14 i.e..,the `Asr prayer according to the correct saying of the majority of scholars, among them Abu Haneefah and his two students. There are ahaadeeth about this which Ibn Katheer has given in his Tafseer of the Qur'aan.

15 Tirmidhi, who declared it saheeh, and Ahmad.

16 Muslim and Bukhaari, and it is given in my book Irwaa' al-Ghaleel under Hadeeth 394.

17 Bukhaari, Abu Daawood and Ahmad.

18 ibid. Khattaabi said, "The meaning of `Imran's hadeeth is intended for a sick person who is able to undergo hardship and stand with difficulty. Hence the reward of praying sitting has been made half of the reward of praying standing: encouraging him to pray standing while allowing him to sit." Ibn Hajr said in Fath al-Baari (2/468): "This deduction is valid".

19 Ahmad & Ibn Maajah with a saheeh sanad.

20 Tabaraani, Bazzaar, Ibn as-Samaak in his hadeeth book (67/2) & Baihaqi . It has a saheeh isnaad as I have explained in Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah (323).

21 Bazzaar (68), Daaraqutni, `Abdul Ghani al-Maqdisi in his Sunan (82/2) and Haakim declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.

22 Abu Daawood and Haakim, who declared it saheeh, as did Dhahabi. I have given it in as-Saheehah (319) and Irwaa' (383)

23 Muslim and Abu Daawood.

24 Bukhaari and Muslim.

25i.e. voluntary prayer (night or forenoon), named so due to its content of tasbeeh (glorification).

26 Muslim and Ahmad.

27 Nasaa'i, Ibn Khuzaimah in his Saheeh (1/107/2), `Abdul Ghani al-Maqdisi in his Sunan (80/1) & Haakim, who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.

28 Abu Daawood & Ibn Maajah. It is a mutawatir hadeeth as Tahaawi has mentioned.

29 Abu Daawood & Bazzaar (53, az-Zawa'id); Haakim declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.

30 ibid.

31 Abu Daawood, Ibn Khuzaimah & Haakim, who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi and Nawawi agreed. The first one is given in Irwaa' (284)

32 ibid.

33 Abu Daawood, Nasaa'i & Ibn Khuzaimah (1/110/2) with a saheeh isnaad.

34 This is the sunnah about the pulpit: that it should have three steps, not more, To have more is an innovation, from the period of Bani Umayyah, which often causes an interruption in the row, and to get out of that by having it in the western corner of the mosque or in the mihrab is another innovation, as is the raising of it in the wall like a balcony to which one ascends by means of steps in the wall! Whereas the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam). See Fath al-Baari (2/331).

35 Bukhaari , Muslim (who collected the other narration) & Ibn Sa`d (1/253). It is given in Irwaa' (545)

36lit., "screen, cover"; in the context of prayer, it refers to an object just beyond the place of prostration, within which nothing should pass, as is detailed in this section.

37 Bukhaari & Ahmad.

38 Bukhaari & Muslim.

39 Ibn Khuzaimah in his Saheeh (1/93/1) with a sound isnaad.

40 Abu Daawood, Bazzaar (p. 54 - Zawaaid) & Haakim, who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi and Nawawi agreed.

41 Bukhaari. The sutrah is a must for the Imaam or a person praying alone, even in a large mosque. Ibn Haani said in his Masaa'il from Imaam Ahmad (1/66): "Abu `Abdullaah (i.e. Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal) saw me one day when I was praying without a sutrah in front of me, and I was in a (large) congregational mosque, so he said to me: `Take something as a sutrah', so I took a man as a sutrah." This contains an indication that Imaam Ahmad did not differentiate between big or small mosques in taking a sutrah - and that is surely correct, but this is something neglected by most people, including imaams of mosques, in every land that I have visited, including Arabia which I was able to tour in Rajab of this year (1410), so the `ulamaa should tell the people and advise them of this, explaining its ruling and that it is also required in the Two Sacred Mosques.

42 Bukhaari, Muslim & Ibn Maajah

43 Bukhaari & Ahmad.

44 i.e., their kneeling place.

45 Bukhaari & Ahmad.

46 Muslim, Ibn Khuzaimah (92/2) & Ahmad.

47 Muslim & Abu Daawood.

48 Nasaa'i & Ahmad with a saheeh isnaad.

49 Bukhaari , Muslim & Abu Ya`laa (3/1107).

50 Ibn Khuzaimah in his Saheeh (1/95/1), Tabaraani (3/140/3) & Haakim who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.

51Referring to the following prayer of the Prophet Sulaimaan (`alaihis salaam) which was answered by Allaah, as described in the Qur'aan: "My Lord! Forgive me, and grant me sovereignty not allowed to anyone after me, for You are indeed the Granter of Bounties. So we subjected to his power: the Wind, gently flowing to his order, wherever he wished; and the devils, every kind of builder and diver, and also others bound together in fetters." (Saad 38: 35-38)

52 Ahmad, Daaraqutni & Tabari with a saheeh isnaad, and similar in meaning to this hadeeth is found in Bukhaari and Muslim and others on the authority of several Companions. It is one of the many ahaadeeth which the Qadiani group disbelieve, for they do not believe in the world of the jinn which is mentioned in the Qur'aan and the Sunnah. Their method of discarding the texts is well-known: if it is from the Qur'aan, they change its meaning e.g. the saying of the Exalted "Say, it has been revealed to me that a group of jinns listened" (72:1); they say "i.e. a group of humans"! making the word "jinn" synonymous with "human"! Hence they play with the language and the religion; if it is from the Sunnah, then if it is possible for them to change it with a false interpretation they do so, otherwise they find it easy to declare it to be false, even if all the Imaams of Hadeeth and the whole ummah behind them are agreed on its authenticity, nay its being mutawaatir. May Allaah guide them.

53 Bukhaari & Muslim, and the additional narration is from Ibn Khuzaimah (1/94/1).

54 ibid.

55 i.e. mature, and what is meant by `cut off' is `rendered futile'. As regards the hadeeth: "Nothing cuts off the prayer", then it is a weak hadeeth as I have shown in Tamaam al-Minnah (p. 306).

56 Muslim, Abu Daawood and Ibn Khuzaimah (1/95/2).

57 ibid.