Message #13206

[Ruhi_Rose]

Yeah, these hadiths are total crap .. all nonsense.   The actual point is that we have no proof if the number of fard rakats during the Prophet's time were the same as we offer today.  Only Allah knows best.  But in my opinion at that time the method of prayer was not as rigid as it is today.   In those days there was no Hadith which is today responsible for changing many things including the method of prayer.  Back then the people followed only what the Prophet instructed them through the Quran.   The important rules on salat as the Quran highlights are sajood, ruku, recitation of Fatiha and whatever verses of the Quran one could remember by memory .. most importantly the prayer must be directed to Allah only.  As long as these rules are remembered & followed, the other issues like number of rakats, number of sajoods & rukus can differ from person to person and it probably did in early times.  

As for forgetting, well, I wouldn't say forgetting necessarily means Shaitaan coming in between.  Forgetting is something natural of human nature, it happens once in a while with everyone for various reasons.  Whether or not the Prophet (pbuh) ever forgot anything is known to Allah only.  Such information narrated 30 or 40 years later by strangers then compiled 150 years later by other strangers cannot be taken as an authentic source at all. Moreover, as I said, even if the Prophet (pbuh) did forget some little thing once in a while in his daily life, that's not a sin.  After all he was human.  Any mistake that is unintentional is not the same as an intentional violation.  Such Hadiths especially the ones of Abu Huraira are meant only to insult the Prophet (pbuh).  

Of course, the Prophet (pbuh) never forgot anything during the Revelations of the Quran, because during Divine Revelations Allah was directly in control and He made the Prophet read and recite His Revelations correctly without a single mistake.