Chapter 60: Recitation in the first two rak'ahs of 'Asr - كتاب الافتتاح
It was narrated from Jabir bin Samurah that :
أَخْبَرَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ سِمَاكٍ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ يَقْرَأُ فِي الظُّهْرِ وَالْعَصْرِ بِالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ وَالسَّمَاءِ وَالطَّارِقِ وَنَحْوِهِمَا .
The Prophet (ﷺ) used to recite "By the heaven holding the big stars" and: "By the heaven, and At-Tariq (the night-comer, i.e. the bright star)" and similar surahs in Zuhr and 'Asr.
"The Prophet (ﷺ) used to recite "By the night as it envelops" in Zuhr and something similar in 'Asr, and he would recite something longer than that in subh."
"We entered upon Anas bin Malik and he said: 'Have you prayed?' We said: 'Yes.' He asid: 'O slave girl, bring me water for Wudhu! I have never prayed behind any Imam whose prayer more closely resembles the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) than this Imam of yours.'" Zaid said: "Umar bin Abdul Aziz used to complete the bowing and prostration (without rushing) and lighten the standing and sitting."
"I have never prayed behind anyone whose prayer more closely resembled that of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) than so-and-so." (The narrator) Sulaiman siad: "He used to make the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr lengthy and the last two shorter, and he would make 'Asr shorter; in Maghrib he would recite the short Mufassal surahs, in Isha' the medium-length Mufassal surahs and in Subh the long Mufassal surahs.
"I have never prayed behind anyone whose prayer more closely resembled that of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) than so-and-so. We prayed behind that person and he used to make the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr lengthy and the last two shorter, and he would make 'Asr shorter; in Maghrib he would recite the short Mufassal surahs. In Isha' he recited: 'By the sun and its brightness and similar surahs, and in subh he recited two lengthy surahs."
"A man from among the Ansar passed Mu'adh leading two camels, when he (Mu'adh) was praying maghrib, and he was starting to recite Al-Baqarah. So that man prayed then went away. News of that reached the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said: 'Do you want to cause hardship to the people, O Mu'adh; do you want to cause hardship to the people, O Mu'adh? Why don't you recite: 'Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High' and 'By the sun and its brightness' and the like?'"
Chapter 64: Reciting Al-Mursalat (77) in Maghrib - كتاب الافتتاح
It was narrated from Anas that Umm Al-Fadl bint Al-Harith said:
أَخْبَرَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ مَنْصُورٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ دَاوُدَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ الْمَاجِشُونُ، عَنْ حُمَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، عَنْ أُمِّ الْفَضْلِ بِنْتِ الْحَارِثِ، قَالَتْ صَلَّى بِنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي بَيْتِهِ الْمَغْرِبَ فَقَرَأَ الْمُرْسَلاَتِ مَا صَلَّى بَعْدَهَا صَلاَةً حَتَّى قُبِضَ صلى الله عليه وسلم .
" The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) led us in praying maghrib in his house and he recited Al-Mursalat, then after that, he never offered any prayer until he died."
He said to Marwan: "O Abu Abdul-Malik, do you recite: 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One' and 'Verily, We have granted you Al-Kawthar' in maghrib?" He said: "Yes." He (Zaid) said: "I swear by Allah, I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting the longer of the two long surahs in it: 'Alif-Lam-Mim-Sad.'"
Zaid bin Thabit said: "Why do I see you reciting short surahs in Maghrib when I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting the longer of the two long surahs in it?" I said: "O Abu Abdullah, what is the longer of the two long surahs?" He said: "Al-A'raf."
"I watched the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)- twenty times- reciting in the two rak'ahs after maghrib 'Say: O you disbelievers' and 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One.'"
Chapter 69: The virtue of reciting "Say: He is Allah, (the) One" - كتاب الافتتاح
It was narrated from Aishah that:
أَخْبَرَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ، عَنِ ابْنِ وَهْبٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ الْحَارِثِ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ أَبِي هِلاَلٍ، أَنَّ أَبَا الرِّجَالِ، مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ حَدَّثَهُ عَنْ أُمِّهِ، عَمْرَةَ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعَثَ رَجُلاً عَلَى سَرِيَّةٍ فَكَانَ يَقْرَأُ لأَصْحَابِهِ فِي صَلاَتِهِمْ فَيَخْتِمُ بِـ { قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ } فَلَمَّا رَجَعُوا ذَكَرُوا ذَلِكَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ " سَلُوهُ لأَىِّ شَىْءٍ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ " . فَسَأَلُوهُ فَقَالَ لأَنَّهَا صِفَةُ الرَّحْمَنِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَأَنَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَقْرَأَ بِهَا . قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " أَخْبِرُوهُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُحِبُّهُ " .
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent a man on a campaign, and he used to recite to his companions when leading them in prayer, and would conclude with 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One.' When they returned, they told the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about that. He said: "Ask them why he did that." So they asked him and he said: "Because it is a description of the Most Merciful, the Mighty and Sublime, and I love to recite it." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Tell him that Allah (SWT), the Mighty and Sublime, loves him."
Chapter 69: The virtue of reciting "Say: He is Allah, (the) One" - كتاب الافتتاح
It was narrated that Ubaid bin Hunain, the freed slave of the family of Zaib bin Al-Khattab, said:
أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ حُنَيْنٍ، مَوْلَى آلِ زَيْدِ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ، يَقُولُ أَقْبَلْتُ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَسَمِعَ رَجُلاً يَقْرَأُ { قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ * اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ * لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ * وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ } فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " وَجَبَتْ " . فَسَأَلْتُهُ مَاذَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ " الْجَنَّةُ " .
"I heard Abu Hurairah say: 'I came back (from a journey) with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he heard a man reciting 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One, Allah-us-Samad (the Self-Sufficient Master). He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none equal or comparable unto Him.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'It is guaranteed.' We asked him: 'What, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Paradise.'"
Chapter 69: The virtue of reciting "Say: He is Allah, (the) One" - كتاب الافتتاح
It was narrated from Abu Sa'eed Al Khudri that:
أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي صَعْصَعَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، سَمِعَ رَجُلاً، يَقْرَأُ { قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ } يُرَدِّدُهَا فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحَ جَاءَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَذَكَرَ ذَلِكَ لَهُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ إِنَّهَا لَتَعْدِلُ ثُلُثَ الْقُرْآنِ " .
A man heard another man reciting "Say: He is Allah, (the) One" and repeating it. When morning came he went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and told him about that. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, it is equal to one-third of the Quran."
"Muadh stood up and prayed Isha', and made it lengthy. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Do you want to cause hardship to the people, O Mu'adh; do you want to cause hardship to the people O Mu'adh? Why didn't you recite 'Glorify the Name of your Lord Most High' or Ad-Duha or; 'When the heaven is cleft asunder?"
"Mu'adh bin Jabal led his companions in praying Isha' and he made it lengthy. A man left, and Mu'adh was told about that, and he said: 'He is a hypocrite.' When news of that reached the man, he went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and told him what Mu'adh had said. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him: 'Do you want to be a cause of hardship, O Mu'adh? When you lead the people in prayer, recite 'By the sun and its brightness' and 'Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High' and 'By the night as it envelops'and 'Read! In the Name of your Lord.'"
"I heard Jabir bin Samurah say: 'Umar said to Sa'eed': "The people are complaining about everything about you, even about your prayer." Sa'd said: "I take my time in the first two rak'ahs and I make the other two shorter. I do my best to follow the example of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in prayer." 'Umar said: 'That is what I thought about you.'"
"Some of the peole of Al-Khufah complained about Sa'd to 'Umar. They said: 'By Allah, he does not pray properly.' He said: 'I lead them in prayer as the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did, and I do not deviate from that. I take my time in the first two rak'ahs and make the other two shorter.' He (Umar) said: 'That is what I thought about you.'"