اَحکام صلوٰۃ اورآثارِ صحابہ جمع وتحقیق اورتعلیق(محققین کی خدمات کا تعارف وتجزیہ)

The Compilation of the Athar of the Sahabah Relating to Salaat: An Introductory and Analytical Study of Scholarly Contributions

Abstract

This research critically examines the“Ahkam-e-Salat and Asar-e-Sahabah (Compilation, Verification, and Annotation),” focusing on the pivotal role of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ in shaping Islamic jurisprudence, especially concerning the rulings of Ṣalāh (ritual prayer). Following the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah, the Aasar of the Ṣaḥābah (Companions) constitute the third fundamental source of Islamic law. This thesis endeavors to systematically collect, authenticate, and annotate relevant narrations attributed to the Companions regarding various aspects of Ṣalāh, assessing their jurisprudential authority and weight.The study rests on the premise that the Companions, as the closest and most trustworthy recipients of the Prophet’s ﷺ teachings, represent the most spiritually and intellectually elevated generation after him. Their profound understanding, derived either directly from the Prophet ﷺ or through independent juristic reasoning (ijtihād), provides critical insights into the practical application of Islamic law. Despite the abundance of Aasar related to Ṣalāh scattered throughout classical ḥadīth and fiqh literature—such as the Musannafāt, Sunan, and Masānīd—these narrations have not received equivalent scholarly attention in terms of thematic compilation, rigorous authentication, and comparative analysis. This research addresses that scholarly gap by systematically organizing these Aasar, scrutinizing their chains of transmission, and comparing them with Prophetic traditions and later juristic positions. The study’s importance is further heightened by contemporary challenges to traditional Islamic scholarship, including the denial of ḥadīth authority and misinterpretations of foundational texts, which call for a renewed engagement with the authentic legacy of the earliest generations. Ultimately, this thesis demonstrates how the Aasar of the Companions serve not only as authoritative sources for deriving legal rulings but also as instruments of intellectual unity among diverse Islamic schools of thought. It affirms the indispensable role of the Companions’ legal heritage in understanding and implementing Islamic law, particularly in the domain of ritual worship, underscoring the necessity of preserving and revitalizing this rich intellectual tradition for both academic inquiry and contemporary practice.