An Authenticated Summary of the Prophet’s Prayer ﷺ

Book excerpt: Excerpt from the Introduction of the Translator - An Authenticated Summary of the Prophet’s Prayer ﷺ: The Prayer is the first matter about which the slaves of Allāh will be asked on the Day of Resurrection. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: “The first matter about which the slave will be called to account [on the Day of Resurrection] is the prayer.” - an-Nasā'ī [468], with a Ṣaḥīḥ Isnād according to Hafiz Zubair 'Ali Zai [raḥimahullāh]. Therefore it is a matter of utmost importance that a Muslim takes care to pray his obligatory prayers conscientiously and completely. And the completeness of the prayer is not only that he prays it in its prescribed time, but also that he adopts the procedure taught by the Prophet ﷺ. It is precisely for this extremely important purpose that this translation of the book of the Ḥadīth scholar Hafiz Zubair 'Ali Zai [raḥimahullāh] into the English language, serves: مختصر صحيح نماز نبوي - An Authenticated Summary of the Prophet’s Prayer ﷺ. One of the many features that motivated the translation of this book for English readers is the extensive Takhrīj [referencing] and Taḥqīq [verification] of the Aḥadīth and Āthār [narrations] used for the individual points. This, among other things, makes it possible for students of Islām of any level to benefit from this book. Someone who is just beginning to learn prayer and needs guidance based on authentic narrations that is neither too crude nor too overwhelming, will be able to derive as much benefit from this book as an advanced student who wants to deal with the Fawā`id [benefits] regarding the Isnād [chain] of the narrations, Āthār and points of Fiqh [jurisprudence] that the author addresses. In order to make a variety of the Fawā`id accessible to as many Muslims as possible, many of the words used in the Ḥadīth-terminology have been summarised in English by the translator. Furthermore, additional Fawā`id have been mentioned in some places. [...] Hafiz Zubair 'Ali Zai has added two chapters in this book, in addition to the chapters of Wuḍū` and a step-by-step guide to prayer: some authentically narrated Adhkār after Prayer and a guide with regards to how the Janāzah prayer is to be prayed. All the Du'ā's [supplications] in this book have been rendered both in their Arabic form and in English. As an additional benefit, an appendix has been added in which the transliterations of some selected supplications have been compiled by the translator, as a benefit for those who are still learning Arabic or who cannot yet read Arabic correctly. May Allāh have mercy on Hafiz Zubair 'Ali Zai and may He accept this humble effort from the translator. Āmīn. 'Imrān Ḥussain Jumada Al-Awwal 1443/ December 2021