232 – Jundub ibn ʿAbd Allah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever performs the dawn prayer is under Allah’s protection. So let not Allah call you to account for anything that is under His protection; for if He does call such a person to account, He will overtake him and hurl him face-down into the Fire of Hell.” Recorded by Muslim.
Explanation
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—cites this report in the chapter on showing gentleness toward Muslims, following the narration he transmitted from Abu Qatadah al-Harith ibn Ribʿi al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “I rise for the prayer intending to prolong it, but when I hear a child crying I shorten it, disliking to cause hardship to his mother.” This ḥadith is one of the clearest examples of the Prophet’s mercy toward his community, just as Allah described him: “There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves; grievous to him is your suffering; he is concerned over you, and to the believers he is kind and merciful” (Surah al-Tawbah 9:128).
Thus the Prophet ﷺ would enter the congregational prayer intending to lengthen it—meaning a relative lengthening, not beyond his usual practice. If, however, he heard a child crying, he would abbreviate and lighten the prayer lest hardship befall the child’s mother. Hearing her child cry distresses a mother and may preoccupy her greatly during the prayer; therefore he ﷺ would ease the matter for her by shortening it.
This ḥadith yields several benefits, among them:
- The Prophet’s mercy and compassion toward his ummah.
- The permissibility of women attending the mosque to pray in congregation.