Hadith #187

Arabic Text

English Translation

It was narrated from 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (رضي الله عنه) — via Abu Mu'awiya, from al-A'mash, from Shaqiq ibn Salama — that he said: 'A man came to 'Abdullah [ibn Mas'ud] from the tribe of Bajila, called Nahik ibn Sinan. He said: O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman, how do you read this verse — do you find it with a ya or an alif: from water that does not alter [asin/yasin] [47:15]? 'Abdullah said to him: Have you memorized all the Quran except for this one verse? [The man] said: I recite all of al-Mufassal [the shorter surahs] in one rak'a. 'Abdullah said: [That is] rapid like the reciting of poetry! Indeed among the best of prayer are the bowing [ruku'] and the prostration [sujud]. And there will come peoples who recite the Quran but it does not pass beyond their collar-bones. But when one recites it and it becomes firmly rooted in the heart, it benefits [him]. I know the paired surahs [al-naza'ir] that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite — two surahs in one rak'a. He then stood up and went inside. 'Alqama came and entered upon him. [The companions] said: Ask him for us about the pairs that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite — two surahs in one rak'a. He entered and asked him, then came back out to us and said: Twenty surahs from the beginning of al-Mufassal, in the arrangement of 'Abdullah.'