Prayer

‘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 ever leave four before Zhuhr and two Rak‘ahs before morning.

‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not observe a voluntary prayer more regularly than the two Rak‘ahs of Fajr.

‘Abdullāh ibn Mughaffal (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Offer two Rak‘ahs before Maghrib." Then he said: "Offer two Rak‘ahs before Maghrib, if you will," fearing people might take it as Sunnah.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) recited: {Say, “O disbelievers”} and {Say: “He is Allah, the One”} in the two Rak‘ahs of Fajr.

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(Voluntary) prayer in both the day and night is performed two by two."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The most excellent fast after Ramadan is Allah's month, Muharram, and the most excellent prayer after what is prescribed is prayer during the night."

Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abdur-Rahmān (may Allah have mercy upon him) reported that he asked ‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) how the Prophet's prayer was in Ramadan. She said: "Neither in Ramadan, nor in any other month, did the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) exceed the eleven Rak‘ahs of prayer. He would pray four – and do not ask about their beauty and length; then he would pray another four, and do not ask about their beauty and length either, then he would pray three." ‘Ā'ishah then added: "I asked him: 'O Messenger of Allah, do you sleep before performing the Witr prayer?' he said: 'O ‘Ā'ishah, indeed, my eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep.'"

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "O ‘Abdullāh, do not be like so-and-so. He used to offer Qiyām al-Layl and then abandoned it."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Perform Witr prayer before the morning."

Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If anyone fears that he will not wake up at the end of the night, let him offer Witr prayer at the beginning of the night; and anyone expects to wake up at the end of the night, let him offer Witr prayer at the end of the night. Indeed, prayer at the end of the night is witnessed (by the angels) and that is better."

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer the Duha Prayer as four Rak‘ahs and sometimes as much more as Allah willed.

‘Abdullāh ibn Shaqīq (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I asked ‘Ā'ishah: "Did the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pray the Duha prayer?" She said: "No, unless he came back from being away."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Praying in congregation is twenty-seven degrees better than praying alone."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the ‘Ishā’ and Fajr prayers. If they were to know the virtue of them, they would come to them, even if they had to crawl. I have almost intended to order for the prayer to be established, and appoint a man to lead the people in prayer, and then I would go along with some men having bundles of firewood, to the people who are not attending the prayer and burn their houses upon them with fire."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A blind man came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have no one to lead me to the mosque." He asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to allow him to pray at home, which the Messenger of Allah did. When the man was leaving, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) called him back and said: "Do you hear the Adhān?" He replied in the affirmative. Thereupon, he said: "Then respond to it."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Imām is appointed so that he should be followed; so, do not act differently from him. When he makes Takbīr all of you should say it after him; bow when he bows; say 'O our Lord, all praise be to You' when he says: Allah hears the one who praises Him; prostrate when he prostates; and all of you should pray sitting when he prays sitting."

The Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) perceived a tendency among his Companions to stand in the back rows, and he said to them: "Come forward and be close to me and let those who come after you, follow your lead. If people continue to fall behind, Allah puts them behind."

Abu Mas‘ūd al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The one who is the most versed in Allah's Book should lead the people in prayer. If they are equally versed in reciting it, then the one who is the most knowledgeable about the Sunnah; and if they are equal regarding the Sunnah, then the earliest one to emigrate; if they emigrated at the same time, then the earliest one to embrace Islam. No man must lead another in prayer where the latter has authority, or sit in his place in his house without his permission.”

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best of the men's rows is the first, and the worst is the last, and the best of the women's rows is the last, and the worst is the first."

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) appointed Ibn Umm Maktūm as his successor to lead the people in prayer, and he was blind.

‘Imrān ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I was suffering from hemorrhoids (piles); so I asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about the prayer and he said: "Pray while standing; if you cannot, then while sitting; and if you cannot, then while lying on your side."

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that they heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) speak on his wooden pulpit and say: "Either some people stop abandoning the Friday prayers, or Allah will, indeed, seal their hearts, and then they will be among the heedless."