2/156. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 864 — Prayer Accountability
Regarding The Statement Of The Prophet (saws) "Every Prayer That One Does Not Perfect It Will Be Made Complete By The Voluntary Ones"
Hadith About Prayer Accountability on the Day of Judgment
Sunan Abi Dawud : 864
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 864
حَدَّثَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، حَدَّثَنَا يُونُسُ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ حَكِيمٍ الضَّبِّيِّ، قَالَ خَافَ مِنْ زِيَادٍ أَوِ ابْنِ زِيَادٍ فَأَتَى الْمَدِينَةَ فَلَقِيَ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ فَنَسَبَنِي فَانْتَسَبْتُ لَهُ فَقَالَ يَا فَتَى أَلاَ أُحَدِّثُكَ حَدِيثًا قَالَ قُلْتُ بَلَى رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ . قَالَ يُونُسُ أَحْسِبُهُ ذَكَرَهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا يُحَاسَبُ النَّاسُ بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِمُ الصَّلاَةُ قَالَ يَقُولُ رَبُّنَا جَلَّ وَعَزَّ لِمَلاَئِكَتِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ انْظُرُوا فِي صَلاَةِ عَبْدِي أَتَمَّهَا أَمْ نَقَصَهَا فَإِنْ كَانَتْ تَامَّةً كُتِبَتْ لَهُ تَامَّةً وَإِنْ كَانَ انْتَقَصَ مِنْهَا شَيْئًا قَالَ انْظُرُوا هَلْ لِعَبْدِي مِنْ تَطَوُّعٍ فَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ تَطَوُّعٌ قَالَ أَتِمُّوا لِعَبْدِي فَرِيضَتَهُ مِنْ تَطَوُّعِهِ ثُمَّ تُؤْخَذُ الأَعْمَالُ عَلَى ذَاكُمْ " .
AbuHurayrah Narrated from:
Anas ibn Hakim ad-Dabbi said that he feared Ziyad or Ibn Ziyad; so he came to Medina and met AbuHurayrah. He attributed his lineage to me and I became a member of his lineage. AbuHurayrah said (to me): O youth, should I not narrate a tradition to you? I said: Why not, may Allah have mercy on you? (Yunus (a narrator) said: I think he narrated it (the tradition) from the Prophet (ﷺ):) The first thing about which the people will be called to account out of their actions on the Day of Judgment is prayer.Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to the angels - though He knows better: Look into the prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly. If it is perfect, that will be recorded perfect. If it is defective, He will say: See there are some optional prayers offered by My servant. If there are optional prayer to his credit, He will say: Compensate the obligatory prayer by the optional prayer for My servant. Then all the actions will be considered similarly.
Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 864In-book reference : Book 2, Hadith 474English translation : Book 3, Hadith 863
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 864
This hadith centers on prayer accountability. It says the first deed people will be called to account for on the Day of Judgment is prayer. The prayer will be looked at: was it complete or defective? If it is complete, it is recorded complete. If something is missing, the angels are told to see whether the servant has optional prayers. If so, the obligatory prayer is completed from the optional prayer. The hadith gives a serious but hopeful lesson. It makes the believer care deeply about obligatory salah, while also showing the value of voluntary prayer. The same pattern is then mentioned for other actions, so prayer becomes the first sign of how one’s worship is considered.
What we learn from this hadith
- Prayer is the first deed mentioned for accountability.
- A complete prayer is recorded as complete.
- Optional prayers may help cover defects in obligatory prayer.
- Other deeds will be considered in a similar way.
