“I said to Ubayy bin Ka’b: ‘Your brother Abdullah bin Mas’ud says: “Whoever stands (in voluntary prayer) the whole year, then he will have reached the Night of Al-Qadr.’” So he said: ‘May Allah forgive Abu Abdur-Rahman. He knows that is during the last ten (nights) of Ramadan, and that it is the night of the twenty-seventh. But he wanted the people to not rely upon that.’ Then he uttered an oath, that without exception it is on the night of the twenty-seventh.” He said: “I said to him: ‘Why is it that you say that O Abu Al-Mindhir?’ He said: “By the sign or indication which the Messenger of Allah informed us of: ‘That the sun rises on that day having no beams with it.’”

“Sa`d used to teach his children these words just as the Muktib teaches children, he would say: ‘Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (saws) used to seek refuge by saying them at the end of (every) Salat: O Allah I seek refuge in You from cowardliness, I seek refuge in You from miserliness, I seek refuge in You from feeble old age, and I seek refuge in You from the trial of the world, and the punishment of the grave (Allāhumma innī a`ūdhu bika minal-jubn, wa a`ūdhu bika minal-bukhl, wa a`ūdhu bika min ardhalil-`umur, wa a`ūdhu bika min fitnatid-dunyā wa `adhābil qabr).’”

"Two of my companions and I went and presented ourselves to the Companions of the Prophet (SAW), for our hearing and sight had gone from suffering (hunger and thirst). But there was no one who would accept us. So we went to the Prophet (SAW) and he brought us to his family where there were three goats. The Prophet (SAW) said: 'Milk these.' We milked them, and each person drank his share, and we put aside a share for the Messenger of Allah (SAW). The Messenger of Allah (SAW) came during the night and gave the Salam such that it would not wake the sleeping person, and the one who was awake could hear it. Then he went to the Masjid to per form Salat. Then he went for his drink and drank it."

There was a man, and I do not know of any other man whose house was farther than his from the mosque, and he never missed Salat (in congregation). It was said to him (or I said to him): "If you buy a donkey you could ride it in the dark nights and in the burning sand." He said: "I do not like my house to be by the side of the mosque, for I (eagerly) desire that my steps towards the mosque and back from it should be recorded when I return to my family." Upon this Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Allah has granted you all the rewards for you".

[Muslim].

Another narration says: "You will get the reward for what you have anticipated".

The Prophet (PBUH) had a large bowl called Al-Gharra', which would be carried by four men. One day, when the Companions finished their Duha (forenoon optional) prayer, Al-Gharra' was brought full of sopped bread, meat and broth, and they sat down around it. When their number increased, Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sat down on his knees and rested on the soles of his feet. A bedouin said to him: "What sort of sitting is that?" Thereupon Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Verily, Allah has made me a courteous slave not a fierce tyrant." Then he said, "Eat from the sides of the bowl and leave the central part of it so that your food will be blessed."

[Abu Dawud].

Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to say at the conclusion of prayer: "La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku, wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa 'ala kulli shai'in Qadir. Allahumma la mani'a lima a'tayta, wa la mu'tiya lima mana'ta, wa la yanfa'u dhal-jaddi, minkal-jaddu (there is no true god except Allah. He is One and He has no partner with Him, His is the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Omnipotent. O Allah! None can deny that which You bestow and none can bestow that which You hold back; and the greatness of the great will be of no avail to them against You)."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "He who recites after every prayer: Subhan-Allah (Allah is free from imperfection) thirty-three times; Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah) thirty-three times; Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greatest) thirty-three times; and completes the hundred with: La ilaha illallahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa 'ala kulli shai'in Qadir (there is no true god except Allah. He is One and He has no partner with Him. His is the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Omnipotent), will have all his sins pardoned even if they may be as large as the foam on the surface of the sea."

[Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "There are three (types of) people with whom Allah will neither speak on the Day of Resurrection nor purify them (from sins) and there will be a painful chastisement for them: A person who has spare water in a desert and he refuses to give it to the traveller; a person who sells a commodity to another person after the afternoon prayer and swears by Allah that he has bought it at such and such price, and the buyer pays him accordingly though in reality it was not true; and a person who pledges allegiance to an Imam (leader) just for some worldly benefit, and then if the Imam bestows on him (something out of that) he fulfills his allegiance, and if does not give him, he does not fulfill it."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

l entered upon Abu ‘Abdur-Rahman as-Sulami who had prayed Fajr and was sitting in the mosque.I said: Why don`t you go to your bed, for it will be more comfortable for you? He said: I heard `Ali (رضي الله عنه) say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “Whoever pray Fajr, then sits in the place where he has prayed, the angels will send blessings upon him and their blessings upon him will be: ‘O Allah, forgive him. O Allah, have mercy on him.` And whoever waits for the prayer, the angels will send blessings upon him and their blessings upon him will be: `O Allah, forgive him, O Allah, have mercy on him.”

I heard `Asim bin Damrah say: We asked ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) during the day and he said: You cannot do that. We said: Whoever among us is able to do it [will do it]. He said: When the sun was as high there as it is there the time of ‘Asr, he prayed two rak`ahs, When the sun was as high there as it is there at the time of Zuhr, he prayed four rak’ahs. He prayed four rak`ahs before Zuhr and two afterwards, and [he prayed] four rakʻahs before ‘Asr, separating each two rak`ahs with the greeting (tasleem) upon the angels who are close to Allah, the Prophets, and those who follow them of the believers and the Muslims.

Abu Huraira said that a negress (or a youth) used to sweep the mosque. God’s messenger missed her, and when he asked about her (or him) the people told him he had died. He asked why they had not informed him, and it appeared as if they had treated her (or him) as of little account. He asked the people to lead him to the grave, and when they did so he prayed over her (The wording of this tradition causes some difficulty owing to the indefiniteness as to whether the person was a man or a woman. Sometimes the alternative is mentioned, as in the translation, but sometimes merely the masculine singular pronoun and at others merely the feminine singular pronoun is used) and then said, "These graves are full of darkness for their occupants, but God will illuminate them for them by reason of my prayer over them.” (Bukhari and Muslim, the wording being Muslim’s.)

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said that at the battle of the Trench [The siege of Medina in 5 A. H.] they asked God’s messenger whether there was anything they could repeat, for their hearts were in their mouths.* He replied that there was; they should say, “O God, cover our danger points(1) and give security from fears.” He said that God then sent a wind in the faces of His enemies and God routed them by the wind. *Literally, ‘For the hearts had reached the windpipes.’ 1. The word is 'aurat used in a similar prayer on p. 510. There it was translated 'faults'. Another meaning refers to places on a frontier, etc., which give openings to an enemy, and so are places where caution is necessary. This seems more suitable in the present context. Cf. Mirqat, iii, 134. Ahmad transmitted it.

Abu Umama reported God’s Messenger as saying, ‘‘God and His angels bless the first row." On being asked whether this applied to the second, he said, ‘‘God and His angels bless the first row." He was again asked if it applied to the second and said, ‘‘God and His angels bless the first row." When asked once again if it applied to the second he said, ‘‘And the second." And God’s Messenger said, ‘‘Straighten your rows, stand shoulder to shoulder, be pliant in the hands of your brethren,* and close up the gaps, for the devil enters through openings like the hadhaf i.e., small lambs. * Here, as in the last tradition of section II, warning is given against jostling one’s neighbours during prayer. At the same time instruction is given that no gaps should be left. Ahmad transmitted it.

I asked Anas b. Malik whether the humble supplication1 during the prayer was before or after bowing and he replied, “Before it; God’s Messenger observed it after bowing only for a month. He had sent out some people called Qur’an readers, to the number of seventy, on an expedition and they were smitten,2 so for a month God’s Messenger stood in humble supplication after bowing, invoking a curse on their murderers.” 1. The Arabic is qunut, which means 'being obedient’, or 'the act of standing’. It is used of certain supplications in the witr or at other times, but there is some disagreement about when these supplications may be made. The traditions in this chapter deal with the appropriate times. 2. The reference is to an incident at Bi’r Ma'una in 4 A.H. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira said that when God’s Messenger got up to pray he would say the takbir when standing, then say the takbir when bowing, then say, “God listens to him who praises Him” when coming to an erect position after bowing, then say while standing, “To Thee, our Lord, be the praise,” then say the takbir when getting down for prostration, then say the takbir when he raised his head, then say the takbir when he prostrated himself, then say the takbir when he raised his head. He would do that throughout the whole prayer till he finished it, and he would say the takbir when he got up at the end of two rak'as after adopting the sitting posture. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone believes in God and His Messenger, observes the prayer and fasts during Ramadan, God will assuredly bring him into paradise whether he has engaged in jihad in God’s path or remained in his land in which he was born.” On being asked whether people should not be given this good news he replied, “In paradise there are a hundred degrees which God has prepared for those who engage in jihad in God’s path, between each pair of which there is a distance like that between heaven and earth; so when you make requests of God ask him for Firdaus, for it is the best and highest part of paradise, above it is the throne of the Compassionate One, and from it the rivers of paradise issue.” Bukhari transmitted it.

God’s messenger led us in the morning prayer at al-Hudaibiya after rain which had fallen during the night, and when he finished he turned to the people and said, “Do you know what your Lord has said?” On their replying that God and His messsenger knew best he told them that He had said, “This morning there were among my servants one who believes in me and one who disbelieves. The one who said, ‘We have been given rain by God’s grace and mercy' is the one who believes in me and disbelieves in the star, but the one who said, ‘We have been given rain by such and such a rainy star’ is the one who disbelieves in me and believes in the star.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Umm Khalid daughter of Sa'id. told that once when the Prophet was brought some garments among which was a small black cloak with a border he said, "Bring me Umm Khalid.'' Then when she was carried to him1 he took the cloak in his hand and put it on her, saying, "Wear it out and make it ragged, then wear it out and make it clear[2].'' It had a green, or a yellow, mark on it, and he said, "This is sanah, which means `beautiful' in the language of the Abyssinians." She said that she began to play with the seal of prophecy and that when her father rebuked her God's messenger said, "Leave her alone." Indicating that she was an infant at the time. Mirqat, 5:378, says this represents a prayer that she might live long. Bukhari transmitted it.

When God's messenger was taken up to heaven, he was brought to the lote-tree of the boundary which is in the sixth heaven, to which what is taken up from the earth reaches and of which something is grasped, and to which what is sent down from above reaches and of which something is grasped. He said that "Behold, there overshadows the lote-tree what overshadows''[2] means a covering of gold. He said God's messenger was then given three things: he was given the five times of prayer, he was given the last verses of sura-al-Baqara, and forgiveness of serious sins was granted to those of his people who did not associate anything with God. 1, i.e., Ibn Mas'ud. 2 Quran, 53:16 Muslim transmitted it.

Allah's Messenger (SAW) said, "Bilal calls for prayer when it is still night, so eat and drink till Ibn Umm Maktum calls for prayer." And he (Ibn Umm Maktum) was a blind man who did not call for a prayer until he was told: "It is morning time, it is morning time." [Agreed upon].

There is an Idraj in its last part.

Allah's Messenger (SAW) said, "Whoever is in time for a Rak'ah of the Friday prayer, or any other prayer, should add another (Rak'ah) to it and his prayer will then be complete." [an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and ad-Daraqutni reported it; the wording is from ad-Daraqutni. Its chain of narrators is Sahih (authentic), but Abu Hatim strengthened the view that it is Mursal (missing link after the Tabi'i)].

He was sitting with the Prophet who said: 'No person's prayer is complete until he performs ablution properly as Allah has commanded him, washing his face, his arms up to the elbows, wiping his head and his feet up to the ankles.'"

"I said to the Prophet: 'I am an old man and blind; my house is far away, and I have no one to lead me. Is there any concession (for me not to have to attend the prayer in the mosque)?' He said: 'Can you hear the call?' I said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Then I do not find any concession for you.'"

the Messenger of Allah (saas) said to a man: "What do you say during your prayer?" He said: "I recite the Tashah-hud then I ask for Allah for Paradise and see refuge with Him from Hell, but by Allah I do not understand your whispering or the whispering of Mu'adh." He said: "It is concerning them (Paradise and Hell) that we are whispering."

"Whoever raises three orphans, is like the one who spends his nights in prayer and fasts during the day, and goes out morning and evening drawing his sword in the cause of Allah. In Paradise, he and I will be brothers like these two sisters,'and he held up his forefinger and middle finger together."

the Prophet(SAW) prayed the Morning prayer, and when he had finished, he stood up and said: “Bearing false witness is equivalent to associating others with Allah,” three times. Then he recited this Verse: “And shun lying speech (false statements), Hunafa' Lillah (i.e., worshiping none but Allah), not associating partners (in worship) to Him.”

“We used to perform prayer while the beasts were passing in front of us. That was mentioned to the Messenger of Allah (saw) and he said: ‘If something like the hand of a saddle* is placed in front of anyone of you, it will not matter whoever passes in front of him.”

* It is the piece of wood on the camel saddle which is held on to (to climb onto the camel).

“The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘When anyone of you performs prayer, let him pray facing towards a Sutrah, and let him get close to it, and not let anyone pass in front of him. If someone comes and wants to pass in front of him, let him fight him, for he is a Shaitan (satan).’”

“There is nothing wrong with anyone of you buying two garments for Friday (prayer), other than his daily work clothes.” (Another chain) from Yusuf bin Abdullah bin Salam that his father said: "The Prophet delivered a sermon to us" and he mentioned that.

“The Prophet (saw) came out to pray and said the Takbir, then he gestured to them to wait. He went and took a bath, and his head was dripping with water while he led them in prayer. When he finished he said: ‘I came out to you in a state of sexual impurity, and I forgot until I had started to pray.’”

“When the Messenger of Allah (saw) raised his head from Ruku’ in the Subh prayer, he said: ‘O Allah, save Al-Walid bin Walid, Salamah bin Hisham and ‘Ayyash bin Abu Rabi’ah, and the oppressed in Makkah. O Allah, tighten Your grip on Mudar, and send them years of famine like the famine of Yusuf.”

Allah's Messenger (SAW) offered Witr prayer (on different nights) at various hours, extending (from the 'Isha' prayer) up to the last hour of the night. [Agreed upon].

The Prophet (PBUH) was informed that I said that I would perform prayers the whole night and observe fasting every day as long as I live. Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Is it you who said this?" I said to him, "O Messenger of Allah! I ransom you with my parents, it is I who said that." Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "You will not be able to do that. Observe fast and break it; sleep and get up for prayer, and observe fast for three days during the month; for every good is multiplied ten times and that will be equal to fasting the whole year." I said, "O Messenger of Allah! I can do more than that." He said, "Observe fast one day and leave off the next two days." I said, "O Messenger of Allah! I have strength to do more than that." Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Observe fast every other day, and that is the fasting of Dawud (PBUH) and that is the most moderate fasting".

According to another narration: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "That is the best fasting." I said, "But I am capable of doing more than this". Thereupon, Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "There is nothing better than this." 'Abdullah bin 'Amr (May Allah be pleased with them) said (when he grew old): "Had I accepted the three days (fasting during every month) as the Messenger of Allah had said, it would have been dearer to me than my family and my property".

In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to me, "O 'Abdullah! Have I not been informed that you observe fast during the day and offer prayer all the night." I replied, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Don't do that. Observe fast for few days and then leave off for few days, perform prayers and also sleep at night, as your body has a right upon you, and your eyes have a right upon you; and your wife has a right upon you; your visitors have a right upon you. It is sufficient for you to observe fast three days in a month, as the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times, so it will be like fasting the whole year." I insisted (on fasting) and so I was given a hard instruction. I said, "O Messenger of Allah! I have strength." Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Observe fast like the fasting of Prophet Dawud (PBUH); and do not fast more than that." I said: "How was the fasting of Prophet Dawud?" He (PBUH) said, "Half of the year (i.e., he used to fast on every alternate day)."

Afterwards when 'Abdullah (May Allah be pleased with him) grew old, he used to say: "Would that I had availed myself of the concession granted to me by Messenger of Allah."

In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "I have been informed that you observe fast continuously and recite (the whole of the Qur'an) every night." I said, "Messenger of Allah! It is right, but I covet thereby nothing but good," whereupon he (PBUH) said, "Then observe fasts like the fasting of Prophet Dawud (PBUH) as he was the most ardent worshipper of Allah; recite the Qur'an once every month." I said, "O Prophet of Allah! I am capable of doing more than that." He said, "Then recite it (the complete Qur'an) in every twenty days." I said, "O Prophet of Allah I am capable of reciting more than that." He said, "Then recite it once in every ten days." I said, "O Prophet of Allah! I am capable of reciting more than that." He said, "Then recite it once in every seven days, but not recite more than that." The Prophet of Allah also said to me, "You do not know, you may have a longer life". When I grew old I wished I had availed myself of the concession (granted to me by) the Prophet of Allah.

In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "The best fasting with Allah is that of (Prophet) Dawud, and the best prayer with Allah is that of Dawud (PBUH) for he would sleep half of the night and stand for prayer for the third of it and (then) would sleep sixth part of it; he observed fast one day and leave off the other. He would not flee on meeting the enemy".

In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: My father helped me marry a noble woman and he used to inquire of his daughter-in-law regarding her husband. She would say: "He is, indeed, a fine man. Since I have come to him, he has neither stepped on my bed nor he has had sexual intercourse with me". When this state of affairs lasted for some time, my father mentioned the matter to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) who directed my father saying, "Send him to me". I went to him accordingly. He asked me, "How often do you observe fast?" I replied; "Daily". He asked me, "How long do you take in reading the Noble Qur'an completely." I said, "Once every night". Then he narrated the whole story. He (in his old age) would recite one seventh of his nightly recitation to some members of his family during the day to lighten his task at night. Whenever he wished to have a relief from his fast on alternate days, he would give up fasting for a few days and make up deficiency later by observing the number of fasts he had missed. He would not give up the number of fasts altogether because he did not like to abandon what he had settled with Messenger of Allah (PBUH).

'I had a very strong prolonged flow of blood. I went to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) to ask him about it. He said, "This is a strike from Satan. So observe your menses for six or seven days, then perform Ghusl until you see that you are clean. Pray for twenty-four or twenty-three nights and days and fast, and that will suffice you. Do so every month just as the other women menstruate (and are purified). But if you are strong enough to delay the Dhuhr prayer and advance the Asr prayer, then make Ghusl when your purified and combine the Dhuhr and the Asr prayers together; then delay the Maghrib prayer and advance the Isha prayer, and perform Ghusl and combine the two prayers, do so. Do so, and then wash at dawn and pray Fajr. This is how you may pray and fast if you have the ability to do so." And he said, "That is the more preferable way to me." [Reported by the five imams except An- Nasa’i, At-Tirmidhi graded it Sahih (sound)]

"The Messenger of Allah [SAW] would sit among his Companions and if a stranger came, he would not know which of them was he (the Prophet [SAW]) until he asked. So we suggested to the Messenger of Allah [SAW] that we should make a dais for him so that any stranger would know him if he came to him. So we built for him a bench made of clay on which he used to sit. (One day) we were sitting and the Messenger of Allah [SAW] was sitting in his spot, when a man came along who was the most handsome and good-smelling of all people, and it was as if no dirt had ever touched his garments. He came near the edge of the rug and greeted him, saying: 'Peace be upon you, O Muhammad!' He returned the greeting, and he said: 'Shall I come closer, O Muhammad?' He came a little closer, and he kept telling him to come closer, until he put his hands on the knees of the Messenger of Allah [SAW]. He said: 'O Muhammad, tell me, what is Islam?' He said: 'Islam means to worship Allah and not associate anything with Him; to establish Salah, to pay Zakah, to perform Hajj to the House, and to fast Ramadan.' He said: 'If I do that, will I have submitted (be a Muslim)?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'You have spoken the truth,' we found it odd. He said: 'O Muhammad, tell me, what is faith?' He said: 'To believe in Allah [SWT], His Angels, the Book, the Prophets, and to believe in the Divine Decree.' He said: 'If I do that, will I have believed?' The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: 'Yes.' He said: 'You have spoken the truth.' He said: 'O Muhammad, tell me, what is Al-Ihsan?' He said: 'To worship Allah [SWT] as if you can see Him, for although you cannot see Him, He can see you.' He said: 'You have spoken the truth.' He said: 'O Muhammad, tell me about the Hour.' He lowered his head and did not answer. Then he repeated the question, and he did not answer. Then he repeated the question (a third time) and he did not answer. Then he raised his head and said: 'The one who is being asked does not know more than the one who is asking. But it has signs, by which it may be known. When you see the herdsmen competing in building tall buildings, when you see the barefoot and naked ruling the Earth, when you see a woman giving birth to her mistress. Five things which no one knows except Allah [SWT]. Verily, Allah, with Him (alone) is the knowledge of the Hour up to His saying: 'Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things).' Then he said: 'No, by the One who sent Muhammad with the truth, with guidance and glad tidings, I did not know him more than any man among you. That was Jibril, peace be upon you, who came down in the form of Dihyah Al-Kalbi.'"

Narrated Salih bin Khawwat on the authority of one who offered the Fear prayer with Allah's Messenger (SAW) at the battle of Dhatur-Riqa' that a group (of the army) formed a line along with him and a group faced the enemy. He (SAW) led the group which was with him in a Rak'ah, and then remained standing while they finished their prayer by themselves. They then departed and lined up facing the enemy, and the other party came. He led them in the remaining Rak'a (of his prayer), after which he remained sitting while they finished their prayer by themselves. He then led them in uttering the Taslim (salutation). [Agreed upon; and this is the wording of Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (saws) came over to Medina and encamped at the upper side of Medina among the tribe known as Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf. He stayed among them for fourteen days. He then sent someone to call Banu al-Najjar. They came to him hanging their swords from the necks. Anas then said: As if I am looking at the Messenger of Allah (saws) sitting on his mount and Abu Bakr seated behind him, and Banu al-Najjar standing around him. He descended in the courtyard of Abu Ayyub. The Messenger of Allah (saws) would say his prayer in the folds of the sheep and goats. He commanded us to build a mosque. He then sent for Banu al-Najjar and said to them: Banu al-Najjar, sell this land of yours to me for some price. They replied: By Allah, we do not want any price (from you) except from Allah. Anas said: I tell what this land contained. It contained the graves of the disbelievers, dung-hills, and some trees of date-palm. The Messenger of Allah (saws) commanded and the graves of the disbelievers were dug open, and the trees of the date-palm were cut off. The wood of the date-palm were erected in front of the mosque ; the door-steps wre built of stone. They were reciting verses carrying the stones. The Prophet (saws) also joined them (in reciting verses) saying: O Allah, there is no good except the good of the Hereafter. So grant you aid to the Ansar and the Muhajirah.

Allah's (SAW) made a small room of a mat (i.e. he used it to designate a space for prayer) and prayed inside it. The people followed him, and they came to pray behind him. The narrator mentioned the rest of the Hadith, and it contains the words: "The most excellent prayer of a person is (that which he prays) in his house except that which is prescribed (the five congregational prayers)." [Agreed upon].

Allah's Messenger (SAW) said, "There is no Salat (i.e. voluntary prayer) after the break of dawn except Sajdatain (Sunnah of Fajr)." [Reported by al-Khamsah except an-Nasa'i].

Allah's Messenger (SAW) said, "The prayer offered in congregation is twenty-seven degrees more rewardable than a prayer offered by a single person." [Agreed upon].

“The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘Whoever wakes up in the morning and says upon waking: La ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in Qadir; Subhan-Allah walhamdu lillahi, wa la ilaha illallahu, wa Allahu Akbar, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahil-‘Aliyil-‘Azim (None has the right to be worshipped but Allah alone, with no partner or associate. His is the dominion and all praise is to Him, and He is Able to do all things. Glory is to Allah, praise is to Allah, none has the right to be worshiped but Allah, Allah is the Most Great, and there is no power and no strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Most Supreme), then he supplicates Rabbighfirli (O Lord, forgive me), he will be forgiven.’” Walid said: “Or he said: then if he supplicated, it will be answered for him then if he stood up and performed ablution and then performed prayer, his prayer would be accepted.”

“The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘Whoever performs a prayer in which he does not recite Ummul Qur’an (the Mother of the Qur’an, i.e., Al- Fatihah), it is deficient; not complete.’” I said: ‘O Abu Hurairah, sometimes I am behind the Imam. He pressed my forearm and said: ‘O Persian! Recite it to yourself.’”

“I said: ‘I will look at the Messenger of Allah (saw) and see how he performs the prayer.’ He stood up and faced the Qiblah, and raised his hands until they were parallel to his ears. When he bowed, he raised them likewise, and when he raised his head from Ruku’, he raised them likewise.”

“The prayer is severed by a woman, a donkey, and a black dog, if there is not something like the handle of a saddle in front of a man.” I (‘Abdullah) said: “What is wrong with a black dog and not a red one?” He (Abu Dharr) said: ‘I asked the Messenger of Allah (saw) the same question, and he said: “The black dog is a Shaitan (satan).”

“Dreams are of three types: Glad tidings from Allah, what is on a person’s mind, and frightening dreams from Satan. If any of you sees a dream that he likes, let him tell others of it if he wishes, but if he sees something that he dislikes, he should not tell anyone about it, and he should get up and perform prayer.”

Allah's Messenger (SAW) said, "Whoever hears the call for prayer and and does not come (to the mosque for prayer), his prayer will not be accepted from him, unless he has a (legitimate) excuse." [Reported by Ibn Majah, ad-Daraqutni, Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim. Its chain of narration meets Muslim's conditions, but some Hadith scholars held that the stronger view is that it is Mawquf (saying of a Companion)].

Allah's Messenger (SAW) said, "One of the best deeds is to offer Salat (prayer) in its early time." [Reported by at-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim who (both) graded it Sahih].

"Allah's Messenger (SAW) said, "Kill the two black ones during Salat (prayer), the snake and the scorpion." [Reported by al-Arba'a, and Ibn Hibban graded it Sahih (authentic)].

I asked Allah's Messenger (SAW) about looking around during prayer and he said, "It is something which the devil snatches from a person's prayer." [Reported by al-Bukhari].

Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded: and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (glorified and exalted be He) will say: See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers. Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion. It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and Ahmad).