2/149. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 842 — Sitting Before Standing in Prayer
Standing Up In The Single (Odd Numbered Rak'ah)
Hadith About Sitting Before Standing in Prayer
Sunan Abi Dawud : 842
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 842
حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ - عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ أَبِي قِلاَبَةَ، قَالَ جَاءَنَا أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ مَالِكُ بْنُ الْحُوَيْرِثِ إِلَى مَسْجِدِنَا فَقَالَ وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لأُصَلِّي بِكُمْ وَمَا أُرِيدُ الصَّلاَةَ وَلَكِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُرِيَكُمْ كَيْفَ رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُصَلِّي . قَالَ قُلْتُ لأَبِي قِلاَبَةَ كَيْفَ صَلَّى قَالَ مِثْلَ صَلاَةِ شَيْخِنَا هَذَا يَعْنِي عَمْرَو بْنَ سَلِمَةَ إِمَامَهُمْ وَذَكَرَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ إِذَا رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ مِنَ السَّجْدَةِ الآخِرَةِ فِي الرَّكْعَةِ الأُولَى قَعَدَ ثُمَّ قَامَ .
Abu Qilaba Narrated from:
Abu sulaiman malik b. al-Huwairith came to our mosque and said: By Allah, I Shall offer prayer; and I do not intend to pray, but I intend to show you how I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) offering prayer. He (the narrator Ayyub) said: I asked Abu Qilabah: How did he pray? He replied: Like the prayer of this head after the last prostration in the first rak’ah, he used to sit, and then stand up.
Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 842In-book reference : Book 2, Hadith 452English translation : Book 2, Hadith 841
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 842
This hadith about sitting before standing in prayer shows how Malik b. al-Huwairith taught by example. He came to the mosque and said that he was praying not mainly to perform prayer at that moment, but to show how he had seen the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم pray. The report says that after the last prostration in the first rak’ah, he would sit and then stand up. This makes the hadith important for people searching for the Prophet’s prayer method, sitting after sujood, and how to stand for the next rak’ah. The teaching is simple: prayer was learned by watching the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, and the Companions passed that practice on carefully. The hadith focuses on a specific sitting after the last prostration of the first rak’ah before rising.
What we learn from this hadith
- The Companions taught prayer by showing how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم prayed.
- After the last prostration in the first rak’ah, sitting before standing is mentioned in this report.
- Learning prayer includes learning its small movements and transitions.
- Teaching through action can make the method of prayer clearer.
