al-Salat - Ibn al-Qayyim

Kitab al-Salat (also known as al-Salat wa-hukm tarikiha) is a legal and theological treatise by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (691–751 AH / 1292–1350 CE) addressing the status of the ritual prayer, the legal rulings regarding its abandonment, congregational prayer, and the Prophet's manner of performing it Sharh Sifat al-Salah li I…+1.

Title and Subject

The work is referred to in scholarly sources under variant titles, including Kitab al-Salat, Kitab al-Salat wa-hukm tarikiha, Hukm tarik al-salat, and Tarik al-salat, with Kitab al-Salat being the title recorded by Ibn al-Qayyim's student Ibn Rajab Sharh Sifat al-Salah li I…+1. Ibn al-Qayyim opens the work by asserting the consensus of Muslims that intentionally abandoning obligatory prayer is among the greatest sins and enormities, its guilt exceeding that of murder, theft, fornication, and drinking wine Limadha Nusalli - al-Muqa…+1.

Structure and Content

The text is organized as a comprehensive answer to a series of inquiries centered around eleven primary issues al-Salat - Ibn al-Qayyim+1:

• The legal ruling on executing someone who abandons prayer, the stipulation that he must first be summoned to perform it, and whether execution is warranted for missing one, two, or three prayers al-Salat - Ibn al-Qayyim+1.
• Whether an individual who abandons prayer is executed as a prescribed penalty (hadd) while retaining Muslim status, or executed as an apostate and heretic (zindiq), and whether missing prayer nullifies good deeds al-Salat - Ibn al-Qayyim+1.
• Whether a daytime prayer made up at night or a nighttime prayer made up during the day is accepted al-Salat - Ibn al-Qayyim+1.
• The validity of an individual's prayer when performed alone despite having the ability to pray in congregation, whether congregation is a condition for validity, and whether praying in the mosque is mandatory or permissible at home al-Salat - Ibn al-Qayyim+1.
• The legal status of rushing prayer without completing its bowings and prostrations al-Salat - Ibn al-Qayyim+1.
• The length and description of the prayer of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the definition of the lightness (takhfif) commanded when leading prayers, and the context of the Prophet's address to Mu'adh ibn Jabal Sharh Sifat al-Salah li I…+1.

The book concludes with a dedicated chapter summarizing the Prophet's manner of praying step-by-step, from facing the Qiblah and the opening takbir to the concluding taslim Sharh Sifat al-Salah li I…+1.

Method

Ibn al-Qayyim's methodology relies on presenting the differing views of the legal schools (madhahib) and the early generations (salaf), citing textual evidence from the Quran, the prophetic Sunnah, and the consensus of the Companions Sharh Sifat al-Salah li I…+1. In examining the dispute over whether abandoning prayer constitutes major disbelief that expels a person from Islam or minor disbelief, he establishes foundational principles distinguishing faith (iman) and disbelief (kufr), their branches, and the division between disbelief in action (kufr 'amali) and disbelief in belief (kufr i'tiqadi) Durus fi al-Aqida - al-Ra…+1.