Tazim Qadr al-Salah - Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi
- Author died
- 294 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Dār
Tazim Qadr al-Salah (Magnifying the Status of Prayer) is a legal and theological hadith work composed by the jurist and traditionist Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi (202–294 AH / 817–906 CE), focusing on the preeminent obligation of prayer in Islam and the legal status of its abandonment .
Subject and Structure
The book treats ritual prayer as the central pillar of religion and faith . It opens with an introductory section on "Magnifying the Status of Prayer and Its Superiority over All Other Deeds" (باب في تعظيم قدر الصلاة وتفضيلها على سائر الأعمال), followed by an examination of Quranic verses indicating that prayer was an obligation prescribed for earlier prophets and past religious communities prior to the mission of the Prophet Muhammad .
A central portion of the treatise is devoted to theological and juridical debates surrounding faith (iman), deeds, and the legal consequences of leaving prayer unperformed (tarik al-salah). Al-Marwazi thoroughly investigates whether the intentional omission of prayer constitutes major disbelief that expels a person from the religion, examining the timing of prayers and the definitions of when their prescribed periods expire without valid excuse .
Method and Sources
Al-Marwazi compiles narrations with complete chains of transmission (isnads) back to the Prophet, the Companions, and the Successors . He integrates extensive transmitted reports from early authorities—such as Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, and Ibn Abi Shaybah—interweaving them with legal analysis and discussions of scholarly consensus .
Biographers such as al-Isnawee and Ibn Qadi Shuhbah described the book as a voluminous single volume containing numerous hadiths alongside concise juridical determinations, demonstrating the author's extensive transmission and deep legal discernment .
Reception and Impact
The 4th-century AH traditionist Abu al-Husayn al-Sulaymani praised Tazim Qadr al-Salah alongside al-Marwazi's work on raising the hands in prayer (Raf al-Yadayn), describing both as exceptional achievements of scholarship . The text became a primary reference work for later scholars addressing the theological definitions of faith and the legal status of abandoning prayers, being extensively cited by later jurists such as Ibn al-Qayyim in his treatise on prayer and Ibn Taymiyyah .
Editions
A critical edition of the book, originally prepared as a doctoral dissertation by Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Salih al-Rubaysh, was published in a single volume (688 pages) by Dar al-Huda al-Nabawi in Egypt and Dar al-Fadilah in Riyadh in 1432 AH .
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