Continuation of the explanation of the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: ( . . . and pray as you have seen me pray . . . ) .

The Shaykh : Then, in the completion of the hadith, there are jurisprudential benefits that a Muslim must know, especially if he has an interest in studying Islamic jurisprudence. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to these twenty men: . After the Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered these men to fulfill their duty of teaching their children and commanding them with what is obligatory upon them, he ordered them themselves to pray as they saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) praying. He said: . There is no doubt that this includes the fact that when the Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered these young men to pray as they saw him (peace be upon him) praying, it means that it is obligatory for them to order those who are under their care to pray as well, as they saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) praying, just as they saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) praying. This also serves as a reminder that if the head of a household learns a jurisprudential issue, he should not keep it to himself. He prays as he learned that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray, but he does not care about the prayer of his children, his dependents, his wife, or his daughter; he does not care at all. This indicates negligence in teaching the children and commanding them with what is obligatory upon them. From this, it is said to them: "Pray as you saw me praying." This naturally requires a reminder that the general life of Muslims today, regarding this specific act of worship, namely prayer, and other acts of worship, is one where they are all negligent in implementing this noble Prophetic command. All of them are negligent, except for very few individuals in the Muslim society. This is because, first, in reality, one does not pray as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray. We all know that so-and-so prays according to the Hanafi school, the second according to the Maliki school, the third according to the Shafi'i school, and the fourth according to the Hanbali school. As for someone praying as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray, this is something the majority of Muslims today do not care about, due to their ignorance of the Sunnah, first, and due to the prevalence of sectarian fanaticism among the majority of Muslims, second. Therefore, in this hadith, there is an important reminder that it is obligatory for fathers, and mothers as well, to first learn how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray, and second, to teach their children, their sons and daughters, how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to conduct himself in prayer. This requires, then, gaining knowledge of the Sunnah, because one who has not gained knowledge according to the method of the Book and the Sunnah is never able to realize this noble Prophetic command . And from the clear evidence of this, which we know by experience, is that if we meet any man, any shaykh, let alone a student of knowledge, and we say to him, "Please show us how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to pray," you will hear the answer plainly: "By Allah, I do not know how the Messenger of Allah used to pray, but I know how the Hanafi imam prays" if he is a Hanafi. If he is a Shafi'i, he says, "I know how the Shafi'i imam used to pray," and so the Maliki says, and so the Hanbali says. You will not find, except very rarely, a man who answers you: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he stood for prayer, would face the qiblah, and the first thing he would say was Allahu Akbar," and so on. You will not find this explanation at all, because they do not know the Sunnah. On the contrary, they will innovate a description of the prayer by saying, "I stand, face the qiblah, and say, 'I intend to pray for Allah the Exalted four rak'ahs of the obligatory 'Asr prayer, starting as an individual,'" and so on. They begin the prayer contrary to the Sunnah, because the Sunnah is to begin the prayer with Allahu Akbar. All of these people begin the prayer with a translation of what Allah has not sent down, saying, "I intend to pray for Allah the Exalted four rak'ahs, facing the qiblah, as an individual, starting," and so on. This has no basis in the Sunnah. So, is it true that these people have realized the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)? The correct answer is no. And as they say, it is clear from the title of the book that the beginning of the prayer is started by contradicting the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So what about the rest of the matters in the prayer, in the middle and at the end? In all of that, they contradict the guidance of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and his Sunnah in prayer.