Zād al-Maʿād - Ibn al-Qayyim - (1/431)

Zād al-MaʿādIbn al-Qayyim

As for ‘Ā’ishah’s statement, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would not offer the midmorning prayer except when returning from an absence,” this makes it quite clear that he offered it only for a particular reason. Whenever he returned from a journey, he would go first to the mosque and pray two rak‘ahs there. This was his practice, and ‘Ā’ishah reported both facts. She was also the one who said: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, never offered the midmorning prayer.”

What she affirmed was his offering it for a particular reason, such as returning from a journey, achieving a conquest, visiting people, or the like. The same applies to his going to the mosque of Qubā’ to pray there, and to the report narrated by Yūsuf ibn Ya‘qūb (1): Muhammad ibn Abī Bakr narrated to us; Salamah ibn Rajā’ narrated to us; al-Sha‘thā’ narrated to us, saying: “I saw Ibn Abī Awfā offer two rak‘ahs at midmorning on the day he received glad tidings concerning Abū Jahl’s head.” If this report is authentic, it describes a prayer of thanksgiving offered at midmorning, like the prayer of thanksgiving for a conquest.

What she denied was what people ordinarily did: offering it (2) without a particular reason. She did not say that this was disliked or contrary to his sunnah; rather, offering it without a particular reason was not his practice. Yet he recommended it, encouraged it, and urged people to offer it. His night prayer sufficed him in its place, and the midmorning prayer is, as it were, a substitute for the night prayer. Allah Most High says:

“Who made the night and day succeed one another

(1) Al-Bayhaqī recorded it through him in Dalā’il al-Nubuwwah (5/81). It was also recorded by al-Dārimī (1503), Ibn Mājah (1391), al-Bazzār (8/295–296), Ibn al-Mundhir in al-Awsat (5/296), Ibn ‘Adī in al-Kāmil, in the entry on Salamah ibn Rajā’ (5/443–444), and al-‘Uqaylī in al-Du‘afā’ (2/561), through various chains from Salamah ibn Rajā’. All these chains converge on this Salamah ibn Rajā’. Although he is among al-Bukhārī’s narrators, he alone transmitted this hadith. Ibn ‘Adī said: “His hadiths are solitary and unusual reports, and he transmits from people hadiths for which he receives no corroboration.” Al-‘Uqaylī likewise noted the unusual nature of his report. Ibn Ma‘īn and al-Nasā’ī rated Salamah weak, and al-Dāraqutnī said: “He transmits hadiths from trustworthy narrators that no one else transmits.” See Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb (4/145). (2) Qāf reads bi-salātihā (“by offering this prayer”); this is omitted in Kāf and supplied in the margin of ‘Ayn.

وأما قول عائشة: «لم يكن رسول الله ﷺ يصلِّي الضحى إلا أن يقدَم من مغيبه» فهذا من أبين الأمور أنَّ صلاته لها إنما كانت لسبب، فإنه ﷺ كان إذا قدِم من سفر بدأ بالمسجد، فصلَّى فيه ركعتين. فهذا كان هديه، وعائشة أخبرت بهذا وهذا، وهي القائلة: ما صلَّى رسول الله ﷺ صلاة الضحى قطُّ. فالذي أثبتَتْه فعلُها لسببٍ كقدومه من سفر، وفتحه، وزيارته لقوم ونحوه. وكذلك إتيانه مسجدَ قباء للصلاة فيه. وكذلك ما رواه يوسف بن يعقوب (١): ثنا محمد بن أبي بكر، ثنا سلمة بن رجاء، حدثتنا الشعثاء قالت: رأيت ابن أبي أوفى صلَّى الضحى ركعتين يوم بُشِّر برأس أبي جهل. فهذا إن صحَّ فهو صلاة شكر وقعت وقتَ الضحى كشكر الفتح. والذي نفته هو ما كان يفعله الناس: يصلُّونها (٢) لغير سبب، وهي لم تقل: إن ذلك مكروه ولا مخالف لسنَّته، ولكن لم يكن من هديه فعلُها لغير سبب. وقد أوصى بها، وندب إليها، وحضّ عليها. وكان يستغني عنها بقيام الليل فإنَّ فيه غُنيةً عنها، وهي كالبدل منه. قال تعالى: ﴿الَّذِي جَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ خِلْفَةً

(١) من طريقه أخرجه البيهقي في «دلائل النبوة» (٥/ ٨١)، وأخرجه الدارمي (١٥٠٣) وابن ماجه (١٣٩١) والبزار (٨/ ٢٩٥، ٢٩٦) وابن المنذر في «الأوسط» (٥/ ٢٩٦) وابن عدي في «الكامل» في ترجمة سلمة بن رجاء (٥/ ٤٤٣، ٤٤٤) والعقيلي في «الضعفاء» (٢/ ٥٦١) من طرق عن سلمة بن رجاء به. ومدار الحديث على سلمة بن رجاء هذا، وإن كان من رواة البخاري فقد تفرد بهذا الحديث، قال ابن عدي: «وأحاديثه أفراد وغرائب، ويحدِّث عن قوم بأحاديث لا يتابع عليه»، وكذلك استغرب العقيليُّ حديثَه. وسلمة ضعفه ابن معين والنسائي، وقال الدارقطني: ينفرد عن الثقات بأحاديث. انظر: «تهذيب التهذيب» (٤/ ١٤٥). (٢) ق: «بصلاتها»، وهو ساقط من ك، مستدرك في حاشية ع.