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| 2 Bukhari hadiths

661
It was narrated that Humayd said: Anas ibn Malik was asked: Did the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) acquire a ring? He said: Yes. One night he delayed ‘Isha’ prayer until halfway through the night, then he turned to us after he had prayed and said: “The people prayed and went to sleep, but you have been in a state of prayer all the time you have been waiting.” [Anas] said: It is as if I can see the glimmering of his ring..

Commentary : Islam permits men to wear rings, so long as they are not made of gold. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had a ring made of silver. In this hadith, that is mentioned along with an explanation of some of the rulings on ‘Isha’ prayer and the virtue of waiting for the prayer. Humayd al-Tawil narrates that Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: Did the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) acquire a ring? He said: Yes. Then Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) stated that he saw the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) wearing his ring one night. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had delayed ‘Isha’ prayer on that night until halfway through the night, which is the best time [for ‘Isha’ prayer] for those who are able to do that. When the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had finished the prayer at that time, he turned to face those who had prayed with him and said: Other people have prayed ‘Isha’, either at home or in a mosque where they usually pray in congregation, and gone to sleep, whilst you were gaining the reward of prayer throughout this time that you were waiting to pray, until half way through the night. So it is as if you were praying throughout the time that you were waiting.
Then Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he saw the glimmering of the silver of the ring of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) as he was addressing them. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) acquired a ring when he began to send letters to the kings and rulers, and he was told that they would not accept any letter that did not bear a seal. So he had a ring made of silver, on which were engraved the words “Muhammad Rasulullah (Muhammad the Messenger of Allah)”, as is narrated in al-Sahihayn.
This hadith highlights the virtue of delaying ‘Isha’ prayer until almost half way through the night.
It also highlights the virtue of waiting for prayer after prayer..

662
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever goes to the mosque and comes back, Allah will prepare his place and provision in Paradise every time he goes and comes back.”.

Commentary : The mosques are the best places on earth, and the more a person’s heart is attached to the mosques, and he finds comfort and ease there, and is keen to pray Jumu‘ah and to pray in congregation, and to remember Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) in the mosques, the greater his reward will be and the higher his status in this world and the hereafter.
In this hadith, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) highlights the virtue of going to the mosques, and mentions the immense reward that is prepared for the one who has the habit of going to the mosque. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) says: “Whoever goes to the mosque and comes back, Allah will prepare his place and provision in Paradise every time he goes and comes back.”
What is meant is one who is always going to the mosque for the purpose of worship, foremost among which is prayer. It was said that what is meant by the phrase, “Whoever goes to the mosque and comes back” is that he goes and comes back from the mosque all the time; in other words, whoever has the habit of going to the mosque, Allah will prepare for him his place and provision in Paradise every time he goes to the mosque. Thus his going to the mosque is a cause of preparation of his place in Paradise. This is encouragement to attend the prayers in congregation, and to regularly attend the mosque for prayer, because if Allah has prepared his place and provision in Paradise simply for going to the mosque and coming back, what do you think will be prepared for him, and what kind of blessings will he receive for praying in congregation, seeking the reward thereof from Allah and showing sincerity to Allah (may He be exalted) in doing that?.

663
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Malik ibn Buhaynah that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) saw a man praying two rak‘ahs after the iqamah for prayer had been given. When the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) finished praying, the people surrounded him [that man] and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to him: “Did you pray Fajr with four rak‘ahs? Did you pray Fajr with four rak‘ahs?”.

Commentary : Putting priorities in order, and giving precedence to what is more important and to obligatory prayers over supererogatory prayers is indicative of wisdom and a good understanding of religion. In this hadith, ‘Abdullah ibn Buhaynah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) saw a man praying two rak‘ahs after the iqamah had been given for Fajr prayer. It was said that this man was ‘Abdullah ibn Buhaynah, the narrator of this hadith. So the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spoke to him about that. “When the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) finished praying, the people surrounded him [that man]” That is, they gathered around him and asked him what the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had said to him. So he told them that he had rebuked him by saying to him, “Did you pray Fajr with four rak‘ahs?” That was because the man had ignored the obligatory prayer that was about to begin, and started with a supererogatory prayer, as if he regarded the obligatory prayer and the supererogatory prayer as being equal and as being the same thing, so it was as if he had prayed Fajr with four rak‘ahs. This indicates that it is not permissible to begin a supererogatory prayer after the iqamah has been given for an obligatory prayer, because the obligatory prayer takes precedence over the supererogatory prayer, and catching up with the opening takbir (takbirat al-ihram) with the imam is better than offering a supererogatory prayer. In Sahih Muslim it is narrated that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “When the iqamah for prayer is given, there is no prayer except the obligatory prayer,” meaning the prayer that is currently due.
This hadith indicates that it is not allowed to begin a supererogatory prayer after the iqamah for prayer has been given..

673
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: If the dinner of one of you is served and the iqamah is given for prayer, let him start with dinner and let him not rush until he has finished it. Dinner would be served for Ibn ‘Umar and the iqamah will be given for prayer, and he would not go to pray until he had finished eating, even though he would be hearing the recitation of the imam..

Commentary : Prayer is a connection between a person and his Lord, in which he stands before Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) with humility and beseeching Him, hoping for the mercy of Allah and fearing His punishment. Hence he should make sure that there is nothing in his mind or heart to distract him before he starts to pray, so that he will not lose anything of his reward, and so that he may attain reward from Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) in full, with nothing detracted from it.
In this hadith, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) explains that if the serving of food coincides with the time of ‘Isha’ and the iqamah for the prayer, the individual should start with dinner and not rush to go to pray until he has finished eating. Food would be served to Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) – whether that was dinner or any other meal – whilst the iqamah was being given for Maghrib or any other prayer, and he would not go and pray until he had finished eating, even if the imam started to pray. He would continue eating even though he could hear the recitation of the imam in the prayer. This was indicative of Ibn ‘Umar’s deep understanding of religion, because it is part of a person’s deep understanding to attend to his needs so that he will be able to focus on his prayer with no worldly matters to distract him, and he will be able to stand before the Lord (may He be glorified and exalted) and offer his prayer in the most perfect manner.
This hadith encourages the Muslim to free himself from worldly distractions whilst praying.
It highlights the virtue of giving precedence to attaining proper focus and humility in prayer over the virtue of praying when the time for the prayer begins, even if one misses out on praying in congregation, provided that one does not make that a habit..

676
It was narrated that al-Aswad said: I asked ‘A’ishah: What did the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) do in his house? She said: He used to be at the service of his family, then when the time for prayer came, he would go out to pray..

Commentary : The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed men to treat women well, and he urged them to show kindness to them. He (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was the best example to this ummah, so he was the best, most compassionate and kindest of people when dealing with his family and in his treatment of them. One example of that is what the Mother of the Believers ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) speaks of in this hadith. When she (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked about how the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was in his house, and what he used to do, she said: He was at the service of his family, meaning that he would help them with the tasks that they did. That includes the fact that he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) – as is narrated in Musnad Ahmad – used to look after himself, milk his sheep, patch his clothes, and mend his sandals. And when the time for prayer came, he would go out to pray with no delay. This was by way of teaching the ummah so that they might emulate their Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who did whatever he could and did whatever household tasks he was able to do, and would look after himself in some cases. This indicates that there is nothing contrary to dignity in doing such things, whilst also being keen to fulfil obligatory duties to Allah. This is a way of achieving balance between all the duties and obligations that life may place on a man’s shoulders.
This hadith indicates that one should go to pray when the time for prayer comes, and not be distracted by engaging in any worldly matters, whether one is an imam or member of the congregation.
It indicates that leaders and people of virtue and prominence may take care of their own affairs, and that this is one of the actions of the righteous, following the example of their leader (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)..