IS IT TRUE THAT THE SHIA HAVE NO AUTHENTIC NARRATION REGARDING THE DESCRIPTION OF PRAYER

_________________________________________

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Peace and mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you.

O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.

To proceed:

Our respected Shaykh and master, I have a question that the Wahhabis and the nawasib (those who harbor hatred toward the Ahlulbayt) often raise regarding prayer—specifically the five obligatory daily prayers.

They claim that among the Shia, there is not a single authentic narration describing the prayer of the Prophet or the prayer of Imam Ali, peace be upon them.

Thus, they ask: did the Prophet or Ali not teach the Shia how to pray?

And if so, how can Ali be considered an Imam in religion?

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. May blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad and his pure and noble family, and may the curse of Allah be upon all their enemies.

Response from the Office:

Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.
We congratulate you on the anniversary of the birth of Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him). May you be well every year.

The Bakri (Sunni) nation senses humiliation, disgrace, and inferiority before the Shi’a of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them). For this reason, you will not find them challenging the righteous Shi’a on any matter except that their own position is flimsy like a house made of straw. They lack the very things they demand from and challenge the Shi’a with.

However, given that they are not even ashamed of the fact that the slogan of the greatest obligation in Islam — the adhan (call to prayer) — is, according to them, derived from dreams, it is no surprise that these nasibis (haters of the Prophet’s family) would make such an absurd challenge, knowing full well that in reality they do not possess even a single authentic narration that thoroughly and comprehensively details the prayer in a single context with the breadth we, the Shi’a of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), have.

Here is one such authentic narration from Al-Kāfī al-Sharīf:

عليُّ بن إبراهيم، عن أبيه، عن حمّاد بن عيسى قال: قال لي أبو عبدالله عليه السلام يوماً: يا حمّاد تُحسن أن تصلي؟ قال: فقلت: يا سيّدي أنا أحفظ كتاب حريز في الصّلاة فقال لا عليك يا حمّاد، قم فصلّ قال: فقمت بين يديه متوجّهاً إلى القبلة فاستفتحت الصّلاة فركعت وسجدت، فقال: يا حمّاد لا تُحسن أن تصلّي ما أقبح بالرَّجل منكم يأتي عليه ستّون سنة أو سبعون سنة فلا يقيم صلاة واحدة بحدودها تامّة، قال حمّاد: فأصابني في نفسي الذُّل. فقلت: جعلت فداك فعلّمني الصّلاة فقام أبو عبد الله عليه السلام مستقبل القبلة منتصباً فأرسل يديه جميعاً على فخذيه، قد ضمَّ أصابعه وقرَّب بين قدميه حتّى كان بينهما ثلاثة أصابع منفرجات واستقبل بأصابع رجليه جميعاً القبلة لم يحرِّفهما عن القبلة وقال بخشوع: الله أكبر ثمَّ قرأ الحمد بترتيل وقل هو الله أحد ثمَّ صبر هنيّة بقدر ما يتنفّس وهو قائم ثمَّ رفع يديه حيال وجهه وقال: الله أكبر. وهو قائم ثمَّ ركع وملأ كفّيه من ركبتيه منفرجات وردَّ ركبتيه إلى خلفه حتّى استوى ظهره حتّى لو صب عليه قطرة من ماء أو دهن لم تزل لاستواء ظهره ومدَّ عنقه وغمّض عينيه ثمَّ سبّح ثلاثاً بترتيل فقال: سبحان ربي العظيم وبحمده. ثمَّ استوى قائماً فلمّا استمكن من القيام قال: سمع الله لمن حمده. ثمَّ كبّر وهو قائمٌ ورفع يديه حيال وجهه ثمَّ سجد وبسط كفّيه مضمومتي الأصابع بين يدي ركبتيه حيال وجهه فقال: سبحان ربي الأعلى وبحمده ثلاث مرَّات ولم يضع شيئاً من جسده على شيء منه وسجد على ثمانية أعظم الكفّين والرُّكبتين وأنامل إبهامي الرِّجلين والجبهة والأنف وقال: سبعة منها فرضٌ يسجد عليها وهي التي ذكرها الله في كتابه فقال: «وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا»، هي الجبهة والكفّان والرّكبتان والإبهامان ووضع الأنف على الأرض سنّة، ثمَّ رفع رأسه من السّجود فلمّا استوى جالساً قال: الله أكبر. ثمَّ قعد على فخذه الأيسر وقد وضع ظاهر قدمه الأيمن على باطن قدمه الأيسر وقال: استغفر الله ربي وأتوب اليه. ثمَّ كبّر وهو جالسٌ وسجد السّجدة الثّانية وقال: كما قال في الاُولى ولم يضع شيئاً من بدنه على شيء منه في ركوع ولا سجود وكان مجنّحاً ولم يضع ذراعيه على الأرض فصلّى ركعتين على هذا ويداه مضمومتا الأصابع وهو جالسٌ في التشهّد فلمّا فرغ من التشهّد سلّم. فقال: يا حمّاد هكذا صلِّ.

Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Hammad ibn ‘Isa who has said the following:

“Abu ‘Abd Allah , one day asked me, ‘Do you know how to perform Salah (prayer) properly?’ I said, ‘I keep the book of Hariz with me in Salah (prayer).’ The Imam said, ‘Never mind, O Hammad. Stand up and perform Salah (prayer).’ The narrator has said, ‘I then stood up in his presence, facing the direction of Qiblah (Makkah). I began performing Salah (prayer), with Ruku‘ and Sajdah.’ He then said, “O Hammad, you do not know how to perform Salah (prayer) properly. It is a shame for a man of your people who, at the age of sixty or seventy cannot even perform one Salah (prayer) according to its complete rules and manners.’ Hammad has said, ‘I belittled myself very much at this point. I then asked him saying, “I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause teach me how to perform Salah (prayer) properly.’” Abu ‘Abd Allah , stood up straight facing the direction of Qiblah. He allowed his hands to rest on his thighs, with his fingers close side by side, kept his feet near each other, only leaving between them a distance of three fingers opened up, with his toes facing the direction of Qiblah without allowing them to deviate from this direction and with humbleness said, ‘Allah is great.’ He then recited al-Hamd (the first Chapter of the Holy Quran) with clarity and fluency and Chapter 112 of the Holy Quran. He then paused for a breath while still standing and raised his hands up to the sides of his face and said, ‘Allah is great,’ while still standing. He then bent down for Ruku‘ (kneeling). He then placed his palms over his knees allowing them to be filled up with his knees that were separate from each other, and pressed them backward until his back became so straightly level that even if there had been a drop of water or oil it would not flow to any side. He stretched his neck forward, lowered his eyes and then said with clarity and fluency three times, ‘I praise my Lord, the Great, Who is free of all defects.’ He then stood up straight. While standing straight he said, ‘Allah hears all those who praise Him.’ He then while standing raised his hands up to the sides of his face and said, ‘Allah is great.’ Then he bowed down for sajdah. He opened his palms with his fingers close side by side, placed them near his knees on the sides next to his face and said, ‘I praise my Lord, the most High who is free of all defects,’ three times. He did not place any other part of his body on any other part thereof. He performed sajdah on eight parts of his bones: his palms, knees, big toes of his feet, his forehead and his nose. He (the Imam) said, ‘Placing seven parts of these bones on the ground is obligatory during sajdah, but one of them (the nose) is not obligatory. This is what Allah has spoken of in the Quran, “The parts of the body to be placed on the ground during sajdah belong to Allah, you then must not worship anyone other than Allah.” (72:17) Such parts are the forehead, palms, knees and big toes of feet. Placing one’s nose on the ground is optional.’ He then raised his head from sajdah. When he sat up straight, he then said, ‘Allah is great.’ He then sat on his left thigh, placing the back of his right foot over the sole of his left foot, and then said, ‘I seek forgiveness from Allah, my Lord and turn to Him in repentance.’ He then said, ‘Allah is great.’ Then he bowed down for the second sajdah, saying therein what he said in the first sajdah. He did not place any other part of his body on any other part during Ruku‘ or sajdah. He spread his elbows and did not place his arms on the ground. In this way, he performed two Rak‘ats of Salah (prayer). He (the Imam) kept the fingers of his hands close side by side when saying the two testimonies in a sitting position. When he finished saying the testimonies, he then read Salam and said, ‘O Hammad, you must perform Salah (prayer) like this.’” [1]

Al-‘Allāma al-Majlisī said:

حسن، وفي الفقيه صحيح.

Hasan (good), and in al-Faqīh [the narration is] Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic). [2]

Meanwhile, among the opponents (i.e., the Sunnis), in the two most authentic books they possess, you find a narration that is the longest one they have regarding the details of prayer in a single context — and yet it contains no mention of the tashahhud (testimony), nor the takbīrs (saying "Allāhu Akbar"), nor the recitation, nor the short sūrah, nor what is to be said in rukū‘ (bowing) or sujūd (prostration). These people patch together the limbs of their heretical prayer from here and there.

[Narration:]

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي سَعِيدُ بْنُ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم دَخَلَ الْمَسْجِدَ، فَدَخَلَ رَجُلٌ فَصَلَّى فَسَلَّمَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَرَدَّ وَقَالَ ‏"‏ ارْجِعْ فَصَلِّ، فَإِنَّكَ لَمْ تُصَلِّ ‏"‏‏.‏ فَرَجَعَ يُصَلِّي كَمَا صَلَّى ثُمَّ جَاءَ فَسَلَّمَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ ‏"‏ ارْجِعْ فَصَلِّ فَإِنَّكَ لَمْ تُصَلِّ ‏"‏ ثَلاَثًا‏.‏ فَقَالَ وَالَّذِي بَعَثَكَ بِالْحَقِّ مَا أُحْسِنُ غَيْرَهُ فَعَلِّمْنِي‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ إِذَا قُمْتَ إِلَى الصَّلاَةِ فَكَبِّرْ، ثُمَّ اقْرَأْ مَا تَيَسَّرَ مَعَكَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ، ثُمَّ ارْكَعْ حَتَّى تَطْمَئِنَّ رَاكِعًا، ثُمَّ ارْفَعْ حَتَّى تَعْتَدِلَ قَائِمًا، ثُمَّ اسْجُدْ حَتَّى تَطْمَئِنَّ سَاجِدًا، ثُمَّ ارْفَعْ حَتَّى تَطْمَئِنَّ جَالِسًا، وَافْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فِي صَلاَتِكَ كُلِّهَا ‏"‏‏.‏

Muḥammad ibn Bashshār narrated to us, he said: Yaḥyā narrated to us, from ‘Ubayd Allāh, who said: Sa‘īd ibn Abī Sa‘īd narrated to me from his father from Abū Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, entered the mosque, and a man entered and prayed. Then he came and greeted the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who returned the greeting and said: "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed."

So the man went back and prayed as he had before, then came and greeted the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, again. The Prophet said, "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed" — three times.

Then the man said: "By the One who sent you with the truth, I do not know any better than this, so teach me."

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "When you stand to pray, say takbīr, then recite whatever is easy for you from the Qur’ān. Then bow until you are at ease in bowing, then rise until you are standing straight, then prostrate until you are at ease in prostration, then rise until you are at ease sitting. Do that throughout your entire prayer. [3]

The longest narration they have regarding the detailing of the prayer in a single context presents the prayer with some detail regarding motions and actions only, without addressing what is to be recited during the recitation (qirāʾah), nor what is to be said during sujūd (prostration) and rukūʿ (bowing), nor what is to be said upon raising the head from prostration.

And this narration is from one of their fifth-tier sources, such as al-Tirmidhī! It is narrated from Abū Ḥumayd al-Sāʿidī, who describes how he saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) perform prayer.

This report is a disgrace to them — for al-Sāʿidī gives detailed descriptions of recommended (not obligatory) aspects of the movements and actions in the prayer, yet he makes no mention of the innovation of “takfīr” (placing the hands on the chest)! While he was supposedly describing to them the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and yet takfīr is one of the most obvious and visible movements!

The man even described how the Messenger of Allah would move his feet during prostration and sitting, but never once addressed the innovation of placing the hands on the chest (takattuf). And he supposedly presented this in front of ten of their companions, as they claim, and they all affirmed it. [4]

So all praise is due to Allah, who has placed our opponents among the humiliated, and has honored us with following the pure family of His Prophet — peace and blessings be upon them — and His curse upon their oppressors until the Day of Judgment.

May Allah grant you success in attaining His pleasure.

References

[1] Al-Kāfi Volume 3, Book 4, Chapter 20 The Opening Readings When Commencing Salah (prayer) Ḥadīth #8

[2] Mir’āt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl, Allāmah al-Majlisī, Volume: 15, Page: 101

[3] Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī , Book 10 (The Book of Prayer / Kitāb al-Ṣalāh), Hadith 151

[4] Jāmi‘ at‑Tirmidhī, Book 2 (The Book of Prayer / Kitāb al‑Ṣalāh), Hadith 156

The original text in arabic can be found here

Answer

_________________________________________

Question 

﷽