the prayer commenced.” Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim. (1)
B) Aisha—may Allah be pleased with her—said: “The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—would keep the two rak‘ahs before the Fajr prayer so brief that I would wonder: Did he recite the Opening of the Book?” Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim. (2)
These two hadiths demonstrate that it is prescribed to keep the two rak‘ahs of Fajr brief.
Some scholars cited Aisha’s hadith as evidence that one may limit the recitation in the regular sunnah prayer of Fajr to the Opening of the Book. The hadith, however, does not indicate this. At most, it suggests that he—peace and blessings be upon him—would keep the recitation in them brief. This is further confirmed by what follows in the next issue.
Fourth: What He Would Recite in Them
A) Abu Hurayra—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—recited in the two rak‘ahs of Fajr: “Say, ‘O disbelievers!’” and “Say, ‘He is Allah, One.’” (3).
(1) An authentic hadith.
It is recorded by al-Bukhārī in the Book of the Call to Prayer, chapter “The Call to Prayer after Dawn” (hadith no. 618); and by Muslim in the Book of the Prayer of Travelers and Its Shortening, chapter “The Recommendation of the Two-Rak‘ah Sunnah Prayer of Fajr, Encouragement to Perform It and Keep It Brief, Regular Observance of It, and What It Is Recommended to Recite Therein” (hadith no. 723); his is the wording cited.
(2) An authentic hadith.
It is recorded by al-Bukhārī in the Book of Tahajjud, chapter “What Is Recited in the Two Rak‘ahs of Fajr” (hadith no. 1171); and by Muslim in the Book of the Prayer of Travelers and Its Shortening, chapter “The Recommendation of the Two-Rak‘ah Sunnah Prayer of Fajr, Encouragement to Perform It and Keep It Brief, Regular Observance of It, and What It Is Recommended to Recite Therein” (hadith no. 724). The wording cited is al-Bukhārī’s.
(3) An authentic hadith.
It is recorded by Muslim in the Book of the Prayer of Travelers and Its Shortening, chapter “The Recommendation of the Two-Rak‘ah Sunnah Prayer of Fajr, Encouragement to Perform It and Keep It Brief, Regular Observance of It, and What It Is Recommended to Recite Therein” (hadith no. 726).