Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat)

Mu’awiyah b. al-Hakam al-Sulami said: I was praying with the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ). A man in the company sneezed, and I said: May Allah have mercy on you! The people gave me disapproving looks, so I said: Woe is to me! What do you mean by looking at me? They began to strike their hand on their thighs; then I realised that they were urging me to be silent. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished his prayer – for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom-he did not beat, scold or revile me, but said: No talk to people in lawful in this prayer, for it consists only in glorifying Allah, declaring His greatness, and reciting the Qur'an or words to that effect said by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I said: Messenger of Allah, we were only recently pagans, but Allah has brought Islam to us, and among us there are men who have recourse to soothsayers (kahins). He replied: Do not have recourse to them. I said: Among us are there are men who take omens. He replied: That is something which they find, but let it not turn them away (from what they intended to do). I said: among us there are men who draw lines. He replied: There was a prophet who drew lines; so if the line of anyone tallies with this line, that might come true. I said: A slave-girl of mine used to tend goats before (the mountain) Uhud and al-Jawaniyyah. Once when I reached her (suddenly) I found that a wolf had taken away a goat of them. I am a human being; I feel grieved as others do. But I gave her a good knocking. This was unbearable for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I asked: Should I set her free ? He replied: Bring her to me. So I brought her to him. He asked (her): Where is Allah ? She said: In the heaven. He said: Who am I ? She replied: You are the Messenger of Allah. He said: Set her free, for she is believer.

Mu’awiyah b. al-Hakam al-Sulami said ; when I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) I learnt many things about islam. One of the things that I was taught was that it was that it was pointed out me. When you sneeze, praise Allah (I,e, say “praise be to Allah”); and when someone sneezes and praises Allah, say “ May Allah have mercy on you. Meanwhile I was standing along with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) during prayer, all of a sudden a man sneezed, and he praised Allah. So I said, “may Allah have mercy on you”, in a loud voice. The people gave me disapproving looks so much so that I took ill of it. So I said : what do you mean by looking at me with furtive glances. Then they glorified Allah. When the prophet (ﷺ) finished his prayer, he asked; who was the speaker? The Prophet told him; this Bedouin. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called me and said to me: Prayer is meant for the recitation of the Quran, and making mention of Allah. When you are in it (prayer), this should be your work therein. I never saw an instructor more lenient than the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)

Narrated Wa'il ibn Hujr: When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited the verse "Nor of those who go astray" (Surah al-Fatihah, verse 7), he would say Amin; and raised his voice (while uttering this word).

Wail b, hujr said that he prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ),and he said Amin loudly and saluted at his right and left sides until I saw the whiteness of his cheek.

Narrated AbuHurayrah: When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited the verse "Not of those with whom Thou art angry, nor of those who go astray," he would say Amin so loudly that those near him in the first row would hear it.

Abu Hurairah reported the prophet (ﷺ) as saying; when the imam recites “ not of those with whom thou art angry, nor of those who go astray” (surah al-fatihah,verse 7) say Amin, for if one’s words (utterance of amin) synchronise with those of the angles, he will be forgiven his past sins.

Abu Hurairah reported the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) as saying; When the Imam says Amin, say Amin, for if anyone’s utterance of Amin synchronnises with that of the angles, he will be forgiven his past sins.Ibn shihab (al Zuhrl) said; The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) used to say Amin (At the end of the Fatihah)

Bilal reported that he said : Messenger of Allah, do not say Amin before me.

Narrated AbuZuhayr an-Numayri: AbuMisbah al-Muqra'i said: We used to sit in the company of AbuZuhayr an-Numayri. He was a companion of the Prophet (ﷺ), and he used to narrate good traditions. Once a man from among us made a supplication. He said: End it with the utterance of Amin, for Amin is like a seal on the book. AbuZuhayr said: I shall tell you about that. We went out with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) one night and came upon a man who made supplication with persistence. The Prophet (ﷺ) waited to hear him. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: He will have done something which guarantees (Paradise for him) if he puts a seal to it. One of the people asked: What should he use as a seal? He replied: Amin, for if he ends it with Amin, he will do something which guarantees (Paradise for him). Then the man who questioned the Prophet (ﷺ) came to the man who was supplicating, and said to him: So-and-so, end it with Amin and receive the good news. These are the words of Mahmud.Abu Dawud said: Al-Muqra'i is a clan of Himyar.

Abu Hurairah reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying; Glorifying Allah applies to men and clapping applies only to women.

Sahl b. Sa’d said : The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went to Banu ‘Amr b. ‘Awf to effect reconciliation between them . in the meantime the time of prayer came and the Mu’adhdhin came to Abu Bakr and asked : Will you lead the people in prayer? I pronounce the Iqamah. He said ; Yes. So Abiu Bakr led the prayer , and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came back while the people were praying. He penetrated through the rows and stood in the first row. The people clapped but Abu Bakr did not pay any attention to it during prayer. When the people clapped increasingly, he paid attention. He saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made a sign to him (saying); Stay at your place. Abu BAkr raised his hands and praised Allah for the commandment the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had given him (to lead the people in prayer). Abu Bakr then stepped back and stood in the row. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stepped forward and led the prayer. When he finished the prayer, he said; Abu Bakr, what prevented you staying (at your place) when I already commented you to do so? Abu Bakr said ; it was not befitting for the son of Abu Quhafah (Abu Bakr) to lead the prayer in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said; What is the matter that I saw you clapping frequently during prayer? If anything happens to someone during prayer, he should say “Glory be to Allah,” for when he glorifies Allah. He pays attention to him. Clapping applies only to women.Abu Dawud said: This is operative in the obligatory prayer.

sahl b. Sa’d said; Fighting took place amongst the tribe of Banu ‘Amr b. ‘Awf. This (the news) reached the prophet (May peace be upon him). He came to them for their reconciliation after the noon prayer . he said to Bilal; If the time of the afternoon prayer comes, and I do not return to you, then ask Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. When the time of the afternoon prayer came, Bilal called the Adhan and pronounced the Iqamah and then asked Abu Bakr (to lead the prayer). He stepped forward. The narrator reported this tradition to the same effect. In the end he (the prophet) said; if anything happens to you during prayer, the men should say” Glory be to Allah,” and the women should clap.

‘Isa b. Ayyub said: Clapping by women means that one should strike her left hand with the two fingers of her right hand.

Narrated Anas ibn Malik: The Prophet (ﷺ) used to make a sign during prayer.

Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Saying Tasbih applies to men during prayer and clapping applies to women. Anyone who makes a sign during his prayer, a sign which is intelligible by implication, should repeat it (i.e. his prayer). (AbuDawud commented on the Hadith saying, this is a result of confusion.)

Narrated AbuDharr: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: When one of you gets up to pray, he must not remove pebbles, for mercy is facing him.

Mu’aiqib reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying ; Do not remove pebbles while you are praying; if you do it out of sheer necessity, do it only once to smooth the pebbles.

Abu hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) forbade putting hands on the waist during prayer.Abu Dawud said; The word Ikhtisar means to put one’s hands on one’s waist.

Narrated Umm Qays bint Mihsan: Hilal ibn Yasaf said: I came to ar-Raqqah (a place in Syria). One of my companions said to me: Do you want to see any of the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ)? I said: A good opportunity. So we went to Wabisah. I said to my friend: Let us first see his mode of living. He had a cap with two ears stuck (to his head), and wearing a brown silken robe. He was resting on a staff during prayer. We asked him (about resting on the staff) after salutation; He said: Umm Qays daughter of Mihsan said to me that when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) became aged and the flesh grew increasingly on him, he took a prop at his place of prayer and rested on it.

Zaid b. Arqam said ; One of us used to speak to the man standing by his side during prayer. Then the Quranic verse “ And stand up with devotion to Allah”

‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amr said : It has been narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said : The Prayer of a man in sitting condition is half the prayer (wins him half the reward of prayer). I came to him and found him prayer in sitting condition. I placed my hand on my head (in surprise). He said: what is the matter,’Abd Allah b. ‘Amr? I said; Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) you have been reported to me as saying : the prayer of a man in sitting condition is half the prayer , but you are praying in sitting condition. He said: yes, but I am not like one of you.

‘Abd Allah b. Buraidah said : ‘Imran b. Hussain asked the prophet (ﷺ) about the prayer a man offers in sitting condition. He replied: his prayer in standing condition is better than his prayer in sitting condition, and his prayer in sitting condition is half the prayer he offers in standing condition, and his prayer in lying condition is half the prayer he offers in sitting condition.

‘Imran b. Husain said : I had a fistula; so I asked the prophet (ﷺ). He said: offer prayer in standing condition; if you are unable to do so, then in sitting condition: if you are then at your side(i.e, in lying condition).

‘A’ishah said : I never saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting the Quraan in his prayer at night in sitting condition until he became old. Then he used to sit in it (the prayer) and recite the Quran until forty or thirty verses remained, then he stood and recited them and prostrated himself.

‘A’ishah, wife of the prophet (ﷺ), said: when the prophet (ﷺ) prayed sitting, he recited the Quran in sitting condition. When the amount of his recitation remained about thirty or forty verses he stood up and recited them standing. He then bowed and prostrated and then did so in the second Rak’ah of the prayer.Abu Dawud said: 'Alqamah b. Waqqas narrated this tradition on the authority of 'Aishah from the Prophet (ﷺ) to the same effect.

‘A’ishah said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray standing at night for a long time, and used to pray sitting at night for a long time. When he prayed standing, he bowed standing, and when he prayed sitting, he bowed sitting.

‘Abd Allah b. Shaqiq said: I asked ‘A’ishah whether the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited a whole Surah (of the Quran) in one Rak’ah of the prayer. She replied : (He recited from among) the Mufassal surahs. I asked: Did he pray (at night) sitting? She replied : (he prayed sitting) when the people made him old.

Narrated Wa'il ibn Hujr: I said that I should look at the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) how he prays. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up and faced the qiblah (i.e. the direction of Ka'bah) and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great); then he raised his hands till he brought them in front of his ears; then he caught hold of his left hand with his right hand (i.e. folded his hands). When he was about to bow, he raised them (his hands) in a like manner. Then he sat, stretched out his left foot (to sit on it), placed his left hand on his left thigh, and kept away the tip of his right elbow from his right thigh, joined two fingers, formed a ring, to do so. And the narrator Bishr made a ring with the thumb and the middle finger.

'Abdullah bin 'Umar said: "A Sunnah of the prayer is that you should raise your right foot, and make your left foot lie (on the ground)."

(There is another chain) reported from Yahya who said: "I heard Al-Qasim saying: "Abdullah bin 'Abdullah informed me that he heard 'Abdullah bin 'Umar saying: "From the Sunnah of the prayer is to lay your left foot on the ground, and raise your right foot."