Takhrij Hadith 552: "While I was sitting in…"

While I was sitting in the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with our backs resting against the qiblah wall of the mosque, there were seven of us: four of our freedmen and three of our Arab tribesmen. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out to us for the Zuhr prayer and stopped by us. He said: “What is keeping you sitting here?” We replied: “O Messenger of Allah, we are waiting for the prayer.” He remained silent for a short while, then raised his head and said: “Do you know what your Lord, Mighty and Majestic, says?” We replied: “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said: “Indeed, your Lord, Mighty and Majestic, says: ‘Whoever performs the prayer at its prescribed time, observes it consistently, and does not neglect it out of disregard for its right, shall have a covenant from Me that I will admit him into Paradise. But whoever does not perform it at its prescribed time, does not observe it consistently, and neglects it out of disregard for its right, shall have no covenant with Me; if I will, I shall punish him, and if I will, I shall forgive him”.