and when the time of prayer comes in, let one of you give the adhān and let the eldest among you lead the prayer. Agreed upon. Al-Bukhārī adds in another wording: “Pray as you have seen me pray.”

Concerning the phrase “compassionate and gentle,” it is transmitted in one recension with the letters fāʾ and qāf (rafīqan) and in another with two qāfs (raqīqan).

[Commentary]

Imām al-Nawawī—may Allah have mercy on him—quotes this ḥadīth under the heading “Bidding Farewell to Companions and Travelers.” Mālik ibn al-Ḥuwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: “We came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as young men close in age.” This took place during the Year of the Delegations, the ninth year after the Hijra. They remained with the Prophet ﷺ for twenty nights, having come to acquire understanding of Allah’s religion. Mālik said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was compassionate and gentle. He sensed that we had become homesick for our families—that we longed to see them—so he asked us about those we had left behind. When we informed him, he said: ‘Return to your families, stay among them, teach them, and command them. Perform such-and-such a prayer at such-and-such a time; and when the time of prayer arrives, let one of you give the adhān and let the eldest among you lead.’ Al-Bukhārī also reports: ‘And pray as you have seen me pray.’”