When is it said: "Prayer is better than sleep"?
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Question:
The hadith of Abu Maythura (may Allah be pleased with him) may contain some ambiguity; because he met the Prophet in the eighth year of the Hijrah and said to him: And another hadith?
The first is the adhan for Fajr, and the second is the iqamah. The iqamah is called the second adhan; because of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): The first adhan is: the adhan at the appearance of Fajr, which is the first adhan that you know.
Q: And the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 622, 623?
A: This is in Ramadan.
Q: In the other hadith, when Bilal said, "Prayer is better than sleep," the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him:?
A: This is in the adhan for Fajr at the appearance of Fajr; because the adhan for Fajr, when mentioned generally, is at the appearance of Fajr; the dawn that permits prayer and forbids food for the fasting person. As for the first one, that is for notification, and there is no harm in it for waking people, but it is better that the saying "Prayer is better than sleep" be in the last one, which is a notification of Fajr. For this reason, it came in the hadith of Aisha that Bilal used to say in his first adhan: "Prayer is better than sleep," then he would pray two rak'ahs, and the people would stand for the sunnah between the adhan and the iqamah. So the first is Fajr, and the second is the iqamah. As for that one, it is called the first because it is before Fajr to wake the sleeper and return the one who is standing, and it is an adhan of notification, not the adhan of dawn. They should agree so that the matter is not confused. If they agree on the first one, there is no harm, and if they agree on the second one, there is no harm, so that the matter is not confused for the general public and people. The calamity is disagreement; this is what harms people.
The hadith of Abu Maythura (may Allah be pleased with him) may contain some ambiguity; because he met the Prophet in the eighth year of the Hijrah and said to him:
Shall I teach you the adhan? I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. So he took to teaching him the adhan, until he said to him: When you are in your first adhan, say: Prayer is better than sleep
ألا أعلمك الأذان، قلت: بلى يا رسول الله، فأخذ يلقنه الأذان، حتى قال له: إذا كنت في أذانك الأول فقل: الصلاة خير من النومThe first is the adhan for Fajr, and the second is the iqamah. The iqamah is called the second adhan; because of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
Between every two adhans is a prayer, and in the third he said: For whoever wishes
بين كل أذانين صلاة، وفي الثالثة قال: لمن شاءQ: And the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Narrated `Aisha: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Bilal pronounces the Adhan at night, so eat and drink (Suhur) till Ibn Um Maktum pronounces the Adhan."
إن بلالا يؤذن بليل فكلوا واشربوا حتى يؤذن ابن أم مكتومA: This is in Ramadan.
Q: In the other hadith, when Bilal said, "Prayer is better than sleep," the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him:
Make it in your adhan.
اجعلها في أذانكA: This is in the adhan for Fajr at the appearance of Fajr; because the adhan for Fajr, when mentioned generally, is at the appearance of Fajr; the dawn that permits prayer and forbids food for the fasting person. As for the first one, that is for notification, and there is no harm in it for waking people, but it is better that the saying "Prayer is better than sleep" be in the last one, which is a notification of Fajr. For this reason, it came in the hadith of Aisha that Bilal used to say in his first adhan: "Prayer is better than sleep," then he would pray two rak'ahs, and the people would stand for the sunnah between the adhan and the iqamah. So the first is Fajr, and the second is the iqamah. As for that one, it is called the first because it is before Fajr to wake the sleeper and return the one who is standing, and it is an adhan of notification, not the adhan of dawn. They should agree so that the matter is not confused. If they agree on the first one, there is no harm, and if they agree on the second one, there is no harm, so that the matter is not confused for the general public and people. The calamity is disagreement; this is what harms people.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.