Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat)

Abu Hurairah said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) kept silence between the takbir and the recitation of Qur’an. So I asked him, for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom: What do you say during you period of silence between the takbir and the recitation? He replied (that he said): O Allah, purify me from sins as a white garment is purified from filth. O Allah, wash away my sings with snow, water and hail.

‘Anas said: The Prophet(peace be upon hm), Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman used to begin the recitation with “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Universe.”

‘A’ishah said: The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) began prayer with the takbir (Allah is most great) and with reciting “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Universe”. And when he bowed, he neither raised up nor lowered down his head, but kept it between the two (conditions). And when he raised his head after bowing, he did not prostrate himself until he stood up straight; and when he raised his head after prostration, he did not prostrate (the second time) until he sat down properly; and he recited al-tahiyyat after every pair of rak’ahs; and when he sat, he spread out his left foot and raised his right. He forbade to sit like the sitting of the devil, and to spread out to hands (on the ground in prostration) like animals. He used to finish prayer with uttering the salutation.

Anas b. Malik said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: A surah has just been revealed to me. He then recited:”In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Lo! We have given thee Abundance” until he finished it. Then he asked: Do you know what Abundance (al-Kawthar) is? They replied: Allah and His Apostle know it better. He said: It is a river of which my Lord, the Exalted, the Majestic has promised me to give in Paradise.

‘Urwah reported on the authority of ‘A’ishah mentioning the incident of slander. She said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sat and unveiled his face and said: “I take refuge in Allah, All-Hearing, All-Knowing from the accursed devil. Lo! They who spread the slander are a gang among you.”Abu Dawud said: This is a rejected (munkar) tradition. A group of narrators have reported this tradition from al-Zuhri; but did not mention this detail. I am afraid the phrase concerning “seeking refuge in Allah” is the statement of Humaid.

Narrated Uthman ibn Affan: :Yazid al-Farisi said: I heard Ibn Abbas say: I asked Uthman ibn Affan: What moved you to put the (Surah) al-Bara'ah which belongs to the mi'in (surahs) (containing one hundred verses) and the (Surah) al-Anfal which belongs to the mathani (Surahs) in the category of as-sab'u at-tiwal (the first long surah or chapters of the Qur'an), and you did not write "In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful" between them? Uthman replied: When the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Prophet (ﷺ), he called someone to write them down for him and said to him: Put this verse in the surah in which such and such has been mentioned; and when one or two verses were revealed, he used to say similarly (regarding them). (Surah) al-Anfal is the first surah that was revealed at Medina, and (Surah) al-Bara'ah was revealed last in the Qur'an, and its contents were similar to those of al-Anfal. I, therefore, thought that it was a part of al-Anfal. Hence I put them in the category of as-sab'u at-tiwal (the seven lengthy surahs), and I did not write "In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful" between them.

The above mentioned tradition has been reported by ibn abbas through a different chain of narrators to the same effect. This version adds: The apostle of Allah (ﷺ) died, but he did not mention to us that surah al baraah ins a part of al-anfal.Abu Dawood said: Al-sha’bl, Abu Malik, Qatadah, and Thabit b. ‘Umarah said: The prophet( may peace be upon him) did not write”In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful” until Surah al-naml was revealed. This is the meaning of what they said. Further, this is a mursal traditional(omitting the name of the companion)

Ibn Abbas said: The prophet (ﷺ) did not distinguish between the two surahs until the words “In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the merciful” was revealed to him. These are the words of Ibn al-sarh.

Abu Qatadah reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: I stand up to pray and intend to prolong it; but when I hear the cry of a boy I shorten if for fear that his mother might be distressed.

Jabir said: mu’adh b. Jabal used to pray along with the prophet (ﷺ); then he returned and led us in prayer. Sometimes he (the narrator) said: then he returned and led his people in prayer. One night the prophet ( may peace be upon him) delayed the prayer. Sometimes he (the narrator) mentioned the word “the night prayer”. Then Mu’adh prayed along with the prophet(ﷺ), then returned to his people and led them in prayer, and recited surah al-baqrah. A mane turned aside and prayed alone. The people said to him: Have you become a hypocrite, so and so? He replied: I did not become a hypocrite. He then came to the prophet (ﷺ) and said (to him): Messenger of Allah. Mu’adh prays along with you and then returns and leads us in prayers. We look after camels used for watering and work for by day. De came to us leading us In prayer, and he recited Surah al-Baqrah(in prayer). He (the prophet) said: Mu’adh, are you a trouble maker? Recite such an d such ; recite such and such (surahs) The narrator Abu al-zubair said(recite) “Glorify the name of the most high lord”(surah lxxxvii.) and “By the night when it covers over” (surah xcii.) we mentioned this to ‘Amr. He said I think he mentioned it (the names of some surahs).

Hazm b. Ubayy b. Ka’b said that he came to mu’adh b. jabal who was leading the people in the sunset prayer. According to this version, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: O mu’adh, do not become a trouble , because the aged, the weak, the needy and the traveler pray behind you.

Narrated Some Companions of the Prophet: AbuSalih reported on the authority of some Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ): The Prophet (ﷺ) said to a person: what do you say in prayer? He replied: I first recite tashahhud (supplication recited in sitting position), and then I say: O Allah, I ask Thee for Paradise, and I seek refuge in Thee from Hell-Fire, but I do not understand your sound and the sound of Mu'adh (what you say or he says in prayer). The Prophet (ﷺ) said: We too go around it (paradise and Hell-fire).

Jabir narrated the story of mu’adh and said: The prophet (ﷺ) said to a youth: My nephew, what do you do in prayer? He replied: I recited fatihat al-katab and I ask Allah for paradise and seek his refuge from hell-fire I do not understand well your sound and the sound of mu’adh. The prophet (ﷺ) said: I and Mu’adh go around both (paradise and Hell-fire), or he said something similar.

Abu Hurairah reported the prophet (ﷺ) as saying: When one of you leads the people in prayer, he should be brief, for among them are the weak, the sick, and the aged. But when one of you prays by himself, he may pray as long as he likes.

Abu Hurairah reported the prophet (ﷺ) as saying: when one of you leads the people in prayer, he should be brief, for among them are the sick, the aged and the needy.

‘Ammar b. Yasir said: I heard the apostle of Allah (ﷺ) say: A man returns after saying his prayer while a tenth part of his prayer, or a ninth part, or an eight part, or a seventh part, or a sixth part, or a fifth part, or a third part, or half of it, is recorded for him.

Abu Hurairah said: In every prayer there is a recitation. We make you listen what the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) made us listen, and we keep hidden from you what he kept hidden from us.

Abu Qatadah said: The apostle of Allah (ﷺ) used to lead us in prayer and recite in the first two rak’ahs of the noon prayers Fatihat al-kitab and two surahs, and he would sometimes recite loud enough for us to hear the verse. He would prolong the first rak’ah of the noon prayer and shorten the second; and he did so in the morning prayer.Abu Dawud said: Musaddad did not mention the words fatihat al-kitab and surah.

The above mentioned tradition as been reported by Abu Qatadah through a different chain of narrators. This version adds: He would recite Fatihat al-kitab in the last two surahs. Hammam added: He would prolong the first rak’ah but would not prolong the second so much; and he did so similarly in the afternoon prayer, and so in the morning prayer.

Abu Qatadah said: We thought that by this (prolonging the first rak’ah). He (the prophet) meant that the people might join the first rak’ah.

Abu Ma’mar said: We asked Khabbab: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recit (the Quran) in the noon and afternoon prayers? He replied: Yes. We then asked: How did you know this? He said: By the shaking of his beard, may peace be upon him.

Abd Allah b. Abl Awfa said: The prophet (ﷺ) used to stand in the rak’ah of prayer so much so that no sound of steps heard.

Jabir b. Samurah reported: ’Umar said to Sa’d: people complain against you for everything, even for prayer. He replied: I prolong the first two rak’ahs of prayer and make the last two rak’ahs brief; I do not fall short of following the prayer offered by the Messenger of Allah(May peace be upon him). He said: I think so about you.

Abu sa’id al Khudri said: We used to estimate how long the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood in the noon and the afternoon prayer, and we estimated that he stood in the first two rak’ahs of the noon prayer as long as it takes to recite thirty verses (of the Qur’an), such as A-L-M Tanzil al-Sajdah. And we estimated that he stood in the last two rak’ahs half the time he stood in the first two rak’ahs. We estimated that he stood in the first two rak’ahs of the afternoon prayer as long as he did in the last two at noon; and we estimated that he stood in the last two rak’ahs of the afternoon prayer half the time he did in first two.

Narrated Jabir ibn Samurah: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite in the noon and afternoon prayer: "By the Heaven and the Morning Star" (Surah 86) and "By the Heaven , holding mansions of the stars" (Surah 85) and similar surahs of equal length.

Jabir b. samurah said: When the sun declined, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) offered the noon prayer and recited surahs lie "By the night when it covers over" (92) and (recited similar surahs) in the afternoon prayer, and in the other prayers except the dawn prayer which he used to prolong.

Ibn ‘Umr said: The prophet (ﷺ) prostrated himself in the noon prayer; then he stood up and bowed, and we knew that he recited Tanzil al-sajdah(surah xxxii).Ibn ‘Isa said: No one narrated this tradition to Umayyah except Mu’tamir.

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: Abdullah ibn Ubaydullah said: I went to Ibn Abbas accompanying some youths of Banu Hashim. We said to one of them: Ask Ibn Abbas: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recite (the Qur'an) in the noon and afternoon prayers? He replied: No. People said to him: Perhaps he might recite the Qur'an quietly. He said: May your face be scratched (a kind of curse)! This (statement) is worse than the former. He was only a servant (of Allah) receiving Commands from Him. He preached (the divine) message which he brought with him. He did not command anything to us (Banu Hashim) specially excluding other people except three points: he commanded us to perform ablution perfectly, and not to accept charity (sadaqah) and not to make pairing of donkey with horse.

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: I do not know whether the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would recite the Qur'an at the noon and afternoon prayer or not.

Um al-fadl daughter of al-Harith said: I heard Ibn’Abbas reciting wa’l-mursalat urfan(surah lxxxvii). She said; sonny you have reminded me of this surah by your recitation. Thie is the last surah which I heard the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) reciting in the sunset prayer.