Sunan Abi Dawud

Dhakwan, the client of Aisha, reported on the authority of Aisha: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray after the afternoon prayer but prohibited others from it; and he would fast continuously but forbid others to do so.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Pray two rak'ahs before the Maghrib prayer. He then said (again): Pray two rak'ahs before the Maghrib prayer, it applies to those who wish to do so. That was because he feared that the people might treat it as sunnah.

I offered two rak'ahs of prayer before the Maghrib prayer (i.e. obligatory) during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I (narrator al-Mukhtar b. Fulful) asked Anas: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) se you ? He replied: Yes, but he neither commanded us nor forbade us (to do so).

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: Between the two adhans there is a prayer, between the two adhans there is prayer for one who desires (to offer).

Ibn 'Umar was asked about praying two rak'ahs before the Maghrib prayer. He replied: I did not see anyone praying them during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He (Ibn Umar) permitted to pray two rak'ahs after the Asr prayer. Abu Dawud said: I heard Yahya b. Ma'in say: The correct name of the narrator Abu Shu'aib is the Shu'aib. Shu'bah made a mistake in narrating his name.

The Prophet (ﷺ) as saying: In the morning alms are due for every bone in man's body. His salutation to everyone he meets is alms, his enjoining good is alms, his forbidding what is evil is alms, the removal of harmful thing from the way is alms, to have sexual intercourse with one's wife if alms, and two rak'ahs which one prays in the Duha serve instead of that. Abu Dawud said: The tradition narrated by 'Abbad is more perfect (than the version narrated by Musaddad). Musaddad did not mention in his version "the command (of good) and the prohibition (of evil)". Instead, he added in his version saying: "Such and such." Ibn Ma'na added in his version: "They (the people) said: Messenger of Allah, how is that one of us fulfills his desire and still there are alms for him (i.e. is rewarded)? He replied: What do you think if you had unlawful sexual intercourse, would he not have been a sinner ?

While we were present with Abu Dharr, he said: In the morning, alms are due for him, ever fast is alms, every pilgrimage is alms, every utterance of "Glory to be Allah" is alms, every utterance of "Allah is most great" is alms, every utterance of "Praise be to Allah" is alms. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recounted all such good works. He then said: Two rak'ahs which one prays in the Duha serve instead of that.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone sits in his place of prayer when he finishes the dawn prayer till he prays the two rak'ahs of the forenoon, saying nothing but what is good, his sins will be forgiven even if they are more than the foam of the sea.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Prayer followed by a prayer with no idle talk between the two is recorded in Illiyyun.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Allah, the Exalted, says: Son of Adam, do not be helpless in performing four rak'ahs for Me at the beginning of the day: I will supply what you need till the end of it.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed on the day of the Conquest (of Mecca) eight rak'ahs saluting after every two rak'ahs. Abu Dawud said: Ahmad b. Salih said that the Messenger of Allah offered prayer in the forenoon on the day of the Conquest of Mecca, and he narrated something similar. Ibn al-Sarh reported that Umm Hani said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered upon me. This version does not mention the prayer in the forenoon.

No one told us that the Prophet (ﷺ) had offered Duha prayer except Umm Hani. She said that the Prophet (ﷺ) had taken bath in her house on the day of the Conquest of Mecca and prayed eight rak'ahs. But no one saw him afterwards praying these rak'ahs.

I asked 'Aishah: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) pray in the Duha? She replied: No, except when he returned from his journey. I then asked: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recite the surahs combining each other? She said: He would do so in the mufassal surahs.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) never offered prayer in the forenoon, but I offer it. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would give up an action, though he liked it to do, lest the people should continue it and it is prescribed for them.

I asked Jabir b. Samurah: Did you sit in the company of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ? He replied: Yes, very often. He would not stand from the place he prayed the dawn prayer till the sunrise. When the sun rose, he would stand (to pray Duha).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Prayer by night and day should consist of pairs of rak'ahs.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Prayer is to be offered in two rak'ahs; and you should recite the tashahhud at the end of two rak'ahs, and express your distress and humility and raise your hands and say praying: O Allah, O Allah. He who does not do so does not offer a perfect prayer. Abu Dawud was asked about offering prayer at night in two rak'ahs. He said: They may be two if you like and four if you like.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to al-Abbas ibn AbdulMuttalib: Abbas, my uncle, shall I not give you, shall I not present to you, shall I not donate to you, shall I not produce for you ten things? If you act upon them, Allah will forgive you your sins, first and last, old and new, involuntary and voluntary, small and great, secret and open. These are the ten things: you should pray four rak'ahs, reciting in each one Fatihat al-Kitab and a surah. When you finish the recitation of the first rak'ah you should say fifteen times while standing: "Glory be to Allah", "Praise be to Allah", "There is no god but Allah", "Allah is most great". Then you should bow and say it ten times while bowing. Then you should raise your head after bowing and say it ten times. Then you should kneel down in prostration and say it ten times while prostrating yourself. Then you should raise your head after prostration and say it ten times. Then you should prostrate yourself and say it ten times. Then you should raise your head after prostrating and say it ten times in every rak'ah. You should do that in four rak'ahs. If you can observe it once daily, do so; if not, then once weekly; if not, then once a month; if not, then once a year; if not, then once in your lifetime.

AbulJawza' said: A man who attended the company of the Prophet (ﷺ) narrated to me (it is thought that he was Abdullah ibn Amr): The Prophet (ﷺ) said to me: Come to me tomorrow; I shall give you something, I shall give you something, I shall reward you something, I shall donate something to you. I thought that he would give me some present. He said (to me when I came to him): When the day declines, stand up and pray four rak'ahs. He then narrated something similar. This version adds: Do not stand until you glorify Allah ten times, and praise Him ten times, and exalt Him ten times, and say, "There is no god but Allah" ten times. Then you should do that in four rak'ahs. If you are the greatest sinner on earth, you will be forgiven (by Allah) on account of this (prayer). I asked: If I cannot pray this the appointed hour, (what should I do)? He replied: Pray that by night or by day (at any time). Abu Dawud said: Habban b. Hilal is the maternal uncle of Hilal al-Ra'i. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by al-Mustamir b. al-Riyyan from Ibn al-Jawza' from 'Abd Allah b. 'Amr without referring to the Prophet (ﷺ), - narrated as a statement of 'Abd Allah b. 'Amr himself (mauquf). This has also been narrated by Rawh b. al-Musayyab, and Ja'far b. Sulaiman from 'Amr b. Malik al-Nakri from Abu al-Jauza' from Ibn 'Abbas as his own statement (and not the statement of the Prophet). But the version of Rawh has the words: "The tradition of the Prophet (ﷺ)."

That an al-Ansari narrated to him: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to Ja'far. He then narrated the tradition in like manner. This version has the words: "In the second prostration of the first rak'ah" in addition to the words transmitted by Mahdi b. Maimun (in the previous tradition).