Encyclopedia of Prophetic Hadiths

'Whoever of you comes to attend the Friday prayer, let him take a shower."

A blind man came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have no one to lead me to the mosque." He asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to allow him to pray at home, which the Messenger of Allah did. When the man was leaving, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) called him back and said: "Do you hear the Adhān?" He replied in the affirmative. Thereupon, he said: "Then respond to it."

A man entered the mosque on a Friday through the gate facing Dār al-Qadā’ while the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was standing delivering the sermon. The man stood in front of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: O Messenger of Allah, the properties (livestock) have perished and the roads have been cut off. So supplicate Allah to send us rain. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) raised his hands and then said: "O Allah, send us rain. O Allah, send us rain. O Allah, send us rain." Anas said: By Allah, we could see no cloud or even a small patch of cloud in the sky, and there was not a single house or dwelling between us and (Mount) Sal‘. He said: Then, all of a sudden, a big cloud like a shield appeared from behind it and when it arrived in the middle of the sky, it spread out and rained. By Allah, we did not see the sun for a week. On Friday, a man entered through the same gate while the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was delivering the sermon. The man stood in front of him and said: O Messenger of Allah, the properties have perished and the roads have been cut off. So supplicate Allah to withhold the rain. He said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) raised his hands and said: "O Allah, around us and not upon us. O Allah, on the hills, the small mountains, the valleys, and the places where trees grow." He said: The rain stopped, and we came out walking in the sunshine. Sharīk said: I asked Anas ibn Mālik: Was it the same first man? He replied: "I do not know."

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to raise his hands in line with his shoulders when commencing the prayer, when saying Takbīr (proclaiming Allah's greatness) for Rukū‘ (bowing), and when raising his head from Rukū‘ he would raise them as well and say: "Sami‘allāhu liman hamidah, rabbana wa laka al-hamd" (Allah hears whoever praises Him, O our Lord, praise be to You). He did not use to do this in Sujūd (prostration).

"The covenant between us and them is prayer; so, whoever abandons it has disbelieved."

"No prayer should be offered in the presence of food or when he is resisting the need to relieve himself of the two filths."

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) led us in the Fajr prayer one day and said: "Is so-and-so present?" They replied: 'No.' He said: "Is so-and-so present?" They replied: 'No.' Thereupon, he said: "These two prayers are the most burdensome of all prayers for the hypocrites. If you knew what they contain, you would come to them, even if you had to crawl on your knees. The first row is like that of the angels, and if you knew the nature of its excellence, you would race to join it. A man's prayer with another man is purer than his prayer alone, and his prayer with two men is purer than his prayer with one man; the greater the number, the more pleasing it is to Allah Almighty."

When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) raised his back from Rukū‘ (bowing), he would say: "Sami‘a allāhu liman hamidah, allāhumma rabbana laka al-hamd mil’a as-samawāt wa mil’a al-ard wa mil’a ma shi’ta min shay’in ba‘d" (Allah hears he who praises Him. O Allah, our Lord, to You is the praise as much as fills the heavens, as much as fills the earth, and as much as fills whatever You will thereafter).