13/66. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 1312 — Brief Prayer Done Properly
Not praying properly
Brief Prayer Can Be Proper When Bowing and Prostration Are Complete
Sunan an-Nasai : 1312
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 1312
أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ آدَمَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مَالِكٌ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ مِغْوَلٍ - عَنْ طَلْحَةَ بْنِ مُصَرِّفٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ وَهْبٍ، عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ، أَنَّهُ رَأَى رَجُلاً يُصَلِّي فَطَفَّفَ فَقَالَ لَهُ حُذَيْفَةُ مُنْذُ كَمْ تُصَلِّي هَذِهِ الصَّلاَةَ قَالَ مُنْذُ أَرْبَعِينَ عَامًا . قَالَ مَا صَلَّيْتُ مُنْذُ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً وَلَوْ مِتَّ وَأَنْتَ تُصَلِّي هَذِهِ الصَّلاَةَ لَمِتَّ عَلَى غَيْرِ فِطْرَةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم ثُمَّ قَالَ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيُخَفِّفُ وَيُتِمُّ وَيُحْسِنُ .
Hudhaifa Narrated from:
He saw a man praying (And his bowing and prostration) were lacking. Hudhaifah said to him: 'For how long have you been praying like this?' He said: "For forty years.' He said: 'You have not been praying for forty years and if you die praying like this, you will have died following a path other than the path of Muhammad (ﷺ). Then he said: 'It is possible for a man to pray briefly, but still do it properly."
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 1312In-book reference : Book 13, Hadith 134English translation : Vol. 2, Book 13, Hadith 1313
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 1312
This Hadith teaches care in the physical acts of prayer. Hudhaifah saw a man praying while his bowing and prostration were lacking. He asked how long the man had been praying like that, and the man said forty years. Hudhaifah's warning was strong because the man's prayer form was missing what it needed. Then Hudhaifah added an important balance: it is possible for a man to pray briefly and still do it properly. The main lesson is not that every prayer must be long. Rather, the prayer must be performed with proper bowing, prostration, and care. A short prayer can still be sound when its parts are completed well.
What we learn from this hadith
- Bowing and prostration should not be treated carelessly in prayer.
- A prayer may be brief while still being performed properly.
- Hudhaifah corrected the man because the form of his prayer was lacking.
