The Book of Prayer – Travellers

Whom have you appointed as collector over the people of the valley? He said: Ibn Abza. He said: Who is Ibn Abza? He said: He is one of our freed slaves. He (Hadrat ‘Umar) said: So you have appointed a freed slave over them. He said: He is well versed In the Book of Allah. the Exalted and Great, and he is well versed In the commandments and injunctions (of the Shari’ah). ‘Umar said: So the Prophet (ﷺ) said: By this Book, Allah would exalt some peoples and degrade others.

This hadith has been narrated by Zuhri through another chain of transmitters.

I heard Hisham b. Hakim b. Hizam reciting Surah al-Furqan in a style different from that in which I used to recite it, and in which Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) had taught me to recite it. I was about to dispute with him (on this style) but I delayed till he had finished that (the recitation). Then I caught hold of his cloak and brought him to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: Messenger of Allah, I heard this man reciting Surah al-Furqan in a style different from the one in which you taught me to recite. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) told (me) to leave him alone and asked him to recite. He then recited in the style in which I beard him recite it. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then said: Thus was it sent down. He then told me to recite and I recited it, and he said: Thus was it sent down. The Qur’an was sent down in seven dialects. So recite what seems easy therefrom.

” I heard Hisham b. Hakim reciting Surah al-Furqan during the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ).” The rest is the same but with this addition:” I was about to catch hold of him in prayer, but I exercised patience till he pronounced salutation.

This hadith has been transmitted by Zuhri.

Gabriel taught me to recite in one style. I replied to him and kept asking him to give more (styles), till he reached seven modes (of recitation). Ibn Shibab said: It has reached me that these seven styles are essentially one, not differing about what is permitted and what is forbidden.

This hadith has been narrated by Zuhri with the same chain of trans- mitters.

I was in the mosque when a man entered and prayed and recited (the Qur’in) in a style to which I objected. Then another man entered (the mosque) and recited in a style different from that of his companion. When we had finished the prayer, we all went to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and said to him: This man recited in a style to which I objected, and the other entered and recited in a style different from that of his companion. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked them to recite and so they recited, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) expressed approval of their affairs (their modes of recitation). and there occurred In my mind a sort of denial which did not occur even during the Days of Ignorance. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw how I was affected (by a wrong idea), he struck my chest, whereupon I broke into sweating and felt as though I were looking at Allah with fear. He (the Holy Prophet) said to me: Ubayy. a message was sent to me to recite the Qur’an in one dialect, and I replied: Make (things) easy for my people. It was conveyed to me for the second time that it should be recited in two dialects. I again replied to him: Make affairs easy for my people. It was again conveyed to me for the third time to recite in seven dialects And (I was further told): You have got a seeking for every reply that I sent you, which you should seek from Me. I said: O Allah! forgive my people, forgive my people, and I have deferred the third one for the day on which the entire creation will turn to me, including even Ibrahim (peace be upon him) (for intercession).

Ubayy b. Ka’b reported that he was sitting in a mosque that a person entered it and he observed prayer, and made recitation, the rest of the hadith is the same.

Allah has commanded you to recite to your people the Qur’an in one dialect. Upon this he said: I ask from Allah pardon and forgiveness. My people are not capable of doing it. He then came for the second time and said: Allah has commanded you that you should recite the Qur’an to your people in two dialects. Upon this he (the Holy prophet) again said: I seek pardon and forgiveness from Allah, my people would not be able to do so. He (Gabriel) came for the third time and said: Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur’an to your people in three dialects. Upon this he said: I ask pardon and forgiveness from Allah. My people would not be able to do it. He then came to him for the fourth time and said: Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur’an to your people in seven dialects, and in whichever dialect they would recite, they would be right.

This hadith has been narrated by Shu’ba with the same chain of transmitters.

Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman, how do you recite this word (alif) or (ya)? Would you read It as: min ma’in ghaira asin or au min ma’in ghaira ghaira yasin. (al-Qur’an, xlvii. 15)? ‘Abdullah said: You (seem to) have memorised the whole of the Qur’an except this. He (again) said: I recite all the mufassal surahs in one rak’ah. Upon this ‘Abdullah said: (You must have been reciting It) hastily like the recitation of poetry. Verily. there are people who recite the Qur’an, but it does not go down beyond their collar bones. It is (a fact with the Qur’an) that it is beneficial only when it settles in the heart and is rooted deeply in it. The best of (the acts) in prayer are bowing and prostration. I am quite aware of the occasions when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) combined together two surahs in every rak’ah. ‘Abdullah then stood up and went out with ‘Alqama following in his footstep. He said Ibn Numair had told him that the narration was like that:” A person belonging to Banu Bajila came to ‘Abdullah,” and he did not mention (the name of) Nahik b. Sinan.

A person came to ‘Abdullah, who was called Nahik b. Sinan, and the rest of the hadith is the same but for this:” Alqama came to him (‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud) and we said to him: Ask him about the manners in which he combined (two surahs) in one rak’ah. So he went to him and asked him and then came to us and said: Twenty are the mufassal surahs in the compilation (of the Qur’an) made by ‘Abdullah.”

” I know the manners in which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited the two surahs in one rak’ah and then twenty surahs in ten rak’ahs.”

One day we went to ‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud after we had observed the dawn prayer and we paid salutation at the door. He permitted us to enter, but we stayed for a while at the door, when the slave-girl came out and said: Why don’t you come in? So we went in and (we found ‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud) sitting and glorifying Allah (i. e. he was busy in dhikr) and he said: What obstructed you from coming in though you had been granted permission for it? We said: There was nothing (behind it) but we entertained the idea that some inmate of the house might be sleeping. He said: Do you presume any idleness on the part of the family of Ibn Umm ‘Abd (the mother of Abdullah b. Mas’ud)? He was again busy with the glorification of Allah till he thought that the sun had risen. He said: Girl, see whether (the sun) has arisen. She glanced but it had not risen (by that time). He was again busy with the glorification (of Allah) and he (again) thought that the sun had arisen. She glanced (and confirmed) that, it had risen. Upon this he (‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud) said: Praise be to Allah Who did not call us to account for our sins today. Mahdi said: I think that he said, He did not destroy us for our sins. One among the people said: I recited all the mufassal surahs during the night. ‘Abdullah said: (You must have recited them) like the (recitation) of poetry. I heard (the Holy Prophet) combining (the sarahs) and I remember the combinations which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made In the recitation (of surahs). These were constituted of eighteen mufassal surahs and two surahs (commencing with) Ha-Mim.

A person from Banu Bajila who was called Nabik b. Sinan came to Abdullah and said: I recite mufassal surahs in one rak’ah. Upon this ‘Abdullah said: (You recite) like the recitation of poetry. I know the manner in which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited two surahs in one rak’ah.

A person came to ‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud and said: I recited all the mufassal surahs in one rak’ah during the night. ‘Abdullah said: You must have recited hastily like the recitation of poetry. ‘Abdullah said: I remember well the manner in which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to combine them, and he then mentioned twenty of the mufassal surahs, and (their combinations in) two in every rak’ah.

I saw a man asking Aswad b. Yazid who taught the Qur’an in the mosque: How do you recite the verse (fahal min muddakir) whether (the word muddakir) Is with (d) or (dh)? He (Aswad) said: It was with (d). I heard Abdullah b. Mas’ud saying that he had heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting (muddakir) with (d).

Ishaq is reported to have said on the authority of Aswad who quoted on the authority of ‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite these words as (fahal min muddakir).