Al-Qawa'id al-Nuraniyya - Ibn Taimiya - (60)

Al-Qawa'id al-NuraniyyaIbn Taimiya

The comparison drawn by the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is among the finest of comparisons. Prayer nourishes the hearts just as food nourishes the body. If the body cannot be nourished by a meager amount of food, neither can the heart subsist on pecking through the prayer. Rather, a prayer performed in full is essential to nourish the hearts.

As for what some groups among the general populace relate—that Umar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, “saw a man pecking through his prayer and forbade him from doing so. The man replied, ‘Had al-Khattāb performed so much as one peck of this prayer, he would not have entered the Fire,’ whereupon Umar said nothing further to him”—this report is baseless. To the best of my knowledge, no scholar has ever mentioned it, whether among sound reports or weak ones. Its falsehood is evident, for the hypocrites pecked through far more prayer than that, yet they will be in the lowest depths of the Fire.

Furthermore, Abū Abd Allah al-Asharī al-Shāmī reported: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, led his Companions in prayer and then sat with a group of them. A man entered and stood to pray. He proceeded to bow and to peck through his prostrations while the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, watched him. He then said, ‘Do you see this man? If he were to die, he would die outside the religion of Muhammad. He pecks through his prayer just as a crow pecks at a decayed bone. The one who prays without completing his bowing and who pecks through his prostrations is like a hungry man who eats only one or two dates, which do not satisfy him in the least. So perform ablution thoroughly. Woe to the heels from the Fire! And complete the bowing and prostration.’” Abū Sālih said: “I asked Abū Abd Allah al-Asharī, ‘Who narrated this hadith to you?’ He replied, ‘The army commanders: Khālid ibn al-Walīd, Amr ibn al-Ās, Shurahbīl ibn Hasanah, and Yazīd ibn Abī Sufyān.’ Each of them said that he had heard it from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Abū Bakr ibn Khuzaymah narrated it in full in his Sahih, while Ibn Mājah narrated part of it.

وَالْمَثَلُ الَّذِي ضَرَبَهُ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ مِنْ أَحْسَنِ الْأَمْثَالِ، فَإِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ قُوتُ الْقُلُوبِ كَمَا أَنَّ الْغِذَاءَ قُوتُ الْجَسَدِ، فَإِذَا كَانَ الْجَسَدُ لَا يَتَغَذَّى بِالْيَسِيرِ مِنَ الْأَكْلِ، فَالْقَلْبُ لَا يَقْتَاتُ بِالنَّقْرِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ، بَلْ لَا بُدَّ مِنْ صَلَاةٍ تَامَّةٍ تُقِيتُ الْقُلُوبَ. وَأَمَّا مَا يَرْوِيهِ طَوَائِفُ مِنَ الْعَامَّةِ: أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ ﵁ " رَأَى رَجُلًا يَنْقُرُ فِي صَلَاتِهِ فَنَهَاهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ، فَقَالَ: لَوْ نَقَرَ الخطاب مِنْ هَذِهِ نَقْرَةً لَمْ يَدْخُلِ النَّارَ، فَسَكَتَ عَنْهُ عمر "، فَهَذَا لَا أَصْلَ لَهُ وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْهُ أَحَدٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ فِيمَا بَلَغَنِي، لَا فِي الصَّحِيحِ وَلَا فِي الضَّعِيفِ، وَالْكَذِبُ ظَاهِرٌ عَلَيْهِ فَإِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ قَدْ نَقَرُوا أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَهُمْ فِي الدَّرْكِ الْأَسْفَلِ مِنَ النَّارِ. وَأَيْضًا: فَعَنْ أبي عبد الله الأشعري الشامي قَالَ: «صَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ بِأَصْحَابِهِ، ثُمَّ جَلَسَ فِي طَائِفَةٍ مِنْهُمْ، فَدَخْلَ رَجُلٌ فَقَامَ يُصَلِّي، فَجَعَلَ يَرْكَعُ وَيَنْقُرُ فِي سُجُودِهِ وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ: تَرَوْنَ هَذَا؟ لَوْ مَاتَ مَاتَ عَلَى غَيْرِ مِلَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ، يَنْقُرُ صَلَاتَهُ كَمَا يَنْقُرُ الْغُرَابُ الرِّمَّةَ، إِنَّمَا مَثَلُ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي وَلَا يُتِمُّ رُكُوعَهُ وَيَنْقُرُ فِي سُجُودِهِ، كَالْجَائِعِ لَا يَأْكُلُ إِلَّا تَمْرَةً أَوْ تَمْرَتَيْنِ لَا تُغْنِيَانِ عَنْهُ شَيْئًا، فَأَسْبِغُوا الْوُضُوءَ، وَيْلٌ لِلْأَعْقَابِ مِنَ النَّارِ، وَأَتِمُّوا الرُّكُوعَ وَالسُّجُودَ» ، قَالَ أبو صالح: فَقُلْتُ لأبي عبد الله الأشعري: مَنْ حَدَّثَكَ بِهَذَا الْحَدِيثِ؟ قَالَ: أُمَرَاءُ الْأَجْنَادِ: خَالِدُ بْنُ الْوَلِيدِ، وَعَمْرُو بْنُ الْعَاصِ، وشرحبيل بن حسنة، وَيَزِيدُ بْنُ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ، كُلُّ هَؤُلَاءِ يَقُولُونَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ، رَوَاهُ أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ خُزَيْمَةَ فِي صَحِيحِهِ بِكَمَالِهِ، وَرَوَى ابْنُ مَاجَهْ بَعْضَهُ.