سنن ابودوٗد · Hadith 507

Narrated Muadh ibn Jabal: Prayer passed through three stages and fasting also passed through three stages. The narrator Nasr reported the rest of the tradition completely. The narrator, Ibn al-Muthanna, narrated the story of saying prayer facing in the direction of Jerusalem. He said: The third stage is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to Madina and prayed, i. e. facing Jerusalem, for thirteen months. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed the verse: "We have seen thee turning thy face to Heaven (for guidance, O Muhammad). And now verily We shall make thee turn (in prayer) toward a qiblah which is dear to thee. So turn thy face toward the Inviolable Place of Worship, and ye (O Muslims), wherever ye may be, turn your face (when ye pray) toward it" (ii. 144). And Allah, the Reverend and the Majestic, turned (them) towards the Kabah. He (the narrator) completed his tradition. The narrator, Nasr, mentioned the name of the person who had the dream, saying: And Abdullah ibn Zayd, a man from the Ansar, came. The same version reads: And he turned his face towards the qiblah and said: Allah is most great, Allah is most great; I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; come to prayer (he pronounced it twice), come to salvation (he pronounced it twice); Allah is Most Great, Allah is most great. He then paused for a while, and then got up and pronounced in a similar way, except that after the phrase "Come to salvation" he added. "The time for prayer has come, the time for prayer has come. " The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Teach it to Bilal, then pronounce the adhan (call to prayer) with the same words. As regards fasting, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to fast for three days every month, and would fast on the tenth of Muharram. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed the verse: ". . . . . . . Fasting was prescribed for those before you, that ye may ward off (evil). . . . . . and for those who can afford it there is a ransom: the feeding of a man in need (ii. 183-84). If someone wished to keep the fast, he would keep the fast; if someone wished to abandon the fast, he would feed an indigent every day; it would do for him. But this was changed. Allah, the Exalted, revealed: "The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran. . . . . . . . . . (let him fast the same) number of other days" (ii. 185). Hence the fast was prescribed for the one who was present in the month (of Ramadan) and the traveller was required to atone (for them); feeding (the indigent) was prescribed for the old man and woman who were unable to fast. (The narrator, Nasr, further reported): The companion Sirmah, came after finishing his day's work. . . . . . and he narrated the rest of the tradition.

Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020