assigning a certain place in the mosque [in which one does his Sal?t] the same way camels stick to their resting places’. (1)

(d) ‘Al?’ Ibn Abdir Rahman once called on ‘Anas Ibn M?lik at his home in Al-Basrah after the former performed Thuhr Sal?t in the mosque. ‘Al?’ said: ‘Having entered ‘Anas’ home, he asked us whether we had performed ‘Asr Sal?t’.

We answered: ‘we have just come back from the Thuhr Sal?t’.

Then he ordered us to perform ‘Asr Sal?t and we did. Then he said: ‘I heard the prophet ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) say: ‘This [delaying performing ‘Asr Sal?t till its due time is about to pass] is the Sal?t which the hypocrites do; they wait for the sun till it settles between the horns of Shait?n [i.e. it is about to set] then they perform the Sal?t so quickly in the same way a bird pecks his food; they indeed do not mention All?h ( - عز وجل -) in their Sal?t but little’. (2)

It indeed breaks one’s heart to see some praying muslims do the acts of Sal?t so quickly that they recite the Thikr of Ruk?‘ and Suj?d only once, move from one Rukn to the other like a thunder, and even say half of the Thikr in one position and the other half in the following position. This is indeed an act of mockery towards Sal?t.

It is even related that once a man saw a lad doing his Sal?t in tranquility and calmness; he hit him saying: ‘If your master were to send you in business would you be as slow in doing it as you are now?!!’.

Doing Sal?t quickly contradicts the general order in the verse

[ وأقيموا الصلاة]

‘ And ‘Aq?muus Sal?t’; (3) that is do it perfectly with perfect Ruk?‘, Suj?d and recitation of Athk?r.