There are sound corroborating reports for the first part of the hadith, including:
- From Abdullah ibn Umar:
The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—saw some spittle on the wall in the direction of prayer, so he scraped it off. He then turned to the people and said:
“When one of you is praying, let him not spit in front of himself, for Allah is before him when he prays.”
Reported by al-Bukhari (1/406), Muslim (2/75), and Abu Awanah (1/403–404), from him.
- From Anas:
The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—saw some phlegm in the direction of prayer, and this distressed him so much that it could be seen on his face. He rose and scraped it off with his hand, then said:
“When one of you stands in prayer, he is conversing privately with his Lord—or He is between him and the direction of prayer—so let none of you spit toward his direction of prayer. Rather, let him spit to his left or beneath his feet.”
He then took the edge of his cloak, spat into it, folded one part of it over the other, and said:
“Or let him do this.”
Reported by al-Bukhari (1/405)—whose wording is cited here—Muslim (2/76), Abu Awanah (1/405), Ibn Hibban (2264), and al-Nasai (1/119), through two chains from Anas. *
- “When one of you rises from his seat and then returns to it, he has more right to it.”
Reported by Muslim (7/10), al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad (1132), Abu Dawud (4853), Ibn Majah (3717), Ibn Khuzaymah (1821), Ibn Hibban (587),