ALLAH HAS PROTECTED A
BELIEVER FROM KILLING AS A
RESULT OF PRAYING SUBHI ON
TIME AND
CONGREGATIONALLY:
An interesting story reported by our
pious predecessors has confirmed
to us that Allah protects pious
believers as a result of observing
SUBHI PRAYER on time and in
congregation.
It was narrated that al-A’mash said:
Saalim ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar
was sitting with al-Hajjaaj (A
mischievous and unjust ruler) and
al-Hajjaaj said to him: Get up and
strike this person’s neck. Saalim
picked up the sword and took hold
of the man, and headed towards
the gate of the palace. Then his
father (a great companion of our
Prophet by name Abdullahi Bn
Umar) looked at him when he was
taking this man out and said: Is he
really going to do it? He repeated it
two or three times, and when he
took him out, Saalim said to him:
Did you pray Fajr? He said: Yes.
He said: Then take whichever path
you want. Then he came and threw
down the sword and al-Hajjaaj
said to him: Did you strike his
neck? He said: No. He said: Why
not? He said: I heard my father
say: The Messenger of Allah
(SAW) says: “Whoever prays Fajr
is under the protection of Allaah
until evening comes.”
Imam Attabaraani has reported in
al-Mu’jam al-Awsat (4/5) . Al-
Albaani said it is authentic in
Saheeh al-Targheeb (1/110).
COMMENTARY: What is meant by
the hadeeth is a warning against
abandoning or neglecting Fajr
prayer, because abandoning it is a
transgression of the covenant
between a person and his Lord.
This covenant is prayer and regular
performance of prayer.
Furthermore, some scholars are of
the view that the virtue of entering
the protection of Allaah that is
mentioned in this hadeeth applies
only to the one who prays Fajr in
congregation. Hence al-Nawawi
(RH) gave it the title, in his editing
of Saheeh Muslim, of “Chapter on
the virtue of praying ‘Isha’ and Fajr
in congregation.
This apparently is what Imam
Muslim did, as he narrated nearly
twenty ahaadeeth before this
hadeeth, and umpteen ahaadeeth
after it, all of them speaking about
prayer in congregation and related
matters.
May Allah continue to guide us to
the right path and protect us from
evil and harmful deeds and
disasters