We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at Usfan when the polytheists, led by Khalid bin Walid, came to face us. They were positioned between us and the qiblah. The Prophet ﷺ led us in the noon prayer.The polytheists said, "They were in a state where, had we attacked them by surprise, we could have struck them down." Then they said, "A prayer is about to come upon them that is dearer to them than their children and their own selves."Then Jibril came down with these verses between the noon and afternoon prayers, "When you are among them and lead them in prayer..." [Nisa 4:102].When the time for the prayer came, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered them to take up their weapons. We formed two rows behind him. He bowed, and we all bowed with him. He rose, and we all rose with him. Then the Prophet ﷺ prostrated along with the row directly behind him, while the other row remained standing, guarding them. When the first row had prostrated and stood up, the other row sat and prostrated in their place. Then the first row moved forward to take the position of the second, and the second row moved up to take the position of the first.Then he bowed, and they all bowed with him. He rose, and they all rose with him. Then the Prophet ﷺ prostrated along with the row directly behind him, while the other row remained standing, guarding them. When he sat, the other row also sat and prostrated. Then he gave the salam to them and concluded the prayer.The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed this prayer twice, once at Usfan and once in the land of Banu Sulaym.
كنا مع رسول الله ﷺ بعسفان، فاستقبلنا المشركون، عليهم خالد بن الوليد، وهم بيننا وبين القبلة، فصلى بنا النبي ﷺ الظهر. فقالوا: قد كانوا على حال لو أصبنا غرتهم. ثم قالوا: تأتي عليهم الآن صلاة هي أحب إليهم من أبنائهم وأنفسهم. قال: فنزل جبرئيل عليه السلام بهذه الآيات بين الظهر والعصر: {وإذا كنت فيهم فأقمت لهم الصلوة}. قال: فحضرت، فأمرهم رسول الله ﷺ فأخذوا السلاح. قال: فصففنا خلفه صفين. قال: ثم ركع، فركعنا جميعا، ثم رفع فرفعنا جميعا، ثم سجد النبي ﷺ بالصف الذي يليه، والآخرون قيام يحرسونهم، فلما سجدوا وقاموا، جلس الآخرون، فسجدوا في مكانهم، ثم تقدم هؤلاء إلى مصاف هؤلاء، وجاء هؤلاء إلى مصاف هؤلاء، ثم ركع فركعوا جميعا، ثم سجد النبي ﷺ و الصف الذي يليه، والآخرون قيام يحرسونهم فلما جلس جلس الآخرون، فسجدوا، ثم سلم عليهم، ثم انصرف، قال: فصلاها رسول الله ﷺ: مرتين مرة بعسفان، ومرة بأرض بني سليم.
Reported by Abu Dawud (11236), Nasai (3/177–178), and Ahmad (16580, this being his wording), and Ibn Hibban (2876) and Hakim (1/337–338) both graded it sahih, all of them from the hadith of Mansur bin Mutamir, from Mujahid, from Abu Ayyash Zurqi, as he mentioned it. Its isnad is sahih. There is disagreement about whether Mujahid heard directly from Abu Ayyash, but the correct view is that he did hear from him.The prayer of fear has many forms, since the enemy is sometimes facing the qibla and sometimes not in that direction, and sometimes the people pray in a group, while at other times the fighting becomes so intense that they cannot pray together and instead pray individually, whether facing the qibla or not, whether on foot or mounted. The hadiths reported on this subject are numerous and have already been mentioned in the discussion of the prayer of fear.Imam Ahmad said, "Every hadith reported concerning the chapters on the prayer of fear may legitimately be acted upon. Six or seven different forms have been reported regarding it."As for His saying, "There is no blame upon you, if you are troubled by rain or are ill, for setting aside your weapons, but take your precaution" [Nisa 4:102], carrying weapons during the prayer of fear is obligatory according to the apparent sense of the verse, and this is one of the two positions held by Shafii. Allah granted permission to set them aside in the case of rain or illness.