Explanation of the Book of Prayer-08

The Shaykh : And from Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Muslim narrated it. "This hadith has a cause, and its cause is that Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), the son of al-Hakam, prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). A man from the group sneezed and praised Allah, so Mu'awiyah said to him: 'May Allah have mercy on you.' He addressed him with 'May Allah have mercy on you,' so the people cast their gazes at him, meaning: they looked at him with a look of disapproval. He said: 'Wathakala ummiya,' which is a phrase the Arabs use to indicate regret. They began hitting their thighs to silence him, so he remained silent (may Allah be pleased with him). Then the prayer ended, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) called him. He said (may Allah be pleased with him): 'By my father and mother, I have never seen a teacher who taught better than him (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him). By Allah, he did not humiliate me or rebuke me. He did not humiliate me with his face by frowning or scowning, nor did he rebuke me with his tongue. He only said: or something similar. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained to him that nothing of the speech of people is suitable in the prayer, and that its affair is glorification, saying Allahu Akbar, and reciting the Qur'an. The matter ended there; he did not order him to repeat the prayer, nor did he rebuke him for the speech. He only taught him this calm, wise instruction. And this hadith, as I said, has a cause. The hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are divided, like the Noble Qur'an, into two categories: initial and causal. That is, some have a cause and some do not. Knowing the cause helps in understanding the meaning and what is intended. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) have authored books explaining the causes of hadiths, some of which are authentic and some are weak. But this hadith is authentic; Muslim narrated it. His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): The reference here is not a specification of a particular instance, but a specification of a type. The difference between the two is that if we said it was a specification of a particular instance, the prohibition of speech would be limited to that specific prayer. But if we say it is a specification of a type, the intended meaning is all prayers. And this is the intended meaning: the reference here is a reference to specify the type, not the particular instance. And his saying: Since we said it is for the type, it includes everything called prayer, whether it is voluntary or not, and whether it involves bowing and prostration or not. 'Shay' (thing) is an indefinite noun in the context of negation, so it encompasses everything, whether it relates to the prayer or not; everything. And his saying: Meaning: from the speech that people use to address one another. This is certainly his intended meaning, and it is not his intention that it be from what people speak, because people speak with glorification, saying Allahu Akbar, and reciting the Qur'an in the prayer. But 'from the speech of people' means: from what passes between them in address. If the wording is the preserved one, it is the pronoun of the matter, meaning: the affair of the prayer is glorification—glorification of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)—and that is in the bowing and prostration and the opening supplication. In the opening supplication: 'Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika' (Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise). In the bowing: 'Subhana Rabbiya al-Azim' (Glory to my Lord, the Most Great). In the prostration: 'Subhana Rabbiya al-A'la' (Glory to my Lord, the Most High). And the takbir: the takbir is the takbir of ihram, which is the beginning of the takbir, and it is the most emphatic of the takbirs because it is a pillar without which the prayer is not valid. As for the rest of the takbirs, the takbir in the bowing for the one who joins the prayer late, if he finds the imam bowing, is a recommended practice (sunnah). And the takbir in the transitions is obligatory according to the stronger opinion. Reciting the Qur'an includes reciting al-Fatihah and reciting other than it. The Qur'an is this which is in our hands, and it is a verbal noun like al-ghufran (forgiveness), al-shukran (thanksgiving), and al-kufuran (ingratitude). It is either in the meaning of the active participle or the passive participle. In the meaning of the active participle, its estimation is 'reader' because it is comprehensive, like al-qaryah (the village) which gathers its inhabitants. And in the passive participle, it is 'read' meaning: recited. Both are correct.