2/26. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 485 — Cleanliness and Respect in Prayer
Spitting In A Masjid Is Disliked
Hadith About Mosque Cleanliness and Not Spitting Toward the Qiblah
Sunan Abi Dawud : 485
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 485
حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ الْفَضْلِ السِّجِسْتَانِيُّ، وَهِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، وَسُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الدِّمَشْقِيَّانِ، بِهَذَا الْحَدِيثِ - وَهَذَا لَفْظُ يَحْيَى بْنِ الْفَضْلِ السِّجِسْتَانِيِّ - قَالُوا حَدَّثَنَا حَاتِمُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ حَدَّثَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ مُجَاهِدٍ أَبُو حَزْرَةَ عَنْ عُبَادَةَ بْنِ الْوَلِيدِ بْنِ عُبَادَةَ بْنِ الصَّامِتِ أَتَيْنَا جَابِرًا - يَعْنِي ابْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ - وَهُوَ فِي مَسْجِدِهِ فَقَالَ أَتَانَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي مَسْجِدِنَا هَذَا وَفِي يَدِهِ عُرْجُونُ ابْنِ طَابٍ فَنَظَرَ فَرَأَى فِي قِبْلَةِ الْمَسْجِدِ نُخَامَةً فَأَقْبَلَ عَلَيْهَا فَحَتَّهَا بِالْعُرْجُونِ ثُمَّ قَالَ " أَيُّكُمْ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُعْرِضَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ بِوَجْهِهِ " . ثُمَّ قَالَ " إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ إِذَا قَامَ يُصَلِّي فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ قِبَلَ وَجْهِهِ فَلاَ يَبْصُقَنَّ قِبَلَ وَجْهِهِ وَلاَ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَلْيَبْزُقْ عَنْ يَسَارِهِ تَحْتَ رِجْلِهِ الْيُسْرَى فَإِنْ عَجِلَتْ بِهِ بَادِرَةٌ فَلْيَقُلْ بِثَوْبِهِ هَكَذَا " . وَوَضَعَهُ عَلَى فِيهِ ثُمَّ دَلَكَهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ " أَرُونِي عَبِيرًا " . فَقَامَ فَتًى مِنَ الْحَىِّ يَشْتَدُّ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ فَجَاءَ بِخَلُوقٍ فِي رَاحَتِهِ فَأَخَذَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَجَعَلَهُ عَلَى رَأْسِ الْعُرْجُونِ ثُمَّ لَطَخَ بِهِ عَلَى أَثَرِ النُّخَامَةِ . قَالَ جَابِرٌ فَمِنْ هُنَاكَ جَعَلْتُمُ الْخَلُوقَ فِي مَسَاجِدِكُمْ .
'Ubadah bin As-Samit Narrated from:
We came to Jabir ibn Abdullah who was sitting in his mosque. He said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to us in this mosque and he had a twig of date-palm of the kind of Ibn Tab. He looked and saw phlegm on the wall towards qiblah. He turned to it and scraped it with the twig.He then said: Who of you likes that Allah turns His face from him? He further said: When any of you stands for praying, Allah faces him. So he should not spit before him, nor on his right side. He should spit on his left side under his left foot. If he is in a hurry (i.e. forced to spit immediately), he should do with his cloth in this manner. He then placed the cloth on his mouth and rubbed it off.He then said: Bring perfume. A young man of the tribe stood and hurried to his house and returned with perfume in his palm. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took it and put it at the end of the twig. He then stained the mark of phlegm with it. Jabir said: This is the reason you use perfume in your mosques.
[1] Some copies of the text have this narration after no. 484.[2] Ibn Tāb is a type of date from Al-Madīnah, and it was customary to name types of dates after some people who produced them.[3] A type of perfume that has some color to it, being a mixture of fragrances.Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 485In-book reference : Book 2, Hadith 95English translation : Book 2, Hadith 481
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 485
This hadith about mosque cleanliness gives a fuller teaching on prayer manners. The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم saw phlegm on the wall toward the qiblah. He scraped it off with a date-palm twig, then taught the people not to spit in front of themselves or to the right while praying. He said that when a person stands for prayer, Allah faces him. If someone needs to spit, the left side under the left foot is mentioned. If the person is in a hurry, the cloth can be used, as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم showed by placing it on his mouth and rubbing it. He then asked for perfume and covered the mark with it. This hadith connects prayer etiquette, qiblah respect, and keeping the mosque pleasant for worshippers.
What we learn from this hadith
- A worshipper should not spit toward the qiblah while praying.
- The mosque should be cleaned when something unpleasant is found.
- If a person has an urgent need, he should handle it with care and cleanliness.
- Pleasant smell and cleanliness in the mosque are treated with respect in this narration.
