Establishing the Prayer and the Sunnah Regarding Them

It wasnarrated that Jabir bin ‘Abdullah said: “The Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) used to stand by the root of a tree, or by a tree trunk,thenhe started to use a pulpit. The tree trunk made a grievingsound.”Jabir said: “So that the people in the mosque could hear it.Untilthe Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to it and rubbed it, and itcalmeddown. Some of them said: ‘If he had not come to it, it wouldhavegrieved until the Day of Resurrection.’”

It wasnarrated from Abu Wa’il that ‘Abdullah said: “I prayed onenight with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he kept standing until Ithought of doing something bad.” I said: “What was that?”Hesaid: “Ithought of sitting down and leaving him.”

It wasnarrated from Ziyad bin ‘Ilaqah that he heard Mughirah say: “TheMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood (in prayer) until his feet becameswollen. It was said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, Allah has forgiven youyour past and future sins.’ He said: ‘Should I not be a thankfulslave?’”

It wasnarrated that Abu Hurairah said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)usedto pray until his feet became swollen. It was said: ‘O MessengerofAllah, Allah has forgiven you your past and future sins.’ He said:‘Should I not be a thankful slave?’”

It wasnarrated that Jabir bin ‘Abdullah said: “The Prophet (ﷺ) wasasked: ‘Which prayer is best?’ He said: ‘That with the longerQunut.’”

It wasnarrated from Kathir bin Murrah that Abu Fatimah told him: “Isaid:‘O Messenger of Allah! Tell me of a deed that I can adhere toandact upon.’ He said: “You should prostrate, for you will notprostrate to Allah but He will raise you in status one degree therebyand erase from you one sin.”

Ma’danbin Abu Talhah Al-Ya’muri said: “I met Thawban and said tohim:‘Tell me a Hadith that Allah may benefit me thereby.’ But heremained silent. Then I said the same and he remained silent. Thathappened three times. Then he said to me: ‘You should prostrate toAllah; for I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “No oneprostrates to Allah but Allah will raise him one degree in statusthereby and will erase one of his sins.” Ma’dan said: “Then Imet AbuDarda’ and asked him the same question, and he gave asimilar answer.”

It wasnarrated from ‘Ubadah bin Samit that he heard the Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ) say: “No one prostrates to Allah but Allah will recordoneHasanah (good reward) for him, and will erase thereby one baddeed andraise him in status one degree. So prostrate a great deal.”

It wasnarrated that Anas bin Hakim Dabbi said: “Abu Hurairah said tome:‘When you go to your country, tell them that I heard the Messengerof Allah (ﷺ) say: “The first thing for which the Muslim will bebrought to account on the Day of Resurrection will be the prescribedprayers. If they are complete, all well and good, otherwise it willbesaid: ‘Look and see whether he has any voluntary prayers.’ Ifhe hasany voluntary prayers, his prescribed prayers will becompleted fromhis voluntary prayers. Then the same will be done withregard to allhis obligatory deeds.”

It wasnarrated from Tamim Dari that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Thefirstthing for which a person will be brought to account on the DayofResurrection will be his prayer. If it is complete, then thevoluntary (prayers) will also be recorded for him (as an increase).Ifit is not complete then Allah will say to His angels: ‘Look andseewhether you find any voluntary prayers for My slave, and takethem tomake up what is lacking from his obligatory prayers.’ Thenall hisdeeds will be reckoned in like manner.”

It wasnarrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Isanyoneof you incapable, when he prays, or stepping forwards orbackwards,or to his right or left?” meaning in order to offer avoluntaryprayer.

It wasnarrated from Al-Mughirah bin Shu’bah that the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) said: “The Imam should not pray in the place where heofferedthe obligatory prayer, until he moves aside.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Shibl said: “The Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ) forbade three things: Pecking like a crow, spreading (theforearms) like a beast of prey, and a man having a place in themosquein which he usually offers the prayer, like a camel has aplace towhich it usually goes.”

It wasnarrated from Yazid bin Abu ‘Ubaid that Salamah bin Al-Akwa’usedto offer the Duha prayer, and he would come to the pillar thatwasnear the Mushaf. I said to him: “Why do you not pray over there?”And I pointed to some corner of the mosque. He said: “I saw theMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) seeking out this place.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdullah bin Sa’ib said: “I saw the MessengerofAllah (ﷺ) praying on the Day of the Conquest, and he put hisshowson his left.”

It wasnarrated that Abu Hurairah said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: ‘Keep your shoes on your feet. If you take them off thenplacethem between your two feet; do not place them to your right, orto theright of your companions, or behind you, for they may annoywhoever isbehind you.’”