as something particular to that circumstance, not to the basic ruling itself, for the five daily prayers are prescribed even when no fear is present.
– ṭāʾifah (contingent, group): From the verb ṭāfa, yaṭūfu, ṭawfan and ṭawāfan, meaning “to go round something.” A ṭāʾifah is a body of people.
• Al-Miṣbāḥ states: its minimum is three, though it can be used for one or two.
• Al-Muḥīṭ says: ṭāʾifah is the feminine of ṭāʾif and applies to any number from one up to a thousand; its plural is ṭawāʾif. Allah says, “And let a group of the believers witness their punishment” (Qur’an 24:2). Ibn ʿAbbās said: “One person and above.”
• Al-Kulliyyāt adds: when ṭāʾifah is meant collectively, its plural is ṭāʾif; when it is meant for the singular, it may itself serve as a collective noun and can stand for a single individual.
– wijāh: with the wāw pronounced with any of the three vowels. It is the verbal noun of wājaha—“to face”; hence, something that lies directly opposite. One may say, “He sat wijāhah” – i.e., facing him.
– ʿaduww (enemy): the opposite of walī (ally) and ṣadīq (friend). The form serves equally for singular and plural, masculine and feminine, but it may also be dualised, pluralised, or given a feminine ending. Its plural is aʿdāʾ.
– thabat (to remain firm): Al-Miṣbāḥ states: thabata, yathbutu, thubūtan means “to last and stay fixed”; hence, thābit (firm, established).
Extracts and lessons from the ḥadith
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This is the ḥadith of Sahl ibn Abī Ḥatma al-Anṣārī, the version preferred by Imām Aḥmad (may Allah have mercy on him) because, in his view, it accords most closely with the Book of Allah, offers the greatest protection for the soldiers of Allah, and keeps the prayer safest from extraneous movements. It describes the Prophet’s performance of the prayer at Dhāt al-Riqāʿ and is one of the six well-known formats of the fear prayer.
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The expedition of Dhāt al-Riqāʿ was so named because the Companions’ feet became blistered from walking barefoot, so they wrapped them with strips of cloth and patches. The location, known as Baṭn Nakhl, lies to the north-east of Madinah, about 150 kilometres away near the village of al-Ḥanākīyah. The Prophet ﷺ marched against the tribe of Ghatafān, the followers of ʿUyainah ibn Ḥiṣn al-Fazārī; some say they were from the tribe of Muṭayr.