Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said:
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«Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the ‘Ishā’ and Fajr prayers. If they were to know the virtue of them, they would come to them, even if they had to crawl. I have almost intended to order for the prayer to be established, and appoint a man to lead the people in prayer, and then I would go along with some men having bundles of firewood, to the people who are not attending the prayer and burn their houses upon them with fire."»
Meaning translation ·
Explanation
The meaning in a few plain lines
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) tells about the hypocrites and their laziness when it comes to attending the prayer, especially the 'Ishā' and Fajr prayers, and that if they were to know the amount of reward for attending them along with the Muslim congregation, they would come to it even if they had to crawl like infants upon their hands and knees.
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) thought of ordering the prayer to be commenced and appointing someone to lead the people in prayer instead of him. Then he would go, along with people carrying firewood, to men who were not attending the congregational prayer and burn their houses with fire, given the gravity of their sin in doing so. Yet, he did not do that because the houses contained women, innocent children, and others with valid excuses for not attending the prayer - for they committed no sin.
