‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah as-Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: In Jāhiliyyah (the pre-Islamic period of ignorance), I used to think that people were misguided and that they were not on the right path, as they worshipped idols. Then, I heard of a man in Makkah who was telling new things. So, I mounted my camel and went to him. I found that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was hiding, for his people were aggressive toward him. So, I acted gently until I entered his place. I said to him: "Who are you?" He said: "I am a Prophet." I said: "What is a Prophet?" He said: "Allah sent me.'' I said: "What did He send you with?" He said: "He sent me with [a message] of maintaining kinship ties, breaking the idols, and upholding the oneness of Allah without associating anything with him." I said: "Who is with you on that?" He said: "A free man and a slave man.'' He said: At that time only Abu Bakr and Bilāl were with him. I said: "I shall follow you.'' He said: "You cannot do that today. Do you not see my situation and that of the people? However, return to your people, and when you hear that I have succeeded in my mission, come to me.'' So, I went to my people. Later, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) went to Madīnah. It was until some of my people went to Madīnah that I said: "What happened to this man who came to Madīnah?" They said: "People are hastening to him. His own people wanted to kill him, but they could not." So, I went to Madīnah and entered his place and said: "O Messenger of Allah, do you recognize me?" He said: "Yes, you are the one who met me in Makkah." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, tell me of what Allah has taught you, which I am ignorant of. Tell me about prayer." He said: "Perform the morning prayer. Then, do not pray until the sun has risen up to the height of a lance, for when it rises, it rises between two horns of a devil. It is when the disbelievers prostrate themselves to it. Then, pray, for the prayer is witnessed and attended, until the shadow of the lance shrinks. Then, do not pray, for at that time Hell is fired up. Then, pray when the shadow becomes longer, for the prayer is witnessed and attended, until you perform ‘Asr. Then, do not pray until the sun sets, for it sets between two horns of a devil. It is when the disbelievers prostrate themselves to it." I further said: "O Prophet, tell me about ablution.'' He said: "When any of you approaches his ablution water and rinses his mouth and nose, the sins of his face, his mouth, and nose will ‘fall’. Then, when he washes his face as Allah commanded him, the sins of his face fall with water from the edges of his beard. Then, when he washes his hands up to the elbows, the sins of his hands fall with water from his fingertips. Then, when he wipes over his head, the sins of his head fall with water from the ends of his hair. Then, when he washes his feet up to the ankles, the sins of his feet fall with water from his toes. Then, when he stands up for prayer, praises Allah Almighty, extols Him, glorifies Him as He deserves, and empties his heart for Allah, he becomes free from his sins as he was on the day his mother gave birth to him.'' ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah narrated this Hadīth to Abu ’Umāmah, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). Thereupon, Abu Umāmah said to him: "O ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah, think about what you are saying. Will a man be getting all of this on one occasion?" ‘Amr said: "O Abu ’Umāmah, I am old in age, weak in bones, and close to death. I do not need to tell lies about Allah or the Messenger of Allah. Had I not heard this from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) only once, twice, thrice - and he counted up to seven times - I would not have narrated it. However, I heard it more than that.".
Commentary :
Islam emerged in a world filled with oppression, Shirk (polytheism), and ignorance. The brightness of its teachings was strange to those who lived in complete darkness. Its earlier followers suffered severe tribulations, as they were very few and their enemies regarded them as weak and humiliated, and they would subject them to subjugation and harm, for they did not possess the means of protection either by being large in number or by strength. This was before Allah Almighty endowed them with Hijrah (emigration) to Madīnah, where He provided them with refuge, empowered them, helped them, and made them victorious over their enemies. In this Hadīth, the Companion ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah as-Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him)—who was the half-brother of Abu Dharr from the mother's side; their mother was Ramlah, from Banu al-Waqī‘ah ibn Harām ibn Ghifār, and he was from Banu Sulaym—says that in Jāhiliyyah, people were polytheists. It was called as such due to the prevalence of their ignorance. He used to think that people were misguided and did not follow anything of the truth or the religion that would benefit them with Allah Almighty. "as they worshipped idols." An idol is anything worshiped apart from Allah, be it made of stone, wood, or trees, and whether it takes the form of a human being or not. Later, he heard about the emergence of a man - meaning the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) - in Makkah who was telling new things concerning Allah Almighty, i.e., the new things related to the prophethood, the message, and the revelation of Allah to him, and the command He sent to him about Tawhīd (monotheism) and the falsity of associating partners with Allah Almighty. So, he mounted his riding animal and traveled to Makkah to learn about the affair of this Prophet. He found the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) hiding from the disbelievers because they were aggressive to him. So, he searched for him in Makkah in a gentle and kind manner so that the Quraysh disbelievers would not repel him, until he found the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): "What are you?" i.e., what about your condition and your affair? He did not say, "Who are you?" because he did not want to ask about himself but about his traits. In response, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "I am a Prophet," one of the prophets of Allah, as Allah sent revelation to me. He asked him about the reality that distinguishes a prophet from others, and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) replied to him that Allah sent him to all humankind. He further asked him: "What did He send you with?" In reply, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told him that He sent him with a message of upholding the ties of kinship, who are a person's relatives and all those who are related to him by blood, whether he is an inheritor of them or not. The tie becomes more affirmed if they have a closer blood relationship. The Prophet's response here was appropriate for the questioner or considering the time and condition. The upholding of kinship ties is probably singled out in consideration of the condition of the Arabs, or because other obligations had not yet been prescribed. And he informed him that Allah Almighty sent him with a message of breaking and destroying the idols, prohibiting the devotion of worship to them, and that oneness must be attributed to Allah alone and worship be devoted to Him alone, not associating any of the creation as partners with Him. ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): "Who is with you on that" Tawhīd and religion? The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A free man and a slave man." ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) at the time had with him Abu Bakr as-Siddīq (may Allah be pleased with him), by whom he meant the free man, and Bilāl ibn Rabāh (may Allah be pleased with him), by whom he meant the slave man, among those who believed in him (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), believed his message, and followed his religion. ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah as-Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): "I shall follow you" and this religion, referring to his conversion to Islam. Hence, I shall accompany you and be with you in this position you are in. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "You cannot do that on this day of yours," i.e., at the present time. This is due to the weakness of the Muslims. It is feared that you will be harmed by the Qurayshi disbelievers. He did not reject his conversion to Islam, but rejected the idea that he would remain with him, citing as the reason for that the few supporters of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and the strength of the disbelievers and the severe animosity they displayed. So, he ordered him to go back to his people, remain among them, and continue to be Muslim, and when he hears about the dominance of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and his victory over the polytheists and the spread of his call across the land, he should come to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). This is an example of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) talking about future and unseen things, and it falls under the signs of his prophethood (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah (may Allah be pleased with him) returned to his people Banu Sulaym. Then, after a while, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) emigrated to Madīnah after staying in Makkah as a prophet for thirteen years, calling people to Tawhīd and the abandonment of Shirk. Meanwhile, ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) was living among his people. So, he began to look out for news about the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) while he was in Madīnah, asking travelers who would pass him by. This continued until there came a group, between three and nine persons, from the people of Yathrib, which was the old name for Madīnah, before the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) changed it to Taybah and Tābah. He asked them: "What happened to this man who came to Madīnah?" He posed the question in this way so as to conceal his condition from whom he asked, lest they might be enemies of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), and so they would not tell him the truth, if they knew he was following his religion. This reflects the good understanding, wisdom, and intelligence of ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah (may Allah be pleased with him). They answered him: People are hastening to him to follow his religion and enter Islam. "His people wanted to," i.e., the Quraysh disbelievers wanted to "kill him" by various methods of cunning and deception, "but they could not." Rather, Allah turned their plots back on their necks and protected His Prophet from that. It was said: This is intended to refer to what the Quraysh tribe plotted against the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) after his Hijrah, including the battles of Badr, ’Uhud, and Al-Ahzāb, and others. But they could not eliminate him, as Allah Almighty granted him victory over them. Also, the intended meaning is probably what Allah Almighty mentions in the verse that reads: {And [remember] when the disbelievers plotted against you to take you as captive, kill you, or expel you. They plan, and Allah also plans, but Allah is the Best of those who plan.} [Surat al-Anfāl: 30] This is when they plotted against him in these ways. So, Allah permitted him to immigrate, and after he went to Madīnah, Allah Almighty revealed to him "Surat al-Anfāl" wherein He mentions His favors upon him and the affliction he had suffered.
Then, ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he came to Madīnah - after the battles of Badr, ’Uhud, the Trench, and Khaybar - and entered the Prophet's place and said: "O Messenger of Allah, do you recognize me?" He replied: Yes, you are the one who met me in Makkah. So, ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) asked to tell him about what Allah taught the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) of which ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) was ignorant. He also asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to tell him about the prayer and its time. In response, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) instructed him to offer the morning prayer - and its time begins with the appearance of the true dawn - and then desist from prayer until the sun appears and rises to the height with which prayer is no longer disliked; that's 15 minutes after sunrise, according to modern estimation. This demonstrates the times in which prayer was prohibited, and he explained to him the reason behind this prohibition, saying that the sun rises between two horns of a devil, and at that time the disbelievers who worship the sun prostrate themselves to it. The meaning: The devil adorned to some people the worship of the sun at this time, and he used to take sunrise between the two horns in his head and approach it, and so it would rise between his two horns. And the same happens at the time of sunset. It is as if those who prostrate to the sun do prostrate to him. So, this is meant to keep away from imitation of the disbelievers at their time of prayer. This prohibition pertains to supererogatory prayers whose performance is not associated with a specific reason. A Muslim should not offer them at these two times. As for the missed obligatory prayers, they may be performed at all times of prohibition.
Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed him that after that time he could offer as many supererogatory prayers as he wished, as related in the version by Abu Dāwūd, "for the prayer is witnessed and attended," i.e., the angels attend it to write down its reward and bear witness for those who perform it. So, it is closer to acceptance and the attainment of mercy. So, he prays "until the shadow of the lance shrinks," i.e., the shadow rises with the lance or in the lance, and nothing of it remains on the ground. This refers to the Arab martial lance, which is nine mediocre spans long. The lance was particularly mentioned because when the Arabs wanted to know the time, they would erect their lances on the ground and then look at their shadows.
When things no longer have a shadow, one should refrain from offering supererogatory prayers that are not associated with a specific reason, for this time is one in which "Hell is fired up," i.e., it is intensely kindled. "when the shadow becomes longer" towards the east, "then pray" any prayer you want to offer. "for the prayer is witnessed and attended." Continue to pray as much as you wish "until you perform ‘Asr." Then, stop offering supererogatory prayers after ‘Asr, until the sun sets, for it sets between two horns of a devil, and this is a time at which the disbelievers prostrate themselves to it, as previously mentioned.
Then, ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about ablution and how to perform it. So, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When any of you approaches his ablution water," i.e., brings water to perform ablution therewith. "and rinses his mouth" by moving water inside the mouth and then discharging it out. "and nose" by inserting water into the nose and then blowing it out to remove any filth inside. the sins of his face, his mouth, and nose "fall." "Then, when he washes his face as Allah commanded him," i.e., in the verse that reads: {when you rise up for prayer, wash your faces.} [Surat al-Mā’idah: 6] "the sins of his face will fall with water from the edges of his beard." He mentioned the beard in light of what is more common; yet, it also applies to those who have no beard, such as the beardless men or women. "Then, when he washes his hands up to the elbows," which are the joints in the middle of the arm, "the sins of his hands fall with water from his fingertips. Then, when he wipes over his head, the sins of his head fall with water from the ends of his hair." He mentioned hair in light of what is more common, yet it also applies to those who have no hair. "Then, when he washes his feet up to the ankles" - the two protruding bones at the joint connecting the foot and leg - "the sins of his feet fall with water from his toes." If a person performs ablution in this way and enters the prayer, praises Allah, lauds Him by the well-established attributes, lauds Him by exalting Him above what does not befit Him, and extols Him by ascribing to Him the attributes of glory, might, and honor of which He is worthy; "and empties his heart for Allah," Almighty, i.e., he empties his heart from the impurity of attachment to and reliance upon other than Allah, "he becomes free from his sins" and misdeeds and gets purified from them as he was pure from all sins "on the day his mother gave birth to him."
‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this Hadīth before Abu ’Umāmah, the Companion of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). So, Abu ’Umāmah said to him: "O ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah, think about," i.e., consider, ponder, "what you are saying" about this abundant reward in return for this little act in one situation and one place; a man is given this great reward! The wording by An-Nasā’i: "Is all of this given in one situation?!" This does not denote suspicion by Abu ’Umāmah of ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with both of them). It is only wonder at the immensity of Allah's bounty. ‘Amr replied: "O Abu Umāmah, I am old in age," "weak in bones," i.e., my bones have become thin and lean - a reference to his weakness. "and close to death." "I do not need" or am prompted "to tell lies about Allah" Almighty" or the Messenger of Allah" (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). The meaning: The usual causes of lying are non-existent in me. I am not a liar. So, "Had I not heard this from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) only once, twice, thrice - and he counted up to seven times," i.e., he said: four times, until he said: seven times. "I would not have narrated it. However, I heard it more than that." In the version by An-Nasā’i: "My ears heard it, and my heart understood it from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)." This means he was scrupulous in narrating these words about the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). Besides, his heart kept it for himself, and he did not undergo forgetfulness. This is all due to keenness to ascertain the validity of the narration.
In the Hadīth: Urging the upholding of kinship ties, as Allah Almighty couples it with Tawhīd
And in it: Supererogatory prayers may be offered at any time, except for the prohibited times.
And in it: Demonstrating the time of the morning prayer
And in it: Demonstrating the times in which it is prohibited to offer non-obligatory prayers
And in it: The merit of performing ablution perfectly
And in it: The merit of Khushū‘ (humility and focus) in prayer
And in it: It is prohibited to imitate the disbelievers in their worship
And in it: Showing the merit of Abu Bakr and Bilāl (may Allah be pleased with both of them), as they embraced Islam ahead of others
And in it: Showing the merit of ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah (may Allah be pleased with him) and his wisdom, for he realized during Jāhiliyyah that people were misguided, as they worshiped idols apart from Allah Almighty, and he embraced Islam early on.
And in it: It points out that a Muslim should ask about the best times and places in which he should seek closeness to his Lord and perform a lot of worship to Him.
And in it: News should be verified, even if the reporter is truthful, for he may undergo forgetfulness or the like..
Hadiths
