—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—to repeat the prayer and told him that he had not prayed. This makes it clear that whoever omits coming to rest has been declared by Allah and His Messenger not to have prayed, and has been commanded by Allah and His Messenger to repeat the prayer. Whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger will suffer a painful punishment.

In the Sunan collections, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah does not accept the prayer of a man who does not straighten his back in bowing and prostration.”

This means straightening his back when rising from bowing and when rising from prostration.

It is reported in the Sahīh that Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān—may Allah be pleased with him—saw a man who did not straighten his back in bowing and prostration. He asked him: “How long have you been praying like this?”

He replied: “For such-and-such a time.”

Hudhayfah said: “If you were to die, you would die upon something other than the natural disposition with which Allah endowed Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”

Ibn Khuzaymah also related this meaning in his Sahīh in a report traced back to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: he said to someone who pecked hurriedly through his prayer:

“If you were to die in this state, you would die upon something other than the natural disposition with which Allah endowed Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”

Or he said words to that effect. He also said:

“The one who prays without completing his bowing and prostration is like someone who eats a mouthful or two—what nourishment can that give him?”

In Sahīh Muslim, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“That is the hypocrite’s prayer! That is the hypocrite’s prayer! He watches the sun until it is between the two horns of