(1) From this explanation, you will understand that it is mistaken to cite the hadith of Talha ibn Ubayd Allah as evidence that no prayer other than the five can be obligatory. He reported: “A man from Najd came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, with disheveled hair. We could hear the murmur of his voice but could not understand what he was saying until he drew near. He was asking about Islam. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘Five prayers each day and night.’ He asked, ‘Must I perform any others?’ He replied, ‘No, unless you undertake something additional (*tatawwu‘*)’…” Al-Bukhārī narrated it in the Book of Faith, chapter “Zakat Is Part of Islam,” hadith no. 46. Its other narrations in al-Bukhārī appear under nos. 1891, 2678, and 6956. I say: The foregoing explanation shows that anyone who cites this hadith as evidence that no prayer other than the five can be obligatory is mistaken. The Bedouin’s hadith establishes only what is obligatory by virtue of Islam itself; it does not negate obligations arising on other grounds, since prayers other than the five become obligatory only for particular reasons. Several considerations support this understanding: — The hadith states, “Five prayers each day and night.” This means: “A Muslim is prescribed five prayers every day and night, with no additional daily prayer. This does not preclude other prayers from becoming obligatory, such as the prayer of greeting the mosque, because it is not one of the daily and nightly prayers but is occasioned by a particular cause. Nor is it an individual obligation in itself. The same applies to vowed prayers: they are not among the prayers prescribed directly by Allah but fall under the additional devotion that a person may impose upon himself, whereupon Allah binds him to what he has undertaken.” *Al-Mukhtār min Kunūz al-Sunna*, p. 326. — This is further confirmed by the continuation of the hadith: “Fasting Ramadan.” The man asked, “Must I perform any other fast?” He replied, “No, unless you undertake something additional.” He also mentioned zakat, whereupon the man asked, “Must I give anything else?” He replied, “No, unless you undertake something additional.” It is well known that scholars agree on the obligation of fasting as an expiation when it becomes incumbent upon a Muslim; fasting in lieu of the Hajj sacrifice—“a fast of three days during Hajj and seven when you return”; fasting undertaken by vow; and fasting by the deceased’s relatives: “Whoever dies owing a fast, his *walī* should fast on his behalf…” Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim; see *Jāmi‘ al-Usūl*, 6:417. They likewise agree that the financial obligations of a Muslim are not confined to zakat. Maintenance is obligatory for those whom one is required to support, as are financial liabilities arising from expiations, offenses, vows, and so forth. When some jurists say, “No claim is due upon wealth other than zakat,” they mean that zakat is the only obligation arising from the wealth itself. Other obligations may attach to it for reasons unrelated to the mere possession of wealth, as noted above. These include paying debts, the blood money borne by one’s *‘āqila* (paternal kin group), contributing in times of calamity, and other such duties. Ibn Taymiyya, *Al-Īmān*, pp. 298–299. — This understanding is made still clearer by the Bedouin’s statement at the end of the hadith in al-Bukhārī (no. 1891): “By the One who has honored you with the truth, I shall undertake nothing additional, nor shall I omit anything Allah has prescribed for me.” The Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “He will prosper if he is truthful” (or: “He will enter Paradise if he is truthful”). Another narration states: “By Allah, I shall neither add to this nor detract from it.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then said, “He will prosper if he is truthful.” The apparent meaning is that he intended: I shall neither add to what has been prescribed for me by virtue of Islam nor omit anything prescribed for me on that basis. Thus, I shall not add a sixth daily prayer to the five prayers, nor fast an additional month beyond Ramadan, and so forth. This is also indicated by the fact that his success was made conditional upon his truthfulness in neither adding nor subtracting. How, then, could the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, attest to his success for not adding to the five if the intended addition were merely something non-obligatory? Nor should it be said that the Prophet affirmed his success provided he fulfilled his obligations, without implying that performing anything additional would prevent his success. I say that this interpretation should not be adopted, because it conflicts with the apparent meaning of the text, especially the words “if he is truthful.” Moreover, the meaning I have explained is available, so there is no need for such a strained interpretation. Furthermore, how could the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, approve his swearing not to increase his good deeds by saying, “By Allah, I shall not add…”? See *Nayl al-Awtār*, 3:83–84, and Ibn Taymiyya’s *Kitāb al-Īmān*, pp. 297–300. If it is objected that when Ubāda ibn al-Sāmit was told that a certain person regarded the Witr prayer as obligatory, he responded that Allah had prescribed five prayers—and that this answer agrees with those who cite the Bedouin’s hadith to deny the obligation of any prayer beyond the five—the answer is that Ubāda’s argument does not conflict with the explanation given above. He advanced it specifically concerning the Witr prayer. It is as though he said: A Muslim is required by virtue of Islam to perform five prayers each day and night. If Witr were deemed obligatory on that same basis, six prayers would be obligatory, contrary to what Allah prescribed for His servants each day and night. With Allah is all success. A useful point: This hadith shows that the word *tatawwu‘* is used here to mean an addition, whether that addition is obligatory or recommended. Do you not see that the man said, “By the One who has honored you with the truth, I shall undertake nothing additional, nor shall I omit anything Allah has prescribed for me”? He thus contrasted *tatawwu‘* with omission. The other narration explains and confirms this meaning: “By Allah, I shall neither add to this nor detract from it.” Throughout this treatise, I have used the word *tatawwu‘* in this sense: an addition in absolute terms, whether or not it is obligatory. The foregoing also reveals why compilers of works on hadiths of legal rulings and others entitle a section “Chapter on *Tatawwu‘* (Additional) Prayers” and then affirm that some of those prayers are obligatory. This indicates that they—may Allah have mercy on them—understood *tatawwu‘* to mean an addition, whether obligatory or otherwise. They did not understand it as an addition that is nonbinding, which is its original linguistic meaning. Accordingly, the term *tatawwu‘* has a broader meaning in Islamic law than it does linguistically, unlike other terms such as Hajj and prayer. Allah knows best.