Question:
Is there a hadith that states two rakaat prayer of a person who is married is superior to that of an unmarried person?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Prayer is one of the pillars of Islam and it is represented as the pillars of the religion. This means, if one does not perform prayer, then his religion collapses. The intended hadith is:
The Prophet PBUH said:
رَأْسُ الأَمْرِ الإِسْلاَمُ وَعَمُودُهُ الصَّلاَةُ
'The head of the matter is Islam, and its pillar is the Salat’
[Jami’ al-Tirmidhi (2616)][This hadith is evaluated as hassan sahih by Imam al-Tirmidhi]
Besides, Allah SWT creates man and woman and sanctions marriage for them. This is because, the original rule or in general, marriage is Sunnah because it is related to fitrah (human nature) and desire of humans. [See: al-Muktamad, 16/4]
So, in this series of Irsyad al-Hadith we will explain the status of a popular hadith in our society and this hadith or narration is often mentioned by the kadi in his nikah (marriage) sermon which is:
It is said that the Prophet PBUH said:
رَكْعَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُتَزَوِّجِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ رَكْعَةً مِنَ الأَعْزَبِ
“Two rakaats of a person who is married is better than 70 rakaats of a person who is single.”
Before we state the status of the above hadith, we bring first the opinions of scholars who evaluated this hadith, among them:
- Imam Ibn al-Jawzi (597H) evaluates this hadith as not sahih. [See: al-Mawdhu’at, 257/2]
- Imam al-Suyuthi (911H) evaluates this hadith as not sahih in his book. [See: al-La’aali al-Masnu’ah, 135/2]
- Imam Ibn Iraq al-Kinani (963H) cited the opinion of Ibn Hajar that this hadith is munkar. [See: Tanzih al-Syariah, 205/2]
- Imam al-Fattani (986H) evaluates this hadith as not sahih. [See: Tazkirah al-Mawdhu’at, 125/1]
- Imam al-Shawkani (1250H) evaluates this hadith as not sahih. [See: al-Fawaid al-Majmu’ah, 120/1]
- Imam al-Qawqaji (1305H) evaluates this hadith as mawdu’ (fake/fabricated). [See: al-Lu’Lu’ al-Marsu’, 89/1]
- Sheikh al-Albani (1420H) also evaluates this hadith as not sahih. [See: Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Dhaifah, 98/2]
After we analyse and go through some of the scholars’ opinion as stated above, we state that this hadith is not sahih. This is because there is no difference in term of superiority for a married or a single person in performing prayer. While what is mentioned or stated in the hadith on the difference is in terms of the advantage in prayer and it is as the following:
- Prayer in congregation is superior to praying alone
Narrated by Abu Sai’d al-Khudri RA that the Prophet PBUH said:
صَلاَةُ الْجَمَاعَةِ تَفْضُلُ صَلاَةَ الْفَذِّ بِخَمْسٍ وَعِشْرِينَ دَرَجَةً
The prayer in congregation is twenty-five times superior to the prayer offered by person alone
Sahih al-Bukhari (646)
- Prayer performed early (after the beginning of its time) is superior than praying at the end of the time for prayer
From Abdullah bin Mas’ud RA that he asked the Prophet PBUH on which deed is loved most by Allah? He replied,
الصَّلاَةُ عَلَى وَقْتِهَا
To offer prayers at their early (very first) stated times
Sahih al-Bukhari (527)
Conclusion
In conclusion, we emphasize that the above hadith is not sahih and we are not allowed to spread it to others except to explain that it is a fabrication. This is because the punishment for those who commit falsehood in the name of the Prophet PBUH is hellfire in the hereafter. Lastly, may Allah SWT preserve our tongue from conveying and spreading hadiths which are not sahih. Amin.
Wallahua’lam.