A Critical Assessment of the Proposition “lā tasquṭ al-ṣalāh bi-ḥāl” (Prayer Is Never Dropped Under Any Circumstance)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mohammadebrahim Roshan Zamir ¹

Seyyed Ali Delbari ¹

Hadi Marvi ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Qurʾanic and Ḥadīth Studies, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

² Ph.D. Candidate in Qurʾanic and Ḥadīth Studies, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

10.22067/jfiqh.2024.85344.1686

Abstract

The statement “lā tasquṭ al-ṣalāh bi-ḥāl” is invoked to establish the obligation of prayer even when certain parts or conditions are unattainable, or when prayer conflicts with other acts. The present article aims to examine the accuracy of attributing this statement to an Infallible Imām, assess its textual content, and determine the scope of its evidentiary force using library sources and a descriptive-analytical method. The findings indicate that this statement first appeared in a ḥadīth-like sentence in Jawāhir al-Kalām. Although the statement is not classified as a ḥadīth in the technical sense, because the precise wording is absent in the transmitted traditions, the harmony of its content with the Qur’an, Sunnah, scholarly consensus (ʾijmāʿ), and other valid indicators confirms the soundness of its meaning. Aside from exceptional cases such as prayer during menstruation, loss of intellect, or involuntary unconsciousness, in which prayer is unanimously deemed non-obligatory, the scope of validity for this statement includes the case of fāqid al-ṭahūrayn, for whom most jurists have permitted the omission of prayer.

Keywords

pseudo-ḥadīth

prayer (ṣalāt)

criticism of the chain of hadith (naqd sanadī)

criticism of the meaning of hadith

Subjects

• Religious jurisprudence

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