CONCERNING THE SPECIAL QUALITIES OF THE [VOLUNTARY] RITUAL PRAYERS [SALAWAT] PERFORMED IN THE DAYTIME ON EACH OF THE DAYS OF THE WEEK.
1. Traditional reports concerning [voluntary] ritual prayers performed during the daytime [salawat an-nahar].
As for what has come down to us on the subject of the daytime ritual prayers [salawat an-nahar], one item is the traditional report, transmitted on the authority of Abu Salama, according to which Abu Huraira (may Allah be well pleased with him) said:
"Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said to me:
"'Whenever you are about to go out of your place of residence, you should perform two cycles of ritual prayer [fa-salli rak'atain], for they will prevent you from making a bad exit, and whenever you enter your place of residence, you should likewise perform two cycles of ritual prayer, for they will prevent you from making a bad entrance.'"
According to another traditional report, this one transmitted on the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be well pleased with him), Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said, with reference to the prayer of daybreak [salat as-subh] :
Whenever someone performs the ritual ablution [tawadda'], then sets out for the mosque [masjid], and then performs the ritual prayer [salat] inside it, for every step he takes, he will be credited with a good deed, and a bad deed will be erased from his record. Moreover, the good deed will carry the value of ten of its kind.
If he performs the ritual prayer [salla], then takes his leave [from the mosque] at the rising of the sun, Allah (Exalted is He) will record a good deed in his favor for every hair on his body, and he will return home with an accepted Pilgrimage [Hijja mabrura] to his credit.
If he sits until he is ready to perform a cycle of prayer [hatta yarka'a], for every act of sitting [jalsa] Allah (Exalted is He) will record a million good deeds in his credit column.
Whenever someone performs the late evening prayer [salat al-'atama], he is entitled to receive a similar reward, and he will return home with an accepted Visitation ['Umra mabrura] to his credit.
[The Caliph] 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be well pleased with him) is reported as having said: "I once heard Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) say:
"'When someone performs the late evening prayer [salat al-'isha'] in a congregation [jama'a], it is as if he has devoted half the night to worship. And when someone performs the dawn prayer [salat al-fajr] in a congregation [jama'a], it is as if he has spent the entire night in prayer.'"
According to another traditional report, this one transmitted on the authority of Abu Salih, Abu Huraira (may Allah be well pleased with him) stated that Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:
No ritual prayer [salat] is more burdensome for the hypocrites [munafiqin] than the prayer of late evening and that of the dawn [salat al-'isha' wa 'l-fajr]. If they did but know what [blessings] these two contain, they would surely come to perform them, even if they had to come crawling on their hands and knees! I once considered the idea of ordering my servants to gather firewood, so I could make it too hot for men who do not attend [the congregation] with us to stay in their houses!
According to 'Ata' ibn Yasar, Abu Huraira (may Allah be well pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:
If someone performs four cycles of ritual prayer [salla arba'a raka'at] after the sun has declined from the meridian, paying proper attention to their Qur'anic recitation [qira'a] and to their acts of bowing [ruku'] and prostration [sujud], seventy thousand angels will pray together with him, begging forgiveness on his behalf until the night sets in.
According to this same report, Abu Huraira (may Allah be well pleased with him) went on to say:
"Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) would never fail to perform four [voluntary cycles of prayer] after the sun's decline from the meridian. He would prolong them, and he used to say:
"'The gates of heaven are opened at this hour, so I would like to have a good deed of mine rise up into it.'
"Someone asked: 'O Messenger of Allah, is there a [ritual salutation of] "Peace!" in them, marking a division [of the four cycles into two segments]?' 'No,' said he (Allah bless him and give him peace)."
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is also reported as having said:
May Allah bestow His mercy upon any servant [of His] who performs four [voluntary cycles of prayer] before [the obligatory ritual prayer of] the afternoon [al-'asr].
