HIS SALAHS

Salah, one of the five pillars of Islam, may also be considered the most important for it signifies the worshipping of Allah through certain rituals. Although on the outside it seems to include only some mechanistic movements and allusions, it actually refers to a begging to and requesting from Allah. The five daily prayers became incumbent upon the Muslims with the Miraj one and a half years before the Hijrah. It is the kind of worshipping that all adolescent and sane people must perform. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) taught salah to his ummah and performed it more frequently than anyone else; he described salah as the most important practice in his life and the joy of his heart.

The sources reveal that the Prophet performed many nafila (extra) salahs to the extent that sometimes his feet got swollen only because he wanted to become a thankful servant of Allah.

The Prophet performed fard salahs in front of his companions so that everyone could observe and learn about their special features. However, some nafila salahs exclusive to his person could not be accessed as clearly by everyone. His nafila salahs can be classified under three groups: nightly salahs, daytime salahs and others.

a) Nightly Salahs

The nightly salahs of Prophet Muhammad were witnessed by his wives, some of his relatives, and some of his close companions. Aisha described one of Prophet Muhammad’s usual night procedures: “… He would sleep before the night came down, he would wake up to worship in the later part of the night, he would perform the witr salah when the dawn came, and then he would return to his bed.”

Ibn Abbas narrates from what he saw at night as a guest in Prophet Muhammad’s house: “I lay down with my head on the breadth of the cushion, and the Messenger of Allah, lay down with his head on its length. The Messenger of Allah slept until halfway through the night or a little before or after it, he awoke and sat up and wiped the sleep away from his face with his hand. Then he recited the last verses of Surat Al-i Imran. Then he got up and went over to a hanging water-skin and performed ablution from it, and then he stood in prayer. I stood up and did the same and then went and stood by his side. The Messenger of Allah put his right hand on my head and took my right ear and tweaked it. He performed twelve rakats (every full circle in salah involving standing and prostration positions). Then he lay down until the muezzin (caller to prayer) came to him, and then prayed two quick rakats, and went out and performed the morning salah.”

Aisha stated that in his last year of life, Prophet Muhammad had started to perform salahs while sitting. She also informed that he would stand up when 30 or 40 verses were left to read and would complete the salah in an upright position.

In view of the length of his sajdas (prostration) and qiyams (standing), it can be deduced that Prophet Muhammad spent more than an hour in worshipping Allah every night.

b) Daytime Salahs

Prophet Muhammad continued to perform many nafila salahs in the daytime. He performed four and then two more rakats before the duty of noon; two rakats after the duty of the evening; and two rakats after the duty of the night. It is reported that especially the two rakats before the duty of morning is very important in terms of the sunnah. These salahs were called muakkad salahs which were almost never neglected by Prophet Muhammad. The non-muakkad salahs, on the other hand, concern the four rakats he sometimes used to perform before the duty of afternoon and night.

The tahiyyatu al-masjid salah that is composed of two rakats and performed upon entrance into a masjid is also among the nafila prayers. Apart from these, it is known that Prophet Muhammad performed a salah called duha.

c) Other Nafila Salahs

Outside the already mentioned salahs, Prophet Muhammad also performed tarawih salahs (prayer during the Ramadan evenings) and others for various purposes. Among the latter one may count the rain prayer/salah. He also instigated a salah of two rakats upon the occurrence of the solar eclipse. The lunar eclipse was also greeted by another nafila salah.

It was considered mustahab (good) to perform a salah of two rakats after returning from a journey. The tasbih salah and the istiara salah are also mentioned among the nafilas. Moreover, there are hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) on completing the two rakats of the evening salah to six rakats. On the other hand, the hadiths on salat-u awwab (the salah of the repentant) are considered as weak. Yet in virtuous matters like this, one can act on even the weak hadiths.