Did Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) say when he saw a person performing a prayer, "If he died like that, he would die as a person not belonging to my ummah"?

Dear Brother / Sister,

According to a hadith included in Tabarani's al-Kabir, when the Prophet (pbuh) saw a person who did not perform ruku’ properly and who prostrated very quickly while performing a prayer, he said, "If that man died like that, he would die as a person not belonging to the ummah of Muhammad." When Hudhayfa saw a man who did not perform ruku’ and sajdah properly, he said to the man when he finished his prayer that his prayer was not complete and that if he died, he would not die in accordance with the Sunnah; in another narration, he reminded the man that he would die in a nature other than the nature of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). (Bukhari, Adhan 119; Nasai, Sahw, 66; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, V, 384)

It is necessary to understand the statement “If he died like that, he would die as a person not belonging to my sunnah or ummah...” as “he would die without performing prayers like me and my ummah” not as he would die as an unbeliever. Such a style is an expression of warning.

Another narration regarding the issue is as follows:

This incident is narrated as follows in Muslim: Hz. Abu Hurayra narrates: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) entered the mosque and a man entered after him. He performed a prayer and greeted the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). The Prophet (pbuh) answered his prayer and said, “Go back and perform the prayer again because you have not prayed.” The man went and perform a prayer again in the same way as he did before. Then, he came and greeted the Messenger of Allah. The Prophet answered his greeting and said, “Go back and perform the prayer again because you have not prayed.” After performing the prayer for the third time, the man said, “O Messenger of Allah! I swear by Allah who sent you as the true prophet that I cannot do any better.” Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) explained him – in summary - how to perform a prayer with tadil al-arkan. (Muslim, Salah, 45)

As it is seen, in this hadith narration, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) answered the greeting of the person who performed the prayer in a wrong way and did not reprimand him.

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