Q: A family member recently heard a lecture in which the speaker made a comment that if you do not think of nabi salaalaahu alaihi wa sallam in your namaaz, your namaaz is invalid. The speaker furhter presented a hadith as his proof in which he only mentioned that a sahaabi was performing namaaz when Nabi (Alaihis Salaam) called him and he failed to reply.
Is there any such hadeeth, if yes, what is the complete hadith with the explanation?
A: The Hadith appears in Bukhari Shareef, however it is quoted out of context. The Hadith is as follows:
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) once called a Sahabi who was engaged in Salaah. The Sahabi did not immediately respond to the call of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) as he thought to himself that he was engaged in Salaah. After completing the Salaah, he went to Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam). Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said to him: “Why did you not respond to my call immediately? Don’t you know that Allah Ta’ala has said in the Qur’an: ‘Respond to the call of Allah and his Rasul (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) when they call you’ “. In other words you should have terminated your Salaah immediately and responded to my call.
It should be known that this injunction of terminating one’s Salaah upon the call of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) was exclusive to Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) that whenever Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alyhi Wasallam) called anyone, it was compulsory for them to respond even though they were in Salaah. Nevertheless, how does this Hadith indicate or prove that in Salaah one should think of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) during Salaah? It is a command of Shari’ah that if one’s parents call them while they are engaged in Salaah for something urgent, it is permissible for one to terminate one’s Salaah in Shari’at under such circumstances. This does not mean that one should thin of one’s parents during Salaah. Salaah as well as all other Ibaadaat are exclusive for Allah Ta’ala.
And Allah Ta’ala knows best.
حدثني محمد بن بشار حدثنا غندر حدثنا شعبة عن خبيب بن عبد الرحمن عن حفص بن عاصم عن أبي سعيد بن المعلى قال مر بي النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وأنا أصلي فدعاني فلم آته حتى صليت ثم أتيت فقال ما منعك أن تأتيني فقلت كنت أصلي فقال ألم يقل الله { يا أيها الذين آمنوا استجيبوا لله وللرسول إذا دعاكم لما يحييكم } ثم قال ألا أعلمك أعظم سورة في القرآن قبل أن أخرج من المسجد فذهب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ليخرج من المسجد فذكرته فقال الحمد لله رب العالمين هي السبع المثاني والقرآن العظيم الذي أوتيته (بخاري #4703)
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)