Purification, Prayer, and Fasting: Core Worship Chapters

The first major section of As-Sunan al-Kubra deals with purification, and it is here that al-Bayhaqi's integration of hadith evidence with Shafi'i legal analysis is most immediately apparent. The purification chapters are among the most extensively developed in the entire work, covering everything from the basic conditions of ritual cleanliness to the finest points of scholarly dispute about what substances require a full purificatory bath, how water is assessed for purity, and the conditions under which earth may be used in place of water. Al-Bayhaqi's authentication assessments in these chapters have been cited by Shafi'i jurists for centuries as authoritative guidance.

The prayer chapters, which constitute one of the longest sections of the Sunan al-Kubra, cover the call to prayer, the conditions and pillars of the prayer, the proper conduct during prayer, the congregational prayer, and the special prayers of various occasions. Al-Bayhaqi's treatment of the disputed questions in prayer methodology — such as the Shafi'i position that the opening supplication is recited silently and that the hands are folded over the chest — presents the hadith evidence in support of these positions alongside careful refutation of the evidence cited by other schools. The comprehensiveness of this coverage makes the prayer chapters a key reference for Shafi'i legal reasoning on prayer.

The almsgiving chapters present the hadith evidence for the rulings of zakah in detail, covering the nisab for various categories of wealth, the rates of zakah due, and the categories of people eligible to receive it. Al-Bayhaqi's authentication work in these chapters has been particularly useful for scholars trying to assess the reliability of specific traditions that underlie contested rulings in zakah law.

The fasting chapters are extensive and cover not only the obligations of Ramadan but the full range of voluntary fasting practices recommended in the prophetic tradition. Al-Bayhaqi presents the authentication of key traditions on fasting alongside discussion of the legal rulings they yield, making these chapters a comprehensive reference for Shafi'i fasting law grounded in authenticated hadith evidence.