while the others remained standing to guard them. When the first group had prostrated and risen, the second group sat down and prostrated where they were. Thereafter the first group moved forward to the positions of the second, and the second moved back to the positions of the first.

He said:

The Prophet ﷺ then bowed and all of them bowed with him; he raised his head and they all raised theirs; then the Prophet and the row immediately behind him prostrated, while the others stayed on their feet, keeping watch. When he and those with him sat up, the others sat and then prostrated. He then pronounced salām to them and concluded the prayer.

He added:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed this prayer twice—once at ʿUsfān and once in the territory of Banū Sulaym. Aḥmad (1) related it from Ghundar, from Shuʿbah, from Manṣūr with similar wording. Abū Dāwūd (2) transmitted it through Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr from Jarīr ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd, and al-Nasāʾī (3) through al-Fallās from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd al-Ṣamad, as well as through Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā and Bundār from Ghundar, from Shuʿbah—all of them reporting from Manṣūr with the same content. This chain satisfies the standards of the two Ṣaḥīḥs, yet neither of them included it. Muslim (4), however, narrated—through Abū Khaythamah Zuhayr ibn Muʿāwiyah, from Abū al-Zubayr—from Jābir, who said:

“We campaigned with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ against a contingent of Juhaynah, and they fought us fiercely. When we had prayed ẓuhr the idolaters said, ‘If we make a sudden charge, we can wipe them out.’ Gabriel informed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ of what they had said, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told us:

‘They also said: A prayer will shortly fall due that is dearer to them than their own children.’

He then recounted the event in the same manner already mentioned.

Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī (5) reported: Hishām narrated to us, from Abū al-Zubayr, from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led his Companions in the ẓuhr prayer at Nakhl. The idolaters were about to attack him, but then said, ‘Leave them; they still have another prayer after this one that is dearer to them than their children.’

He continued: Gabriel then descended to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and informed him. The Prophet ﷺ therefore led his Companions in the ʿAṣr prayer, arranging them in two ranks: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ facing them and the enemy facing the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He proclaimed the takbīr and they all did likewise; they all bowed together, then those nearest him prostrated while the others remained standing. When the first group lifted their heads, the others prostrated. Then the first group withdrew and the second advanced; they all proclaimed the takbīr, all bowed, and those now nearest him prostrated while the others stood. When these lifted their heads, the others prostrated.”

Al-Bukhārī cites this narration by Hishām, from Abū al-Zubayr, from Jābir, as corroborating evidence in his Ṣaḥīḥ (6).

Imām Aḥmad (7) said: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad narrated to us, Saʿīd ibn ʿUbayd al-Hanāʾī narrated to us, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Shaqīq narrated to us that Abū Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ encamped between Ḍajnan and ʿUsfān. The idolaters said, ‘These people have a prayer dearer to them than their fathers and children—namely the ʿAṣr prayer. So gather your forces and mount a single, decisive assault against them.’ Gabriel then came …”