The Book of Prayers

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I have never prayed behind an Imām who was more brief and more perfect in prayer than the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).

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.”

Al-Hakam reported: Kufah was conquered by a man called Zamān ibn al-Ash‘ath. He ordered Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn ‘Abdullāh to lead people in prayer. When he performed the prayer, he would rise from bowing and stand for as long it took me to say: "O Allah, our Lord, to You is all praise that fills the heavens and earth and whatever You will beyond that. All praise and glory belong to You. No one can withhold what You have given and no one can give what You have withheld. And the good fortune of a person will not avail him before You." Al-Hakam added: "I mentioned this to ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Abu Layla and he said: ‘I head Al-Barā' ibn ‘Āzib say: 'In the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), the bowing, rising from bowing, prostration, and sitting between the two prostrations were all roughly the same (in length).''' Shu‘bah said: "I related this to ‘Amr ibn Murrah and he said: ‘I saw Ibn Abu Layla, and his prayer was not like that.'"

Thābit reported from Anas that he said: "I will do my best to lead you in prayer just as the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead us in prayer." Thābit said: "Anas used to do something which I don't see you doing: whenever he raised his head after bowing, he would stand for such a long time that one would think that he had forgotten; and whenever he raised his head after prostration, he would sit so long that one would think that he had forgotten."

‘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 Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) raised his back from Rukū‘ (bowing), he would say: "Sami‘a allāhu liman hamidah, allāhumma rabbana laka al-hamd mil’a as-samawāt wa mil’a al-ard wa mil’a ma shi’ta min shay’in ba‘d" (Allah hears he who praises Him. O Allah, our Lord, to You is the praise as much as fills the heavens, as much as fills the earth, and as much as fills whatever You will thereafter).

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."

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."

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)."

‘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.

‘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.

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: One night I did not find the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in bed, and as I groped for him, my hand fell over the sole of his feet, while he was in the mosque, and they were held erect. He was saying: "O Allah, I seek refuge with Your pleasure from Your wrath, and with Your pardon from Your punishment, and I seek refuge with You from You. I cannot enumerate praise of you; You are as You have praised Yourself."

‘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."

Ma‘dān ibn Abi Talhah al-Ya‘mari reported: I met Thawbān, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: Tell me about a deed to perform by virtue of which Allah admits me to Paradise - or he said: I said: about the deeds that Allah loves most - but he remained silent. Then I asked him, but he remained silent. Then I asked him for the third time, and he said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about this, and he said: "Make frequent prostrations to Allah, for you do not make a single prostration to Allah except that Allah raises you one degree therewith and remits one sin from you therewith." Ma‘dān said: Then I met Abu ad-Dardā’ and I asked him and he told me the same as Thawbān.

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones: the forehead (and he pointed to his nose), the hands, the knees, and the extremities of the feet, and not to tuck up the clothes and hair."

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Be moderate in prostration, and let none of you spread his forearms on the ground like a dog."

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Be moderate in prostration, and let none of you spread his forearms on the ground like a dog."

Al-Barā’ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you prostrate, place your palms and raise your elbows."

Abdullah ibn Mālik ibn Buhaynah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, he used to spread out his hands until the whiteness of his armpits would be visible.

‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to start the prayer with Takbīr and then recite: {All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds}. When he bowed, he neither raised his head nor lowered it, but kept it level. When he raised his head from bowing, he would not prostrate until he had fully stood upright. When he raised his head from prostration, he would not prostrate (again) until he had sat upright. After each two Rak‘ahs (units of prayer), he would recite the Tahiyyah (greeting). He would spread his left foot out and erect his right foot. He would forbid sitting in the manner of the devil and resting the forearms on the ground, as a wild beast (i.e., lion) does. He would conclude the prayer with Taslīm (a salutation of peace that ends the prayer).

Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We used to pray and animals would pass in front of us. We mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) so he said: "If anything, like the back of the saddle, is placed in front of anyone of you, then nothing that passes in front of him (but behind that thing) can harm him."

Abu Juhayfah Wahb ibn ‘Abdullāh As-Suwā'i (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) when he was in a red leather tent. Bilāl stepped out with ablution water (that was left over from the Prophet's ablution). There were people who managed to get some of it (seeking its blessing), whereas others just received a sprinkle of it. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came out wearing a red garment. It is as if I am looking right now at the whiteness of his legs. He performed ablution and Bilāl called the Adhān (the call to prayer). I kept watching the movement of his mouth (as he turned) to this side and that side and he said to the right and to the left: "Come to prayer, come to success!" Then a spear was fixed for him (in the ground). He stepped forward and performed two Rak‘ahs for the Zhuhr prayer, and he did not stop performing two Rak‘ahs until he returned to Madīnah.

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Once I came riding a female donkey when I had almost attained the age of puberty. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was leading people in prayer at Mina with no wall in front of him, and I passed in front of part of the row. I dismounted and let the female donkey loose to graze and I joined the row and none objected to that.

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: "When anyone of you prays towards an object that acts as a barrier between him and the people and then someone tries to pass in front of him, he should push him away; and if he insists, he should fight him, for indeed he is a devil."

Busr ibn Sa‘īd reported that Zayd ibn Khālid al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) sent him to Abu Juhaym (may Allah be pleased with him) to ask him about what he heard from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about the one who passes in front of the praying person. Abu Juhaym said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If the person passing in front of someone praying knew the extent of the guilt he is incurring, he would prefer to stand for forty rather than pass in front him." Abu an-Nadr said: I am not sure if he said forty days, months, or years.

Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When one of you stands up to pray, he should put a screen in front of him as tall as the height of the back of a saddle. If he does not have something the height of the back of a saddle in front of him, his prayer would be invalidated if a donkey, a woman, or a black dog passed in front of him." I asked: “O Abu Dharr, what is the difference between a black dog and a red or a yellow dog?” He said: “O nephew, I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) the same question and he answered: "A black dog is a devil.” According to a narration by Ibn ‘Abbās: "Prayer is invalidated by [the passing of] a menstruating woman and a dog."