He would never offer any optional prayer till the middle of the night (when he used to pray the Tahajjud).”
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin (Umar R.A)
“I saw Allah’s Apostle (S.A.W) delaying the Maghrib prayer till he offered it along with the Isha prayer whenever he was in a hurry during the journey.” Salim (R.A) narrated, “Ibn ‘Umar used to do the same whenever he was in a hurry during the journey.” And Salim added, “Ibn ‘Umar used to pray the Maghrib and ‘Isha’ prayers together in
Al-Muzdalifa.” Salim said,
“Ibn ‘Umar delayed the Maghrib prayer because at that time he heard the news of the death of his wife Safiya bint Abi ‘Ubaid (R.A). I said to him, ‘The prayer (is due).’ He said, ‘Go on.’ Again I said, ‘The prayer (is due).’
He said, ‘Go on,’ till we covered two or three miles. Then he got down, prayed and said,
‘I saw the Prophet praying in this way, whenever he was in a hurry during the journey.’ ‘Abdullah (bin ‘Umar) added, “Whenever the Prophet was in a hurry, he used to delay the Maghrib prayer and then offer three Rakat (of the Maghrib) and perform Taslim, and after waiting for a short while, Iqama used to be pronounced for the ‘Isha’ prayer when he would offer two Rakat and perform Taslim. He would never offer any optional prayer till the middle of the night (when he used to pray the Tahajjud).”
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 20, Number 197
Biryani is almost everyone’s favourite cuisine and is all the rage throughout the civilized world. But, did you know it is not an indigenous sub-continental dish? It is believed that biriyani originated from Persia and was brought to India by the Mughals. Biryani was further developed in the Mughal royal kitchen.
The word biryani is derived from two Persian words: birian and birinj. Birian means ‘fried before cooking’ and birinj is the Persian word for rice.
There are many legends associated with the evolution of biryani and probably the most interesting one is the story related to Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan. It is believed that when Mumtaz visited the army barracks, she thought that the Mughal soldiers looked undernourished. In order to provide a balanced diet to the soldiers, she requested the chef to prepare something that combined both meat and rice and provided a balance of rich nutrition and protein. What the chef created turned out to be biryani.
Another legend gives the credit for introducing biryani to the Turk-Mongol conqueror, Taimur, who invaded the sub-continent in 1398. It is believed a form of biryani was the war campaign diet of Taimur’s army. An earthen pot full of rice, spices and whatever meats were available would be buried in a hot pit, before being eventually dug up and served to the soldiers.
It is also thought that biryani is a pilaf variety brought to the Indian subcontinent by the Arab traders who were frequent visitors here.
You can choose to believe whichever story of origin you like, but biryani is a dish that is now considered purely South Asian, and has become popular throughout the world.
