Narrator:Anas ibn Mālik
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا حَبَّانُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا هَمَّامٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَنَسُ بْنُ سِيرِينَ، قَالَ
اسْتَقْبَلْنَا أَنَسًا حِينَ قَدِمَ مِنَ الشَّأْمِ، فَلَقِينَاهُ بِعَيْنِ التَّمْرِ، فَرَأَيْتُهُ يُصَلِّي عَلَى حِمَارٍ وَوَجْهُهُ مِنْ ذَا الْجَانِبِ، يَعْنِي عَنْ يَسَارِ الْقِبْلَةِ. فَقُلْتُ رَأَيْتُكَ تُصَلِّي لِغَيْرِ الْقِبْلَةِ. فَقَالَ لَوْلاَ أَنِّي رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَعَلَهُ لَمْ أَفْعَلْهُ.
Anas ibn Sirīn reported: 'We received Anas [ibn Mālik] when he returned from Syria and met him at ‘Ayn At-Tamr. I saw him pray on a donkey, and his face was to this side, i.e. to the left side of the Qiblah. I said to him: "I saw you pray towards a direction other than the Qiblah!" He said: "Had I not seen the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) doing so, I would not have done it."
Reported by Al-Bukhari (No. 1100) and Muslim (No. 702).