Hadeeth # 1

1-           He said, "Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi related to me from Malik ibn Anas from Ibn Shihab that one day Umar ibn Abdil-Aziz delayed the prayer. Urwa ibn az-Zubayr came and told him that al-Mughira ibn Shu’ba had delayed the prayer one day while he was in Kufa and Abu Masud al- Ansari had come to him and said, 'What's this, Mughira? Don't you know that the angel Jibril came down and prayed and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed.' Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Then Jibril said, 'This is what you have been ordered to do.' Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz said, 'Be sure of what you relate, Urwa. Was it definitely Jibril who established the time of the prayer for the Messenger of Allah?' "Urwa said, "That's how it was related to Bashir ibn Abi Masud al-Ansari by his father."	1-            قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي يَحْيَى بَنُ يَحْيَى اللَّيْثِيِّ، عَنِ مالِكٍ بَنُ أَنَسِ، عَنْ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ أَخَّرَ الصَّلَاةَ يَوْمًا، فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ عُرْوَةُ بْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ، فَأَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ الْمُغِيرَةَ بْنَ شُعْبَةَ أَخَّرَ الصَّلَاةَ يَوْمًا - وَهُوَ بِالْكُوفَةِ - فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ أَبُو مَسْعُودٍ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ فَقَالَ: مَا هَذَا يَا مُغِيرَةُ؟ أَلَيْسَ قَدْ عَلِمْتَ «أَنَّ جِبْرِيلَ نَزَلَ فَصَلَّى، فَصَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ،  ثُمَّ صَلَّى، فَصَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ثُمَّ صَلَّى، فَصَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ثُمَّ صَلَّى، فَصَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ثُمَّ صَلَّى، فَصَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ» ثُمَّ قَالَ: بِهَذَا أُمِرْتُ. فَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ: اعْلَمْ مَا تُحَدِّثُ بِهِ يَا عُرْوَةُ، أَوَ إِنَّ جِبْرِيلَ هُوَ الَّذِي أَقَامَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقْتَ الصَّلَاةِ؟ قَالَ عُرْوَةُ: كَذَلِكَ كَانَ بَشِيرُ بْنُ أَبِي مَسْعُودٍ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ، يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ أَبِيهِ.
Tahqeeq: Agreed Upon – ·        Narrated Abu Mus’ab az-Zuhri (1) in his narration of Muwatta Maalik, ·        Ahmad bin Hanbal (22353) from Abdur Rahmaan bin Mahdi, ·        Muslim (610) from Yahya bin Yahya at-Tameemi (he is not the same as Yahya bin Yahya al-Laythi, the narrator of this narration of al-Muwatta), ·        Ad-Daarimi (1223) from Ubaydullah bin Abdul Majeed al-Hanafi, ·        Ibn Hibbaan (1450) from Abu Khaleefah; and Al-Bayhaqi (1699) from Al-Haakim from Abu al-Abbaas al-Asam from As-Sari bin Khuzaymah, both (Abu Khaleefah and As-Sari bin Khuzaymah) narrated from Abdullah bin Maslamah al-Qa’nabi, ·        Abu ‘Awaanah in his Mustakhraj (997) from Yoonus bin Abdul A’la from Ibn Wahb, ·        At-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer (17/257 H. 713) from Bakr bin Sahl ad-Dimyaati from Abdullah bin Yoosuf at-Tinneesi, ·        And he also narrated from Ali bin al-Mubaarak as-Sana’aani from Ismaa’eel bin Abi Uways, All of them (i.e. Abu Mus’ab az-Zuhri, Abdur Rahmaan bin Mahdi, Yahya bin Yahya at-Tameemi, Ubaydullah al-Hanafi, Abdullah al-Qa’nabi, Ibn Wahb, Abdullah bin Yoosuf, and Ismaa’eel bin Abi Uways) narrated it from Imaam Maalik with this chain. And several students of Az-Zuhri have supported Imaam Maalik in narrating it from him.
Commentary: ((From Ibn Shihaab)) He is Muhammad bin Muslim bin Ubaydullah bin Abdullah bin Shihaab bin Abdullah bin al-Haarith bin Zuhrah bin Kilaab al-Qurashi az-Zuhri, Abu Bakr. He is one of the most notable and greatest Scholars of his time. He was a great Faqeeh, Muhaddith and Haafidh. There is a unanimous agreement on his mighty rank and precision. He met about 10 Sahaabah of the Prophet (ﷺ) and he died at 125 AH. Imaam Maalik was one of his special students. Maalik inherited much of his knowledge from him and became the heir of his throne of knowledge in Madeenah. There are about 133 marfoo’ narrations of him in the Muwatta. ((Umar ibn Abdil Azeez)) ibn Marwaan bin al-Hakam bin Abi al-‘Aasi bin Umayyah bin Abd Shams bin Abd Manaaf al-Umawi, Ameer ul-Mu’mineen, also known as Umar II. His mother Umm Aasim was the granddaughter of Umar ibn al-Khattaab (radiallah anhu) through his son, Aasim bin Umar. Umar was the governor of Madeenah during the reign of Al-Waleed, and he was like a Wazeer to Sulemaan after the reign of Waleed. Umar was given the Caliphate after him and he was called one of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (Khulafa ar-Raashideen). He died in Rajab, 101 AH at the age of 40. The period of his caliphate was about two and a half years. ((delayed the prayer one day)) This was the ‘Asr prayer as was mentioned in the narration of Bukhaari through the narration of Al-Layth bin Sa’d from Az-Zuhri. Ibn Abdil Barr added, “during his governance of al-Madeenah”. And in another route of Abu Dawood it says, Umar was sitting on the Minbar. So from this we know the reason of his delay, which is that he was busy with something from the affairs of Muslims. Ibn Abdil Barr said: The apparent meaning of this narration is that he did this only once, not that this was his habit. And it means that he delayed it until the recommended time was over, not that he delayed it until the sun had set. Ibn Hajar said: This is supported by the narration of Al-Layth from Az-Zuhri in Saheeh Al-Bukhaari in the book “Beginning of Creation”, and the wording there is: “He delayed the ‘Asr prayer a little”. And this also clarifies the relevance of Urwah mentioning the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah after the hadeeth of Abu Mas’ood. ((‘Urwah bin az-Zubayr came to him)) He is Urwah bin az-Zubayr bin al-‘Awwaam bin Khuwaylid al-Asdi, Abu Abdullah al-Madani, a senior Taabi’ee, very reliable, a famous Faqeeh, and one of the seven major Fuqaha of Madeenah. He died in 94 AH and he was born in the early period of the Caliphate of ‘Uthmaan. ((And told him that Al-Mugheerah bin Shu’bah)) bin Mas’ood bin Mu’tib ath-Thaqafi, (radiallah anhu), the famous Sahaabi. He embraced Islaam before Hudaybiyah. He was appointed the governor of Basrah and later the governor of Koofah. He died in 50 AH. ((had delayed the prayer one day)) The prayer that Al-Mugheerah delayed was also the ‘Asr prayer. ‘Abdur Razzaaq narrates this narration from Ma’mar from Ibn Shihaab with the wording: “Al-Mugheerah bin Shu’bah delayed the ‘Asr prayer once”, ((while he was in Koofah)) That was when he was the governor of Koofah, as appointed by Mu’aawiyah bin Abi Sufyaan (radiallah anhu). ((And Abu Mas’ood al-Ansaari had come to him)) He is ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amr bin Tha’labah al-Ansaari (radiallah anhu) – one of the noble Companions who participated in Badr. He died before 40 AH and some say that he died after that. ((And said: What is this O Mugheerah?)) i.e. why did you delay the prayer? ((Don’t you know?)) Qaadhi ‘Iyaadh said: The apparent meaning of this is that Al-Mugheerah was aware of the hadeeth he was about to relate. And it is possible that it is just an assumption from Abu Mas’ood due to the companionship of al-Mugheerah. Ibn Hajar said: The first opinion is the one supported by the narration of Shu’ayb in al-Bukhaari in Kitaab al-Maghaazi under the chapter of Ghazwa Badr wherein the wording is: “Indeed you are aware (O Mugheerah)” without the interrogative expression. And this is how it is also narrated by Abdur Razzaaq from Ma’mar and Ibn Jurayj. ((that the angel Jibreel)) He is the chief of all angels who was entrusted with delivering the sharee’ah and ahkaam of Allaah. ((came down)) Imaam Ibn Abdil Barr said: There is no difference of opinion in the fact that Jibreel came down the morning after the Prophet’s Journey to the Heavens (Al-Isra wal-Mi’raaj), and that is when the Prophet (ﷺ) was taught the timings and the method of prayer. Abdur Razzaaq narrates from Ibn Jurayj who said that Naafi’ bin Jubayr and others narrated: “The day after the Prophet (ﷺ) returned from his journey, he was greeted by none other than Jibreel who came down when the sun had passed its zenith, and that is why the (Zuhr) prayer is called the first one. So he announced to his companions to come for the congregational prayer. So they all gathered together. Jibreel prayed with the Prophet and the Prophet prayed with the people, elongating the first two rak’ahs and shortening the other two. Then Jibreel said Salaam to the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Prophet (ﷺ) said Salaam to the people. Then he descended again at the time of Asr and performed the prayer and the people performed the prayer with him, like they did in the first one. Then he descended again in the first part of the night, so the Prophet announced for the congregational prayer. Jibreel prayed with the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed with the people, elongating the first two rak’ahs and shortening the third one. Then Jibreel said Salaam to the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Prophet (ﷺ) said salaam to the people. Then when a third of the night had passed, he summoned the people for congregational prayer. The people gathered, and Jibreel prayed with the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed with the people. He recited and elongated the first two rak’ahs, and shortened the last two. Then Jibreel said salaam to the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Prophet (ﷺ) to the people. Then when the dawn broke, he summoned the people for congregational prayer again; Jibreel prayed with the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed with the people. He recited in two rak’ahs and raised his voice and elongated the qiyaam. Then Jibreel said salaam to the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Prophet (ﷺ) said salaam to the people.” [Musannaf Abdur Razzaaq (1773)] Hafidh Ibn Hajar said: In this is the refutation of those who say that the timings of prayers were specified only after the migration to Madeenah. The truth is that it was specified before that with the demonstration of Jibreel and after that with the statement of the Prophet (ﷺ). (([Jibreel] prayed and the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) prayed [صلي فصلي] )) In the narration of Ash-Shaafi’ee, the wording is: “Jibreel prayed Zuhr and the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) prayed with him, then he prayed Asr and the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) prayed with him, then he prayed Maghrib and the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) prayed with him, then he prayed ‘Isha and the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) prayed with him, then he prayed Fajr and the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) prayed with him”. This is how he mentioned all five prayers. Qaadi ‘Iyaadh said: If the wording is to be followed in a literal sense then it is deduced that the prayer of the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) was only after Jibreel completed his prayer. However, the understood meaning of this hadeeth and what is clearly stated in other ahadeeth is that Jibreel led the Prophet (ﷺ) as an Imaam. Hence the wording in this hadeeth, “He prayed and the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) prayed [صلي فصلي رسول الله ﷺ]” would be taken to mean that for every act that Jibreel performed of the prayer, the Prophet (ﷺ) did the same behind him, until they both completed their prayer. End Quote. This is clearly mentioned in the narration of Al-Layth in Bukhaari and Muslim: “Jibreel came down and led me in prayer so I prayed with him.” And in the hadeeth of Ibn Abbaas, he (ﷺ) said: “Jibreel led (ammani) me in prayer near the House (the Ka’bah)” as narrated by Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi and others. Also note that the people were gathered for prayer with the announcement of “Salaat ul-Jaami’ah (Congregational Prayer)” as there was no Adhaan legislated yet. ((Then Jibreel said: this is what you have been ordered to do)) i.e. you are commanded to pray these five prayers every day and night. Imaam Ibn al-‘Arabi said: Jibreel was sent down with the command of Allaah to teach the prayers to the Prophet (ﷺ) and not with the obligation of actual prayers. Some Scholars have taken evidence from this to say that it is permissible for one to lead the prayer who himself is being led by another person. Ibn Hajar has answered this by saying that the Prophet (ﷺ) was only appointed as a Muballigh (Conveyer) just as it is said about the prayer of Abu Bakr behind the Prophet (ﷺ) and the prayer of the people behind Abu Bakr. He would convey the takbeer of the Prophet (ﷺ) to the people who could not hear him from afar. This explanation also seems to be in agreement with the narration of Naafi’ bin Jubayr mentioned above. Some Scholars also took evidence from this to deduce that the prayer of the one praying fard is permissible behind the person praying nafl. That is because the Angels are not obliged to do the things that humans are, this is stated by Ibn al-‘Arabi and others. Qaadhi ‘Iyaadh refuted this by saying: We do not believe that Jibreel was offering a voluntary prayer, rather those prayers at that particular time were obligatory on him because he was obliged by Allaah to convey the method of Salaah to the people. Therefore, it was a person praying fard behind another person praying fard. Even if this particular hadeeth does not prove the permissibility of Salaat ul-Muftarid Khalf al-Mutanaffil (Prayer of a person praying fard behind a person praying nafl), there are several other narrations that do. This narration does, however, prove that two people with different intentions can pray in the same jamaa’ah. That is because even if the prayers were obligatory for Jibreel, his intention was only to pray in order to teach the people not that he was obliged to pray the actual prayers. ((Umar ibn Abd al-Azeez said, 'Be sure of what you relate, Urwah’)) And in the narration of Shaafi’ee from Sufyaan from Az-Zuhri, he said: “Fear Allaah O Urwah, and look what you are saying.” Ar-Raafi’ee said in Sharh al-Musnad: Something like this is not said as an accusation, rather the purpose of this is to remind the narrator to be careful and sure of what he is saying, so that he is not forgetful or mistaken. ((‘Was it definitely Jibreel who established the time of the prayer for the Messenger of Allah?’)) Al-Mustamli narrates in al-Bukhaari as Wuqut (timings) in plural form. ((Urwa said, That's how it was related to Basheer ibn Abi Mas’ood al-Ansaari)) al-Madani, one of the noble Taabi’een. He is mentioned among the list of Sahaabah by some because he was born during the era of the Prophet (ﷺ) and had seen the Prophet (ﷺ). Al-Ijlee said: “He is a Thiqah Taabi’ee.” ((by his father)) Abu Mas’ood ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amr al-Badri. Ibn Abdil Barr said: This context indicates a disconnection in the chain according to a group of Scholars, because Ibn Shihaab did not say that he himself witnessed the interaction between Urwah and Umar, nor did Urwah say that he took this hadeeth directly from Basheer. However, he goes on to say that the consideration here is to the proof of the meeting and gathering of them together, and not to the expressions used. Ibn Abdil Barr said; “(This ambiguous wording) is like the expression of ‘An (عن) and it is known that a mu’an’an chain is considered to be uninterrupted by default until an interruption is proven.” Al-Kirmaani said: This hadeeth does not have an uninterrupted chain because Abu Mas’ood (the Sahaabi) did not say that I witnessed the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ), nor did he say that the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) said. Haafidh Ibn Hajar refuted him by saying that this is not to be termed munqati’ (disconnected) technically, because it is only the Mursal of a Sahaabi. He definitely did not witness the incident, but it is possible that he heard it from the Prophet (ﷺ) or it was narrated to him by someone who did witness the incident, or he heard it from some other Sahaabi. In fact, the narration of Al-Layth bin Sa’d in Bukhaari and Muslim, eliminates any such doubts completely. The wording of that hadeeth is: “’Urwah said: I heard Basheer bin Abi Mas’ood saying, I heard my father saying, I heard the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) saying, Jibreel came down…” then he mentioned the full hadeeth. Abdur Razzaaq adds from Ma’mar from Zuhri: “From that point on, Umar always remained careful of knowing the timing of prayer through its sign until he left the world.” And in the narration of Ibn Ishaaq from Zuhri: “Umar never delayed the prayer until he died”. Ibn Abdil Barr said: If it is said that ignorance from the timings of prayer is not something that is possible from anyone, so how come it happened from Umar? It is answered by saying that his ignorance from the context of how the timings of prayer became legislated is not something that necessitates his ignorance from the actual timing of prayers. It could be something that he practiced as a general practice and took from the Scholars of his time, but did not know the reality of how it got revealed from Jibreel to the Prophet (ﷺ) or how the Prophet (ﷺ) legislated it to his Ummah as he legislated other things and made them obligatory in prayer and zakaah. End Quote. And in Fath al-Baari, Ibn Hajar said: It is not necessary from the fact that Umar was not aware of the Imaamah of Jibreel, that he was not also aware of the details of the timings of prayers from the successive practice (of the general masses). He was only not aware of the fact that it basically was initiated by the demonstration of Jibreel himself, so he inquired about it to confirm. And it is possible that according to him, there was no preference between the parts of the single timeframe within which a prayer can be performed. And the same can be said about the act of al-Mugheerah and other Sahaabah. And I have not come across any narration which gives any detail of what the reply of al-Mugheerah was for Abu Mas’ood (radiallah anhum). According to what’s apparent is that al-Mugheerah recanted from it. Similarly in the context of Ibn Shihaab, there is no affirmation of his hearing this hadeeth directly from Urwah. However, in the narration of Abdur Razzaaq from Ma’mar from Ibn Shihaab, he said: “We were with Umar bin Abdul Azeez.” And in the narration of Shu’ayb from az-Zuhri, he said: “I heard Urwah narrating to Umar bin Abdul Azeez.” Al-Qurtubi said: “There is no clear Hujjah (establishment of proof) in what Urwah mentioned to Umar, as he did not specify to him the timings.” Haafidh Ibn Hajar answered this by saying: The narration of Maalik is just an abridged version of the actual narration which has been mentioned with detail via routes other than him. Therefore, Ad-Daaraqutni, At-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, and Ibn Abdil Barr in al-Tamheed narrated from the route of Ayyoob bin ‘Utbah – and the majority have declared him weak – from Abu Bakr bin Hazm that Urwah bin az-Zubayr narrated to Umar bin Abdul Azeez and he was, at the time, the governor of Madeenah during the period of al-Hajjaaj and Al-Waleed bin Abdul Malik, and that was a time when they used to delay the prayers. So Urwah informed Umar saying: “Abu Mas’ood al-Ansaari and Basheer bin Abi Mas’ood both narrated to me and they both have accompanied the Prophet (ﷺ): Indeed Jibreel came to the Prophet (ﷺ) when the sun had passed its zenith and said: ‘O Muhammad, pray Zuhr’, so he prayed. Then he came to him when the shadow of everything was equal to its size and said: ‘O Muhammad, pray Asr’, so he prayed. Then he came to him when the sun has set and said: ‘O Muhammad, pray Maghrib’, so he prayed. Then he came to him when the twilight had vanished and said: ‘O Muhammad, pray Isha’, so he prayed. Then he came to him when the dawn broke and said: ‘O Muhammad, pray the morning prayer’, so he prayed. Then he came to him the next day when the shadow of everything was equal to its size and said: ‘Pray Zuhr’, so he prayed. Then he came to him when the shadow of everything was twice its size and said: ‘Pray Asr’, so he prayed. They he came to him when the sun had set and said: ‘Pray Maghrib’, so he prayed. Then he came to him when a part of the night had passed and said: ‘Pray Isha’, so he prayed. Then he came to him when the day became bright and said: ‘Pray Fajr’, so he prayed. Then he said: ‘(Prayers) are within these two timings’ i.e. in each night and day.” Umar said to Urwah: “Was it Jibreel who brought it to him?” He said: “Yes.” Abu Dawood and others narrated, and Ibn Khuzaymah and other authenticated, through the route of Ibn Wahb. And At-Tabaraani narrated through the route of Yazeed bin Abi Habeeb, they both narrated from Usaamah bin Zayd al-Laythi that Ibn Shihaab informed them that Umar bin Abdul Azeez was once sitting on the minbar due to which he delayed the Asr prayer a little, so Urwa said to him: “Verily, Jibreel has informed Muhammad (ﷺ) about the timings of prayer” Urwah said to him: “Be aware of what you are saying.” Urwah said: “I heard Basheer bin Abi Mas’ood saying, I heard Abu Mas’ood al-Ansaari saying: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) saying: ‘Jibreel came down and informed of the timing of prayer so I prayed with him, then I prayed with him again, then I prayed with him again, then I prayed with him again, then I prayed with him again’, counting with his fingers the five prayers. Then I saw the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) praying Zuhr when sun started to decline, and sometimes he would delay it if there was extensive heat. And I saw him praying Asr when the sun was high and bright before it got pale, (so much so that) a man would finish his prayer and reach Dhul Haleefah and the sun would still not have set. And he would pray Maghrib when the sun had set. And he would pray Isha when the sky had turned black, sometimes he would delay it until the people gathered. And he prayed the morning prayer once when it was still dark and once when the day had become bright. However, his morning prayer after that had always been in the darkness until he died. He never returned to praying it in the day light.” Haafidh Ibn Hajar said: In this narration is the explanation of the timings from Abu Mas’ood, and so this removes the doubt and clarifies the hujjah of Urwah. Abu Dawood mentioned that Usaamah is alone in mentioning the details about timing in this particular hadeeth, and that the companions of az-Zuhri did not mention it with the details. Ibn Hajar goes on to say: I have found something that would strengthen the narration of Usaamah and that is what was narrated by al-Baaghandi and al-Bayhaqi from Abu Bakr bin Hazm that it reached him from Abu Mas’ood, and then he mentioned the narration with disconnection. However, At-Tabaraani has narrated it from another route from Abu Bakr from Urwah, wherein he sourced it back to Urwah and clarified that it does have a basis and that the narration of Maalik and those who agreed with him is an abridged version. And this is what Ibn Abdil Barr has also affirmed. There is nothing in his narration and the narration of those who agreed with him what would negate the above addition. Therefore, this context should not be declared shaaz (odd). End Quote. So we know that this narration is abridged in two ways: First: He did not specify the timings of prayers. Second: He only mentioned Jibreel praying the five prayers with the Prophet (ﷺ) only once. Whereas, it is known from the narration of Ayyoob that he prayed with him the five prayers twice in two days. This is mentioned in the narration of Az-Zuhri himself in another route. Ibn Abi Dhi’b narrates in his Muwatta from Ibn Shihaab that he heard ‘Urwah bin az-Zubayr narrating to Umar bin Abdul Azeez from Abu Mas’ood al-Ansaari that al-Mugheerah bin Shu’bah delayed the prayer once, so Abu Mas’ood came to him and said: “Don’t you know that Jibreel came down to Muhammad (ﷺ) and prayed (1), and prayed (2), and prayed (3), and prayed (4), and prayed (5), and again he prayed (1), and prayed (2), and prayed (3), and prayed (4), and prayed (5)” Then he said: “This is what you have been ordered to do.” And his praying with him the five prayers twice is also proven from the narration of Ibn Abbaas in Sunan Abu Dawood & Sunan Tirmidhi, as well as the narration of Jaabir bin Abdullah in Sunan Tirmidhi, Sunan Nasaa’ee, Sunan Ad-Daaraqutni, and al-Tamheed of Ibn Abdil Barr, and the narration of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri in Musnad Ahmad, Al-Kabeer of at-Tabaraani, and al-Tamheed of Ibn Abdil Barr, and the narration of Abu Hurayrah in Musnad al-Bazzaar, and the narration of Ibn Umar in Sunan Daaraqutni. And this also refutes the claim of Ibn Battaal who weakened the hadeeth of Jibreel leading the Prophet (ﷺ) for two days in two different timings for each prayer, based on the argument that if it was authentic then Urwah would not have objected on Umar delaying his prayer taking evidence from the prayer of Jibreel because Jibreel prayed at a delayed time on the second day, after which he said: “The time (of prayers) is between these two timings.” Al-Haafidh Ibn Hajar replied to this by saying: It is possible that the prayer of Umar was delayed beyond the preferred time (al-Waqt al-Ikhtiyaar) and that is after the shadow of everything equals twice its size, and it was not delayed beyond the permissible time, which is the setting of the sun. So that is what the objection of Urwah was aimed at, and this does not necessitate the weakness of the hadeeth. Alternatively, it is possible that Urwah objected on opposing the adhered practice of the Prophet (ﷺ) which he encouraged others to do as well, which is to pray at the beginning of the time. Sa’eed bin Mansoor has narrated from Talq bin Habeeb as Mursal that: “Even if someone manages to pray before the time of the prayer has passed, the time that has passed him by is better for him than his family and wealth.” And he also narrated it as a saying of Ibn Umar. And this argument is accorded by Urwah taking evidence from the hadeeth of Aa’ishah: “That the Prophet (ﷺ) used to pray ‘Asr when the sun light was still pouring into her room.” And this is the timing of the prayer based on which Urwah had objected. And from that, the reason of his mentioning the hadeeth of Aa’ishah after the hadeeth of Abu Mas’ood becomes clear. That is because the hadeeth of Aa’ishah indicates the regular practice of the Prophet of praying the ‘Asr prayer in its earliest time, while the hadeeth of Abu Mas’ood indicates that the actual legislation of timings was established by the teaching of Jibreel. Benefits: This hadeeth contains the following benefits: 1-   Ulama coming to the rulers and correcting them for what they oppose of the Sunnah. 2-   A Scholar’s confirming and ascertaining the information he finds strange, and his returning the disagreement back to the Sunnah. 3-   Virtues of Umar bin Abdul Azeez 4-   Performing the prayer at its earliest & virtuous time. 5-   Acceptance of a reliable Khabr Waahid (Lone narration) 6-   Ibn Battaal and others took evidence from this to prove the hujjah of a muttasil (uninterrupted) chain instead of a munqati (interrupted) chain, because Urwah, when he narrated the hadeeth with a disconnection, answered the inquiry of Umar, by mentioning to him the source of his narration; after which Umar accepted it. So it’s as if Umar told him to reconsider what he said because it might have been narrated to him by an unreliable person, and Urwah informed him: Rather I heard it directly from the one who heard the Companion of Allaah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and the companion heard it from the Prophet (ﷺ). On the contrary, Qaadhi ‘Iyaadh has taken evidence from this to prove the permissibility of taking evidence from a Mursal narration of a Thiqah narrator because of what Urwah did when he established proof over Umar (i.e. he narrated mursal narration to prove his point). And Iyaadh said that Umar only inquired him in order to confirm not that he was not in favor of Mursal narration. Ibn Hajar said: The apparent context of this hadeeth seems to be in favor of what Ibn Battaal said. End Quote from Fath al-Baari. More on the specific timings of each prayer will be discussed later in the chapter.