Sunan al-Nasa'i (Nasa'i's Hadith Collection)
One of the six canonical hadith collections, known for its strict authenticity criteria.
Sunan al-Nasa'i is one of the six canonical hadith collections in Sunni Islam. It was compiled by Imam Abu Abd al-Rahman Ahmad ibn Shu'ayb al-Nasa'i (829-915 CE) and is considered to have the strictest authenticity criteria after Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
Al-Nasa'i first wrote "al-Sunan al-Kubra" (The Large Sunan) and then distilled it into "al-Sunan al-Sughra" (The Small Sunan), also called "al-Mujtaba," which is the version included among the six canonical collections. The work contains approximately 5,761 hadith organized into 51 books.
Imam al-Nasa'i's chapter on prayer is particularly detailed and covers meticulous aspects of prayer practice. He includes narrations about the precise manner of raising the hands (raf' al-yadayn), the placement of fingers during tashahhud, and the specific supplications the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited in different parts of the prayer.
Related terms
Tartib (Order in Prayer)
The correct sequence of the prayer's actions and the daily prayers.
Taqwa (God-Consciousness)
God-consciousness and piety — the ultimate goal of prayer and worship.
Ashura (The Tenth of Muharram)
The tenth day of Muharram, the commemoration of Imam Husayn's martyrdom.
Raf' al-Yadayn (Raising the Hands)
The practice of raising the hands to the shoulders or ears at specific points in the prayer.
Shahadah (Declaration of Faith)
The first pillar of Islam: the testimony that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger.
Sujud al-Sahw (Prostration of Forgetfulness)
Two extra prostrations performed to compensate for errors in prayer.