from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him).

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be' upon him) said: He who purified himself in his house, and then he walked to one of the houses of Allah for the sake of performing a Fard (obligatory act) out of the Fara'id (obligatory acts) of Allah, both his steps (would be significant) as one of them would obliterate his sin and the second one would raise his status.

He heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: just see, can anything of his filthiness remain (on the body of) any one of you if there were a river at his door in which he washed himself five times daily? They, said: Nothing of his filthiness will remain (on his body). He said: That is like the five prayers by which Allah obliterates sins.

The similitude of five prayers is like an overflowing river passing by the gate of one of you in which he washes five times daily Hasan said: No filthiness can remain on him.

He who went towards the mosque in the morning or evening, Allah would arrange a feast for him morning or evening in Paradise.

I said to Jabir b. Samura: Did you sit in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him)? He said: Yes, very often. He (the Holy Prophet) used to sit at the place where he observed the morning or dawn prayer till the sun rose or when it had risen; he would stand, and they (his Companions) would talk about matters (pertaining to the days) of ignorance, and they would laugh (on these matters) while (the Holy Prophet) only smiled.

The parts of land dearest to Allah are its mosques, and the parts most hateful to Allah are markets.

When there are three persons, one of them should lead them. The one among them most worthy to act as Imam is one who is best versed in the Qur'an.

The one who is most versed in Allah's Book should act as Imam for the people, but If they are equally versed in reciting it, then the one who has most knowledge regarding Sunnah if they are equal regarding the Sunnah, then the earliest one to emigrate; it they emigrated at the same time, then the earliest one to embrace Islam. No man must lead another in prayer where (the latter) has authority, or sit in his place of honour in his house, without his permission. Ashajj in his narration used the word," age" in place of" Islam".

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to us: The one who is well grounded in Allah's Book and is distinguished among them in recitation should act as; Imam for the people. and if they are equally versed in reciting it, then the one who has most knowledge regarding Sunnah; if they are equal regarding the Sunnah, then the earliest one to emigrate; If they emigrated at the same time, then the oldest one in age. No man must lead another in prayer in latter's house or where (the latter) has authority, or sit in his place of honour in his house, except that he gives you permission or with his permission.

We came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and we were all young men of nearly equal age. We stayed with him (the Holy Prophet) for twenty nights, and as the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was extremely kind and tender of heart, he therefore, thought that we were eager (to see) our family (we felt homesick). So he asked us about the members of the family that we had left behind and when we informed him, he said: Go back to your family, stay with them, and teach them (beliefs and practices of Islam) and exhort them to good, and when the time for prayer comes, one amongst you should announce Adhan and then the oldest among you should lead the prayer.

I came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) along with other persons and we were young men of nearly equal age, and the rest of the hadith was transmitted like the hadith narrated before.

I came to the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) along with a companion of mine, and when we intended to return from him, he said: When there is time for prayer, announce prayer, pronounce Iqama, and the oldest amongst you should lead the prayer.

" They both were equal in recitation."

(When) Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) (wished to invoke curse or blessing on someone, he would do so at the end) of the recitation in the dawn prayer, when he had pronounced Allah-o-Akbar (for bending) and then lifted his head (saying):" Allah listened to him who praised Him; our Lord! to Thee is all praise" ; he would then stand up and say:" Rescue al-Walid b. Walid, Salama b. Hisham, and 'Ayyash b. Abd Rabi'a, and the helpless among the Muslims. O Allah! trample severely Mudar and cause them a famine (which broke out at the time) of Joseph. O Allah! curse Lihyan, Ri'l, Dhakwan, 'Usayya, for they disobeyed Allah and His Messenger." (The narrator then adds): The news reached us that he abandoned (this) when this verse was revealed:" Thou but no concern in the matter whether He turns to them (mercifully) or chastises them; surely they are wrongdoers" (ill. 127)

" And cause them a famine like that (which broke out at the time) of Joseph," but the subsequent portion was not mentioned.

" Allah listened to him who praised Him," and he said in Qunut:" 0 Allah! rescue al-Walid b. al-Walid; O Allah! rescue Salama b. Hisham; O Allah! rescue 'Ayyash b. Abu Rabi'a; O Allah! rescue the helpless amongst the Muslims; O Allah! trample Mudar severely; O Allah! cause them a famine like that (which was caused at the time) of Joseph." Abu Huraira (further) said: I saw that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) afterwards abandoned this supplication. I, therefore said: I see the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) abandoning this blessing upon them. It was raid to him (Abu Huraira): Don't you see that (those for whom was blessing invoked by the Holy Prophet) have come (i. e. they have been rescued)?

" Allah listened to him who praised Him." and before prostration, he would recite this in the 'Isya' prayer: O Allah! rescue 'Ayyash b. Abu Rabi'a, and the rest of the hadith is the same as narrated by Auza'i to the words:" Like the famine (at the time) if Joseph." but he made no mention of that which follows afterwards.

I would say prayer along with you which is near to the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). and Abu Huraira recited Qunut in the noon and in the 'Isya' and in the morning prayer, and invoked blessing (of Allah) upon Muslims-and curse upon the unbelievers.

Allah the Exalted and Great revealed (a verse) regarding those who were killed at Bi'r Ma'una, and we recited it, till it was abrogated later on (and the verse was like this):, convey to it our people the tidings that we have met our Lord, and He was pleased with us and we were pleased with Him".

I asked Anas whether the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed Qunut in the dawn prayer. He said: Yes, (he did so) after the ruku', for a short while.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed Qunut for a month in the dawn prayer after ruku' and invoked curse upon Ri'l, Dhakwan, and said that 'Usayya had disobeyed Allah and His Apostle (may peace be upon him).

I asked Anas whether Qunut was observed (by the Holy prophet) before ruku' or after ruku'. He replied: Before ruku'. I said: People conceive that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed Qunut after the ruku'. He said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed Qunut (after the ruku' as the people conceive it) for a mouth invoking curse upon those persons who had killed men among his Companions who were called the reciter (of the Qur'an).

Never did I ace the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) so much grieved (at the loss of a) small army as I saw him grieved at those seventy men who were called" reciters" (and were killed) at Bi'r Ma'una; and he invoked curse for full one month upon their murderers.

0 Allah I curse the tribes of Lihyan, Ri'l, Dhakwan, and 'Usayya for they disobeyed Allah and His Messenger (may peace be upon him). Allah pardoned (the tribe of) Ghifar and Allah granted protection to (the tribe of) Aslam

So far as the tribe of Ghifar is concerned, Allah had pardoned it, and Allah had granted protection to the tribe of Aslam, and as for the tribe of Usayya, It had disobeyed Allah and His Messenger, (and further said): O Allah! curse the tribe of Lihyan curse Ri'l, and Dhakwan, and then fell in prostration. It is after this that the cursing of the unbelievers got a sanction.

" cursing of unbelievers got a sanctions.

Messenger of Allah I may my father and mother be offered as ransom for thee, the same thing overpowered me which overpowered you. He (the Holy Prophet, then) said: Lead the beasts on: so they led their camels to some distance. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) then performed ablution and gave orders to Bilal who pronounced the Iqama and then led them in the morning prayer. When he finished the prayer he said: When anyone forgets the prayer, he should observe it when he remembers it, for Allah has said:" And observe the prayer for remembrance of Me" (Qur'an. xx. 14). Yunus said: Ibn Shilab used to recite it like this:" (And observe the prayer) for remembrance."

We stopped for rest along with the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and did not awake till the sun rose. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) then told us that everybody should take hold of his camel's nosestring (get out of this ground) for it was the place where devil had visited us. We did accordingly. He then called for water and performed ablution and then performed two prostrations. Ya'qub said: Then he prayed (performed) two prostrations. then takbir was pronounced for prayer and then he offered the morning prayer (in congregation).

The Messenger of Allah (way peace be upon him) addressed us and said: You would travel In the evening and the might till (God willing) you would come in the morning to a place of water. So the people travelled (self absorbed) without paying any heed to one another, and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) also travelled till It was midnight. I was by his side. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) began to doze and leaned (to one side) of his camel. I came to him and I lent him support without awaking him till he sat poised on his ride. He went on travelling till a major part of the night was over and (he again) leaned (to one side) of his camel. I supported him without awaking him till he sat" bed on his ride. and then travelled till it was near dawn. He (again) leaned which was far more inclined than the two earlier leanings and he was about to fall down. So I came to him and supported him and he lifted his head and said; Who is this? I said: it is Abu Qatida. He (the Holy Prophet again) said: Since how long have you been travelling along with me like this? I said: I have been travelling in this very state since the night. He said: May Allah protect you, as you have protected His Apostle (from falling down), and again said: Do you see that we are hidden from the people? - and again said: Do you see anyone? I said: Here is a rider. I again said: Here Is another rider till we gathered together and we were seven riders. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) stepped aside of the highway and placed his head (for sleep and said): Guard for us our prayers. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was the first to wake up and the rays of the sun were falling on his back. We got up startled He (the Holy Prophet) said: Ride on So we rode on till the sun had (sufficiently) risen. He then came down from his camel and called for a jug of water which I had with me. There was a little water in that. He performed ablution with that which was less thorough as compared with his usual ablutions and some water of that had been left. He (the Holy Prophet) said to Abu Qatida: Keep a watch over your jug of water; it would have (a miraculous) condition about it. Then Bilal summoned (people) to prayer and then the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed two rak'ahs and then said the morning prayer as he said every day. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) (then) rode on and we rode along with him and some of us whispered to the others saying: How would there be compensation for omission in our prayers? Upon this he (the Apostle of Allah) said: Is there not in me (my life) a model for you? There is no omission in sleeping. The (cognizable) emission is that one should not say prayer (intentionally) till the time of the other prayer comes. So he who did like it (omitted prayer in sleep or due to other unavoidable circumstances) should say prayer when he becomes aware of it and on the next day he should observe it at its prescribed time. He (the Holy Prophet) said: What do you think the people would have done (at this hour)? They would have in the morning found their Apostle missing from amongst them and then Abu Bakr and 'Umar would have told them that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) must be behind you, he cannot leave you behind (him), but the people said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) is ahead of you. So if you had obeyed Abu Bakr and Umar, you would have gone on the right path. So we proceeded on till we came up to the people (from whom we had lagged behind) and the day had considerably risen and everything became hot, and they (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) said: Messenger of Allah, we are dying of thirst. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) remarked: There is no destruction for you. And again said: Bring that small cup of mine and he then asked for the jug of water to be brought to him. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) began to pour water (in that small cup) and Abu Qatida gave them to drink. And when the people saw that there was (a little) water in the jug, they fell upon it. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Behave well; the water (is enough) to satiate all of you. Then they (the Companions) began to receive (their share of) water with calmness (without showing any anxiety) and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) began to fill (the cap), and I began to serve them till no one was left except me and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). He then filled (the cup) with water and said to me: Drink it. I said: Messenger of Allah, I would not drink till you drink. Upon this he said: The server of the people Is the last among them to drink. So I drank and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) also drank and the people came to the place of water quite happy and satiated. 'Abdullah b. Rabah said: I am going to narrate this hadith in the great mosque, when 'Imran b. Husain said: See, O young man, how will you narrate for I was also one of the riders on that night? I said: So you must be knowing this hadith well. He said: Who are you? I said: I am one of the Ansar. Upon this he said: You narrate, for you know your hadith better. I, therefore, narrated it to the people. 'Imran said: I was also present that night, but I know not anyone else who learnt it so well as you have learnt.

I was with the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) in a journey. We travelled the whole of the night, and when it was about to dawn, we got down for rest, and were overpowered (by sleep) till the sun shone. Abu Bakr was the first to awake amongst us. and we did not awake the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) from his sleep allowing him to wake up (of his own accord). It was 'Umar who then woke up. He stood by the side of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and recited takbir in a loud voice till the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) woke up. When he lifted his head, he saw that the sun had arisen; he then said: Proceed on. He travelled along with us till the sun shone brightly. He came down (from his camel) and led us in the morning prayer. A person, however, remained away from the people and did not say, prayer along with us. After having completed the prayer, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to him: O, so and so, what prevented you from observing prayer with us? He said: Apostle of Allah! I was not in a state of purity. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) ordered him arid lie performed Tayammum with dust and said prayer. He then urged me to go ahead immediately along with other riders to find out water, for we felt very thirsty. We were traveling when we came across a woman who was sitting (on a camel) with her feet hanging over two leathern water bags. We said to her: How far is water available? She, said: Far, very far, very far. You cannot get water. We (again) said: How much distance is there between (the residence of) your family and water? She said: It is a day and night journey. We said to her: You go to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). She said: Who is the Messenger of Allah? We somehow or the other managed to bring her to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he asked about her, and she informed him as she had informed us that she was a widow having orphan children. He ordered that her camel should be made to kneal down and he gargled in the opening (of her leathern water-bag). The camel was then raised up and we forty thirsty men drank water till we were completely satiated, and we filled up all leathern water-bags and water-skins that we had with us and we washed our companions, but we did not make any camel drink, and (the leathern water-bags) were about to burst (on account of excess of water). He then said: Bring whatever you have with you. So we collected the bits (of estable things) and dates and packed them up in a bundle, and said to her: Take it away. This is meant for your children, and know that we have not its any way done any loss to your water. W hen she came to her family she said: I have met the greatest magician amongst human beings, or he is an apostle, as he claims to be, and she then narrated what had happened and Allah guided aright those people through that woman. She affirmed her faith in Islam and so did the people embrace Islam.

We were with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) in a journey and we travelled throughout the night till at the end, just before dawn, we lay down (for rest), and nothing is sweeter for a traveller than this and none awakened us but the heat of the sun, and the rest of the hadith is the same (as mentioned above) except this additien:" When 'Umar b. Khattab woke up, he saw what had happened to the people. And he was a man having a big belly and strongly built; he recited takbir in a loud voice till the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) woke up by the loudness of his voice in takbir. When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) got up, the people told him what had happened. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: There is no harm; you better proceed further," and (the rest of the hadith) was narrated.

He who forgets the prayer should say it when he remembers it, there is no explation for it, except this. Qatada said: (Allah says)" And observe prayer for remembrance of Me"

He who forgets the prayer, or he slept (and it was omitted), its expiation is (only) that he should observe it when he remembers it.

When any one of you omits the prayer due to sleep or he forgets it, he should observe it when he remembers it, for Allah has said:" Observe prayer for remembrance of Me."

The prayer was prescribed as two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs both in journey and at the place of residence. The prayer while travelling remained as it was (originally prescribed), but an addition was made in the prayer (observed) at the place of residence.

The prayer was prescribed as consisting of two rak'ahs, the prayer in travelling remained the same, but the prayer at the place of residence was completed. (Zuhri said he asked 'Urwa why 'A'isha said prayer in the complete form during journey, and he replied that she interpreted the matter herself as 'Uthman did.)

I told 'Umar b. al-Khattab that Allah had said:" You may shorten the prayer only if you fear that those who are unbelievers may afflict you" (Qur'an, iv. 101), whereas the people are now safe. He replied: I wondered about it in the same way as you wonder about it, so I asked the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) about it and he said: It is an act of charity which Allah has done to you, so accept His charity.

I said to 'Umar b. al-Khattab, and the rest of the hadlth is the same.