Explanation of the Book of Prayer-20

The Shaykh :And from 'Abd ibn al-Samit, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

He who does not recite Umm al-Qur'an is not credited with having observed prayer.

لا صلاة لمن لم يقرأ بأم القرآن

Sahih Muslim 394c

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In a narration by Ibn Hibban and al-Daraqutni:

The Salat (prayer) is not complete if one does not recite (Surat) Fatiha al-Kitab.

لا تجزئ صلاة لا يقرأ فيها بفاتحة الكتاب

Bulugh al-Maram 2:160

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And in another narration by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Hibban:

Perhaps you recite behind your imam? We replied: Yes, it is so, Messenger of Allah. He said: Do not do so except when it is Fatihat al-Kitab, for he who does not recite it is not credited with having prayed.

لعلكم تقرأون خلف إمامكم؟ قلنا: نعم. قال: لا تفعلوا إلا بفاتحة الكتاب، فإنه لا صلاة لمن لم يقرأ بها

Sunan Abi Dawud 823Da'if (Al-Albani)

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These hadiths are in explaining the ruling on reciting al-Fatihah.
The first: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no prayer": This is a negation of the genus. Negation of the genus is the highest type of negation because it is explicit in its text and also explicit in its generality. "Prayer" is a general term that includes everything called prayer, and this includes the obligatory prayer, the voluntary prayer, and the funeral prayer, and there is no doubt about this. It does not include the tawaf (circumambulation); it does not include it, even though it is reported from Ibn 'Abbas that he said: "The tawaf around the House is a prayer, except that Allah has permitted speech in it". For, as far as I know, by scholarly consensus, the tawaf is not included in this. What remains is: does it include the prostration of recitation? The prostration of gratitude? The answer is that it does not include them, because these two do not involve standing, and reciting the Qur'an is not among the remembrances of the standing. Good.
And his saying: As I told you, this is a general negation for one who does not recite the Mother of the Qur'an. The Mother of the Qur'an is al-Fatihah, and it was named so because all the meanings of the Qur'an return to it. In it is tawhid (the oneness of Allah) in its various types, in it are the stories of the prophets, in it are the categories of people, and in it is faith in the Last Day. It is truly the Mother of the Qur'an. And I referred you previously to?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : To "Madarij al-Salikin" (The Stations of the Travelers) by Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him). Yes: "In a narration by Ibn Hibban and al-Daraqutni:

The Salat (prayer) is not complete if one does not recite (Surat) Fatiha al-Kitab.

لا تجزئ صلاة لا يقرأ فيها بفاتحة الكتاب

Bulugh al-Maram 2:160

". The author brought this narration because it is explicit in the non-validity: "It is not valid." Even though, in reality, we do not need it. Why? ... Come on, answer? What?
The student: There is no prayer.

The Shaykh : "There is no prayer." The negation, by default, is for negating existence. If something exists but is not valid, the negation of existence becomes a negation of validity, and it must be so, because what is not valid, its existence is like its non-existence in the Shari'ah. If it cannot be applied to negating validity, it becomes a negation of perfection. Here, there is no objection to saying that it is a negation of validity, because we do not know of a prayer that was valid without reciting al-Fatihah. And thus, it is established that the negation is for negating validity. But Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) brought what is explicit so that no one would argue and say: meaning "there is no complete prayer," as some people have held, and its mention will come, if Allah wills, in the benefits. He said: "And in another narration by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Hibban:

Perhaps you are reciting behind your imam?

لعلكم تقرأون خلف إمامكم؟

" This means "as if you are," and it carries the meaning of interrogation: This Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said this when he finished the Fajr prayer. The Companions were reciting with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) al-Fatihah and other than al-Fatihah. So he said to them: "Do not do so except with the Mother of the Qur'an, for there is no prayer for one who does not recite it." He ruled and gave the reason. He ruled with what? With the prohibition of reciting behind the imam, and he excepted al-Fatihah. Then he gave the reason that there is no prayer for one who does not recite it.