حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُعَاذٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ مُحَارِبٍ، سَمِعَ جَابِرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، يَقُولُ اشْتَرَى مِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعِيرًا فَلَمَّا قَدِمَ الْمَدِينَةَ أَمَرَنِي أَنْ آتِيَ الْمَسْجِدَ فَأُصَلِّيَ رَكْعَتَيْنِ .
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) bought a camel from me. When he came back to Medina, he ordered me to come to the mosque and observed two rak'ahs of prayer.
وَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَهَّابِ، - يَعْنِي الثَّقَفِيَّ - حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ، عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ خَرَجْتُ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي غَزَاةٍ فَأَبْطَأَ بِي جَمَلِي وَأَعْيَى ثُمَّ قَدِمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَبْلِي وَقَدِمْتُ بِالْغَدَاةِ فَجِئْتُ الْمَسْجِدَ فَوَجَدْتُهُ عَلَى بَابِ الْمَسْجِدِ قَالَ " الآنَ حِينَ قَدِمْتَ " . قُلْتُ نَعَمْ . قَالَ " فَدَعْ جَمَلَكَ وَادْخُلْ فَصَلِّ رَكْعَتَيْنِ " . قَالَ فَدَخَلْتُ فَصَلَّيْتُ ثُمَّ رَجَعْتُ .
I went with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on an expedition and my camel delayed me and I was exhausted. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) thus came earlier than I, whereas I came on the next day and went to the mosque and found him (the Holy Prophet) at the gate of the mosque. He said: It is now that you have come. I said. Yes. He said: Leave your camel and enter (the mosque) and observe two rak'ahs. He (the narrator) said: So I entered and observed (two rak'ahs) of prayer and then went back.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not come back from the journey but by day in the forenoon, and when he arrived, he went first to the mosque, and having prayed two rak'ahs in it he sat down in it.
حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى، قَالَ قَرَأْتُ عَلَى مَالِكٍ عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ مَا رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُصَلِّي سُبْحَةَ الضُّحَى قَطُّ . وَإِنِّي لأُسَبِّحُهَا وَإِنْ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَيَدَعُ الْعَمَلَ وَهُوَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ النَّاسُ فَيُفْرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ .
I have never seen the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observing the supererogatory prayer of the forenoon, but I observed it. And if the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) abandoned any act which he in fact loved to do, it was out of fear that if the people practised it constantly, it might become obligatory for them.