Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat)

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If any of you leads the people in prayer, let him shorten it, because among them are the weak, the sick, and the busy (who have needs to fulfill). If any of you prays alone, then let him prolong (his prayer) as much as he wishes."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We used to estimate the time that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would stand when performing the Zhuhr and the ‘Asr prayers. We estimated that the time he stood in the first two Rak‘ahs of the Zhuhr prayer as the being the time taken to recite Sūrat As-Sajdah and it would be half of that time in the last two Rak‘ahs. We also estimated the time he stood in the first two Rak‘ahs of the ‘Asr prayer as being the same as the time he stood in the last two Rak‘ahs of the Zhuhr prayer and half of that time in the last two Rak‘ahs of the ‘Asr prayer." Abu Bakr did not mention Sūrat As-Sajdah in his narration, instead he said: “the time taken to recite thirty verses.”

Jubayr ibn Mut‘im (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) reciting Sūrat At-Tūr in the Maghrib prayer

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Allah Almighty said: 'I have divided prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.' When the servant says, '{All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds}', Allah Almighty says: 'My servant has praised Me.' And when he says, '{The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful}', Allah Almighty says: 'My servant has extolled Me.' And when he says, '{Master of the Day of Judgment}', Allah Almighty says: 'My servant has glorified Me' - And He also says: 'My servant entrusted his affairs to Me' - And when he says, '{You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help}', He says: 'This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.' And when he says, '{Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom You have blessed; not of those who incurred Your Wrath, or of those who went astray}', He says: 'This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.'"

‘Ubādah ibn as-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The prayer of the one who did not recite the Opening of the Book (Surat al-Fātihah) is invalid."

‘Ubādah ibn As-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were praying the Fajr prayer behind the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He started to recite, but the recitation became difficult for him. When he finished, he said: "Perhaps you recite behind your Imām?" We said: "Yes, that is so, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "Do not do so except with Sūrat al-Fātihah, since the prayer is invalid for the one who does not recite it."

‘Abdullāh ibn Abu Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "I cannot retain any of the Qur'an. Teach me what suffices me." He said: "Say: 'Glory to Allah, praise to Allah, there is no god but Allah, Allah is the greatest, and there is no power and no strength but from Allah, the Exalted, the Great.'" The man said: "O Messenger of Allah, these words are for Allah, Exalted and Glorified, what is for me?" He said: "Say: 'O Allah, have mercy on me, give me provision, keep me sound, and guide me.'" When the man stood up, he made a gesture with his hand [that he received a lot], the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "As for this man, he has filled his hand with good."

Mutarrif ibn ‘Abdullāh reported: I prayed with ‘Imrān ibn Husayn behind ‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib. When he prostrated, he made Takbīr, when he raised his head he made Takbīr, and when he stood up after two Rak‘ahs, he made Takbīr. After he had finished praying, ‘Imrān took my hand and said: "This reminded me of the prayer of Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)." Or he said: "He led us in prayer the same way Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he used to say takbīr in every obligatory and supererogatory prayer during Ramadan and others. He would say takbīr when he rose and say takbīr when he bowed. Then, he would say: "Sami'a allāhu liman hamidah" (Allah hears he who praises Him). Then, he would say, "Rabbanā wa laka al-hamd" (Our Lord, praise be to You) before prostrating. Then, he would say: "Allāhu akbar" (Allah is the Greatest) as he went down to prostration. Then, he would say takbīr upon raising his head from prostration, then say takbīr upon prostrating, and then say takbīr upon raising his head from prostration. Then, he would say takbīr upon rising from the sitting position both times. He would do so in every Rak'ah until he finished the prayer. Then, he would say as he left: "By the One in Whose Hand my soul is, I am the closest among you to the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). Such was his prayer until he departed this world."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When any of you prostrates, he should not kneel down like a camel; rather, he should put down his hands before his knees.”

Abu Qilābah reported that ‘Abdullāh ibn Zayd al-Jarmi al-Basri reported: Mālik ibn Huwayrith came to this mosque of ours and said: "I will lead you in prayer; although I do not intend to pray, it is just to show you how I witnessed the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) pray." I asked Abu Qilābah: "How did he pray?" He replied: "Just as this Sheikh of ours prays", and he would sit after lifting his head from prostration and before standing up. Their Sheikh was Abu Burayd ‘Amr ibn Salāmah al-Jarmi.

Abu Qilābah reported that ‘Abdullāh ibn Zayd al-Jarmi al-Basri reported: Mālik ibn Huwayrith came to this mosque of ours and said: "I will lead you in prayer; although I do not intend to pray, it is just to show you how I witnessed the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) pray." I asked Abu Qilābah: "How did he pray?" He replied: "Just as this Sheikh of ours prays", and he would sit after lifting his head from prostration and before standing up. Their Sheikh was Abu Burayd ‘Amr ibn Salāmah al-Jarmi.

Mālik ibn al-Huwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I saw the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pray and when he was performing an odd-numbered Rak‘ah, he would not get up until he had been settled in the sitting position.

‘Abdullah ibn Yazīd al-Khatmi reported: Al-Barā’—and he is not a liar—said to me: When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ''Sami‘allāhu liman hamidah (Allah hears whoever praises him),'' none of us would bend his back until the Prophet (ﷺ) had fallen in prostration. We would then fall in prostration right after him.

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say between the two prostrations: "Allahumma ighfir li warhamni wa ‘āfeni wahdeni warzuqni (O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, grant me safety, guide me, and provide for me)".

Al-Barā' ibn ‘Āzib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I watched the prayer of Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and found his standing, his bowing, standing after bowing, prostration, sitting between the two prostrations, prostration, and sitting between Taslīm and going away, nearly equal to one another.' Another narration reads: ''Except the standing and the sitting, (other postures) were nearly equal.”

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) entered the mosque, and then a man came in and prayed. He greeted the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), who responded and said: "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed." He went back and prayed as he had prayed, then, he came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and greeted him. He said: "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed," three times. So, he said: By the One Who sent you with the truth, I cannot do better than that. So teach me. He said: "When you stand to pray, say Takbīr (Allāhu Akbar), then recite whatever you can of the Qur’an; then bow until you are at ease in bowing; then rise until you are standing up straight; then prostrate until you are at ease in prostration; and then sit up until you are at ease in sitting. Do that throughout your prayer."

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite in his bowing and prostration: "You are the Most Glorious, the Most Holy, and the lord of the angels and of the Spirit."

‘Awf ibn Mālik al-Ashja‘i (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I stood in prayer one night with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). He stood up and recited Sūrat al-Baqarah. Whenever he came across a verse mentioning mercy, he stopped and asked (Allah for mercy); and whenever he came across a verse mentioning punishment, he stopped and sought refuge (with Allah from it). Then he bowed and paused as long as he stood, and said while bowing: "Glory be to the Possessor of greatness, dominion, grandeur, and majesty." Then he prostrated himself and paused as long as he stood and said while prostrating the same thing he said while bowing. He then stood up and recited Sūrat Āl-‘Imrān, and then recited other Sūrahs, one after another.

Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say between the two prostrations: "Rabbi ighfir li, rabbi ighfir li" (My Lord, forgive me; my Lord, forgive me).

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The nearest a slave to his Lord is while he is prostrating, so increase supplication."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) drew the curtain (of his chamber) aside to see the people standing in rows behind Abu Bakr in prayer. He then said: "O people, there is nothing remaining of the glad tidings of prophet-hood except a good vision that a Muslim sees or someone else sees it for him. Verily, I have been forbidden to recite the Qur'an while bowing or prostrating. So, while bowing, glorify the Lord, and while prostrating, engage in supplication diligently, for it is most likely that your supplications would be answered."

‘Ā’ishah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not offer a prayer after the revelation of {When there comes Allah’s help and the conquest} [Surat an-Nasr: 1] except that he would say therein: "Subhānaka Rabbana wa bihamdik, Allāhumma ighfir li (Glory and praise be to You, our Lord. O Allah, forgive me)". She also reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say frequently in his Rukū‘ and Sujūd: "Subhānak Allāhumma Rabbana wa bihamdik, Allāhumma ighfir li (Glory and praise be to You, O Allah, our Lord. O Allah, forgive me)" in compliance with the command in the Qur’an.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say in his prostration: "Allāhumma ighfir li dhambi kullahu, diqqahu wa jillahu, wa awwalahu wa ākhirahu, wa ‘alāniyatahu wa sirrahu (O Allah, forgive me all my sins, the small and the great, the first and the last, the public and the private)."

Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever says: Subhānallāh al-‘azhīm wa bihamdih (Glory be to Allah the Most Great and praise is due to Him), a date palm will be planted for him in Paradise."