Chapter: The Excellence of the Prayers

1042 – Abu Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him—reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say, “Tell me: if a river ran at the door of one of you and he bathed in it five times a day, would any dirt remain on him?” They answered, “No dirt at all would remain.” He said, “That is the likeness of the five daily prayers; through them Allah wipes away sins.” Agreed upon.

1043 – Jabir—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The example of the five daily prayers is like a copious, flowing river at the door of one of you in which he bathes five times every day.” Related by Muslim. The word ghamr—pronounced with a fatḥa on the letter ghayn—means “abundant.”

1044 – Ibn Masʿud—may Allah be pleased with him—narrated: A man kissed a woman and then came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and told him what he had done. Thereupon Allah Most High revealed: “And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and in the early hours of the night; indeed, good deeds remove evil deeds” (Q 11:114). The man asked, “Is this for me alone?” He replied, “For my entire community—all of them.” Agreed upon.

1045 – Abu Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The prayers …”