Establishing the Prayer and the Sunnah Regarding Them

It wasnarrated from Hisham bin ‘Urwah, from his father, from‘Aishah,that the Messenger of Allah (saW) used to say one Salam, tothefront.

It wasnarrated that Salamah bin Akwa’ said: “I saw the Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ) performing the prayer, and he said one Salam.”

It wasnarrated from Samurah bin Jundub that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whenthe Imam says the Salam, then respond to him.”

It wasnarrated that Samurah bin Jundab said: “The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) commanded us to greet our Imam with Salam, and to greet oneanother with Salam.”

It wasnarrated that Thawban said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: ‘Noperson should lead others in prayer, then supplicate onlyfor himselfand not for them. If he does that, he has betrayed them.’”

It wasnarrated that ‘Aishah said: “When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said the Salam, he would sit only for as long as it took to say:‘Allahumma Antas-Salam wa minkas-salam. Tabarakta ya Dhal-jalaliwal-ikram. (O Allah, You are As-Salam, From You is all peace, blessedareYou O Possessor of majesty and honour).’”

It wasnarrated from Umm Salamah that when the Prophet (ﷺ)performed theSubh (morning prayer), while he said the Salam, he would say: ‘Allahummainnias’aluka ‘ilman nafi’an, wa rizqan tayyiban, wa ‘amalanmutaqabbalan (O Allah, I ask You for beneficial knowledge, goodlyprovision and acceptable deeds).’”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr said: “The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: ‘There are two characteristics which no Muslim manacquires but he will enter Paradise. They are easy but those who dothem are few. At the end of every prayer he should glorify Allah (bysaying Subhan Allah) ten times, extol Him (by saying Allahu Akbar)tentimes, and praise Him (by saying Al-Hamdu Lillah) ten times.’ Isawthe Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) counting them on his hand. ‘Thatis onehundred and fifty (after all the prayers of the day) on thetongue,and one thousand and five hundred on the Scale. And when hegoes tohis bed, let him glorify Allah and praise Him and extol Himonehundred times. That will be one hundred on the tongue and onethousandon the Scale. Who among you does two thousand and fivehundred evilactions in one day?’ They said: ‘Who would not bekeen to do that?’ Hesaid: ‘But the Shaitan comes to anyone ofyou while he is performingprayer and says: ‘Remember such andsuch, remember such and such,”until the person becomes distractedand does not understand (what heis saying). And he comes to him whenhe is in his bed, and makes himsleepy such that he sleeps.’”

It wasnarrated that Abu Dharr said: “It was said to the Prophet(ﷺ) andperhaps (one of the narrators) Sufyan said: I said: OMessenger ofAllah! Those who have property and wealth have surpassedus inreward. They say the same as we do, and they spend but we do notspend.’ He said to me: ‘Shall I not tell you something which, ifyoudo it, you will catch up with those who have surpassed you andyouwill excel over those who come after you? Praise Allah (by sayingAl-Hamdu Lillah) after every prayer, and glorify Him (by sayingSubhan-Allah) and extol Him (by saying Allahu Akbar), thirty-three,thirty-three, and thirty-four times.’” Sufyan said: “I do notknow which ofthem was to be recited thirty-four times.”

Thawbannarrated that when he finished his prayer, the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) would ask for forgiveness three times, then he would say: “Allahumma Antas-Salam wa minkas-salam tabarakta wa Dhal-jalaliwal-ikram” (O Allah, You are As-Salam and from You is all peace,Blessedare You O Possessor of majesty and honour).”

It wasnarrated from Qabisah bin Hulb that his father said: “TheProphet(ﷺ) led us (in prayer), and he used to depart from bothsides.(i.e. from either side).”

It wasnarrated that Aswad said: “ ‘Abdullah (bin Mas’ud) said: ‘Noneof you should apportion within himself a part (of his prayer)thinkingthat it is a right of Allah upon him that he must only turnto hisright to leave after finishing the prayer. I saw the MessengerofAllah (ﷺ) and most of the time he turned to his left.’”

It wasnarrated from ‘Amr bin Shu’aib, from his father, that hisgrandfather said: “I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) departing to his rightandto his left when he finished the prayer.”

It wasnarrated that Umm Salamah said: “When the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)said the Salam, the women would stand up when he finished hisTaslim,and he would stay where he was for a little while beforestanding up.(i.e. to depart).”

It wasnarrated from Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “If food is served and the Iqamah for prayer is given, thenstartwith the food.”

It wasnarrated from Nafi’ that Ibn ‘Umar said: “The Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ) said: ‘If food is served and the Iqamah for prayer isgiven, then start with the food.”He said: "Ibn 'Umar ate dinner one night while he could hear the Iqamah."

It wasnarrated from ‘Aishah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Iffood is ready and the Iqamah is being given, then start with thefood.”

It wasnarrated that Abu Malih said: “I went out on a rainy night(forcongregational prayer), and when I came back I asked for the doortobe opened. My father said: ‘Who is this?’ I said: ‘Abu Malih.’Hesaid: ‘We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) at Hudaybiyahand itrained a little, such that the soles of our sandals did notget wet.The announcer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called out:‘Performyour prayer at your camps.’”

It wasnarrated that Ibn ‘Umar said: “On rainy nights or on coldwindynights, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would summon his announcertocall out: ‘Perform your prayer at your camps.’”

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, on aFridaythat was rainy: “Perform your prayer at your camps.”

It wasnarrated from ‘Abdullah bin Harith bin Nawfal that Ibn ‘Abbascommanded the Mu’adh-dhin to call the Adhan one Friday, which was arainy day. He said: “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Ashhadu an lailahaillallah, Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah (Allah is the MostGreat,Allah is Most Great, I bear witness that none has the right tobeworshipped but Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad is theMessenger ofAllah).” Then he (Ibn ‘Abbas) said: “Proclaim tothe people that theyshould pray in their houses.” The people saidto him: “What is thisthat you have done?” He said: “One who isbetter than me did that. Areyou telling me that I should bring thepeople out of their houses andmake them come to me wading throughthe mud up to their knees?”

It wasnarrated from Musa bin Talhah that his father said: “We usedtoperform prayer while the beasts were passing in front of us. Thatwasmentioned to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he said: ‘Ifsomething like the hand of a saddle* is placed in front of anyone ofyou, it will not matter whoever passes in front of him.”

It wasnarrated that Ibn ‘Umar said: “A small spear (Harbah) would bebrought out to the Prophet (ﷺ) when he was travelling; he wouldplant it (in the ground) to perform prayer while facing it.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Aishah said: “The Messenger of Allah had a reedmat that he would spread out during the day, and make into acompartment at night, towards which he would perform prayer.”

It wasnarrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whenanyone of you performs prayer, let him put something in front of him.If he cannot find anything then let him put a stick. If he cannotfindone, then let him draw a line. Then it will not matter ifanythingpasses in front of him.”

Busr binSa’eed said: “They sent me to Zaid bin Khalid to ask himaboutpassing in front of one who is performing prayer. He told methat theProphet (ﷺ) said: ‘Waiting for forty is better than passinginfront of one who is performing prayer.’”

It wasnarrated from Busr bin Sa’eed that Zaid bin Khalid sent wordto AbuJuhaim Al-Ansari asking him: “What did you hear from theProphet(ﷺ) about a man when he is performing prayer?” He said: “Iheard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying: ‘If anyone of you knew (how greatisthe sin involved) when he passed in front of his brother who isperforming prayer, then waiting for forty’,” (one of thenarrators)said: “I do not know if he meant forty years, fortymonths, or fortydays, ‘would be better for him than that.”

It wasnarrated that Abu Hurairah said: “The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘Ifanyone of you knew (how great is the sin involved) in passing infrontof his brother while he is performing prayer, waiting for onehundredyears would be better for him than one step that he takes.’”

It wasnarrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “The Prophet (ﷺ) wasperformingprayer at ‘Arafat, and Fadl and I came riding a femaledonkey. Wepassed in front of part of the row, then we dismounted andleft thedonkey, and we came and joined the row.”

It wasnarrated that Umm Salamah said: “The Prophet (ﷺ) wasperformingprayer in the house of Umm Salamah, and ‘Abdullah or ‘UmarbinAbu Salamah passed in front of him; he gestured his hand, and hewentback. Then Zainab bint Umm Salamah passed in front of him, and hegestured his hand, but she kept going. When the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) finished his prayer, he said: ‘These (women) are morestubborn.’”