Other Issues Concerning Prayer

A. The Call to Prayer (Adhan)

The story of the introduction of the call to prayer (adhan) has been recounted in different ways by the two main traditions in Islam. Whereas the Sunni tradition ascribed the origin of the call to prayer to a dream^[1188] had by a certain Companion, 'Abd Allah b.

Zayd,^[1189] the tradition of the House of the Prophet insisted that the adhan was not human in origin but rather was taught to the Prophet by the angel Jibril (Gabriel).^[1190] Statements attributed to Ja'far al-Sadiq censure those who trace the adhan to a dream:

إن دين لله أعرمن أن برى ي الغوم.^{^[1191]}

The religion of God is too honorable to be dreamed of in one's sleep.

يتغرل الوح على نبيبكم وتزعمون أنه أخذ الأذان من عبد الله ين زيد؟^{^[1192]}

Your Prophet receives revelation, and you say that he adopted the call to prayer from 'Abd Allah b. Zayd?

According to reports quoted from Ja'far al-Sadiq,^[1193] the original adhan included a call to the “best of acts” (ح على خيرالعمل), understood in the context to refer to the prayer. The phrase was reportedly taken out during the caliphate of 'Umar because of a shift of the caliphate's current priorities from prayer to jihad.217 'All b. al-Husayn Zayn al-'Abidin called the version that included the extra sentence “the original adhan" (al-adhan al-aw- wo/].^[1194] ^{^[1195] Sunni sources tell us that 'Abd Allah b.}

'Umar and 'Ali b. al-Husayn Zayn al-'Abidin included it in their adhan.^[1196] ^{^[1197] Other members of the House of the Prophet,²²⁹ including Muhammad al-Baqir,^[1198] Ja'far al-Sadiq,^[1199] and Zayd b. 'Ali,^[1200] as well as some other early Muslims,^[1201] did the same, as did the Khariji Najda al-Haruri, and presumably other Khawarij, too.^[1202] B. Combining Prayers fal-Jam‘ bayn al-Salatayn)
The four major schools of Sunni law agree that every daily prayer has a specific time when it should be performed and that performing the noon and afternoon or the dusk and evening prayers together is unlawful, except in specific cases and circumstances. Some early jurists of the Hijaz^[1203] and a few later jurists, mainly among the Malikis, disagreed^[1204] on the basis of a statement from Ibn 'Abbas, who reported that the Prophet used to perform those prayers together even when there were no specific circumstances:
ا ا
اين عباس قال: جمع التي - صل هللا عليه وسلم - بن الظهر واعلرص ]والمغرب والعشاء] بالمدينة ي غير سفر ولا مطو.^{^[1205]} قارئ: بتا أبا العباس.'^{^[1206]} وبم فعل ذلك؟ قال: أراد أن لاتجرج أمته.^{^[1207]}
Ibn 'Abbas said, “The Prophet (may God's prayer and peace be upon him) combined the zuhr and 'asr prayers [as well as the maghrib and ‘isha’ prayers] in Medina without being in a situation of travel or rain.” I said, “O Abu al-'Abbas! Why did he do that?” He said, “He did not want to impose hardship on his community.”
Ja'far alSdiq and his father endorsed the report and told their followers that combining prayers was permissible, despite their strong emphasis on performing each prayer in its respective best time:^[1208]ا
زررة عن أبي عبد الله قال: صلى رسول الله — صلى الله عله وآل وسلم — بالناس الظهر والعصر حين زلت الشمس ي جماعة من غير عقن وصلى بهم المغرب والعشاء الآخرة قبل سقوط المشفق ي جماعة من غير عهل. وإنا فعل رسول الله — صلى الله عله وآل وسلم — [ذلك] ليشع الوقت على أمته.^{^[1209]}
[Zurara:] Abu 'Abd Allah said, “The Messenger of God (may God's prayer and peace be upon him and his Family) led the people in the zuhr and 'asr prayers in congregation when the sun had passed its zenith without there being a reason, and he led them in the maghrib and ‘isha’ prayers in congregation before twilight had disappeared without there being a reason.
The Messenger of God (may God's prayer and peace be upon him and his Family) did that so that his community would have more flexibility in the timing [for prayers].” عبد هللا ين سنان عن أبي عبد هللا أن رسول هللا — صلى هللا عله وآل وسلم — جمع بين الظهروالعصربأذان وإقامتين، وجمع بين المغرب والعشاء من غيرعين باذان واحد وإقامتين. ^{^[1210]}
['Abd Allah b. Sinan:] Abu 'Abd Allah said, “The Messenger of God (may God's prayer and peace be upon him and his Family) combined the zuhr and ‘asr prayers with one adhan and two iqamas, and he combined the maghrib and ‘isha’ prayers, without cause, with one adhan and two iqamas.''
عبد المكل القثي عن أبي عبد هللا قال: قلت ل: أجمع بين المبلاتين من غيرعين؟ قال: قد فعل ذلك رسول هللا — صلى هللا عله وآل وسلم.
أرد التخفيف عن أمته.^{^[1211]} ['Abd al-Malik al-Qummi] I asked Abu 'Abd Allah, “Shall I combine the two prayers without cause?” He said, “The Messenger of God (may God's prayer and peace be upon him and his Family) did that. He wanted to ease matters for his community.'
إسحاق بن عمار قال: سألت أبا عبد هللا: نجمع بين المغرب والعشاء في الحضرقبل أن تغيب الشفق^{^[1212]} من غيرعلة؟ قال: لابأس.^{^[1213]}
[Ishaq b. 'Ammar:] I asked Abu 'Abd Allah, “May we combine the maghrib and ‘isha’ prayers while in residence, before the disappearance of the twilight, without cause?” He said, “There is nothing wrong with that.'
IX.}

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Source: Modarressi Hossein. Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar Al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law. Harvard University Press,2022. — 375 p.. 2022

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Other Issues Concerning Prayer

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