When was the prayer made obligatory, and how did the Companions pray before the migration despite the absence of mosques?
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The questioner : In the last of his questions, this questioner from Sana'a, Yemen, asks: When was the prayer made obligatory, and how did the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) pray before the migration despite the absence of mosques?
The Shaykh : Yes. The prayer was made obligatory on the night of the Mi'raj, the night the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was raised up. The historians have differed on when that was; some said it was three years before the migration, others said a year and a half, and others said otherwise. It was made obligatory upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in the highest place humans have reached, as far as we know, in the seventh heaven. Allah made it obligatory upon His Messenger as fifty prayers, then He, Glorified and Exalted is He, abrogated it to five prayers in practice, but the reward is that of fifty prayers, praise be to Allah.
As for how the people, the Companions, prayed when there were no mosques before the migration, that is a mistake, because there were mosques. There is the father of mosques and the mother of mosques, which is al-Masjid al-Haram, to which Muslims turn and in which they pray. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes. The prayer was made obligatory on the night of the Mi'raj, the night the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was raised up. The historians have differed on when that was; some said it was three years before the migration, others said a year and a half, and others said otherwise. It was made obligatory upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in the highest place humans have reached, as far as we know, in the seventh heaven. Allah made it obligatory upon His Messenger as fifty prayers, then He, Glorified and Exalted is He, abrogated it to five prayers in practice, but the reward is that of fifty prayers, praise be to Allah.
As for how the people, the Companions, prayed when there were no mosques before the migration, that is a mistake, because there were mosques. There is the father of mosques and the mother of mosques, which is al-Masjid al-Haram, to which Muslims turn and in which they pray. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh.