The believing women used to pray the morning prayer with the Messenger of Allah and then return wrapped in their mantles. No one could recognise them.

When Hajjaj came to Medina we asked Jabir b. Abdullah (about the timings of prayer as observed by the Holy Prophet). He said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to pray afternoon prayer in the midday heat; the afternoon prayer when the sun was bright; the evening prayer when the sun had completely set; and as for the night prayer, he sometimes delayed and sometimes (observed it) at earlier hours. When he found them (his Companions) assembled (at earlier hours) he (prayed) early. and when he saw them coming late, he delayed the (prayer). and the morning prayer the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed in the darkness before dawn.

I heard my father asking Abu Barza (al- Aslami) about the prayer of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) I (Shu'ba, one of the narrators) said: Did you hear it (from Abu Barza)? He said: 1 feel as if I am bearing you at this very time. He said: I heard my father asking about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he (Abu Barza) making this reply: He (the Holy Prophet) did not mind delaying-some (prayer) i. e. 'Isya' prayer, even up to the midnight and did not like sleeping before observing it, and talking after it. Shu'ba said: I met him subsequently and asked him (about the prayers of the Holy Prophet) and he said: He observed the noon prayer when the sun was past the meridian, he would pray the afternoon prayer, after which a person would o to the outskirts of Medina and the sun was still bright; (I forgot what he said about the evening prayer) ; I then met him on a subsequent occasion and asked him (about the prayers of the Holy Prophet; and he said: He would observe the morning prayer (at such a time) so that a man would go back and would recognise his neighbour by casting a glance at his face, and he would recite from sixty to one hundred verses in it.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to me: How would you act when you are under the rulers who would delay the prayer beyond its prescribed time, or they would make prayer a dead thing as far as its proper time is concerned? I said: What do you command? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Observe the prayer at Its proper time, and if you can say it along with them do so, for it would be a superetogatory prayer for you. Khalaf (one of the narrators in the above hadith) has not mentioned" beyond their (prescribed) time".

Prayer said in a congregation is twenty-five degrees more excellent than prayer said by a single person.

Prayer said in a congregation is twenty-seven degrees more excellent than prayer said by a single person.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) found some people absenting from certain prayers and he said: I intend that I order (a) person to lead people in prayer, and then go to the persons who do not join the (congregational prayer) and then order their houses to be burnt by the bundles of fuel. If one amongst them were to know that he would find a fat fleshy bone he would attend the night prayer.

I have seen the time when no one stayed away from prayer except a hypocrite, whose hypocrisy was well known, or a sick man, but if a sick man could walk between two persons (i.e. with the help of two persons with one on each side) he would come to prayer. And (further) said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) taught us the paths of right guidance, among which is prayer in the mosque in which the Adhan is called.

While we were sitting with Abu Huraira in a mosque a man went out of the mosque after the call to prayer had been announced. (A man stood up in the mosque and set off.) Abu Huraira's eyes followed him till he went out of the mosque. Upon this Abu Huraira said: This man has disobeyed Abu'l- Qasim (Muhammad) (may peace be upon him).

'Uthman b. 'Affan (narrated the mosque after evening prayer and sat alone. I also sat alone with him, so he said: 0, son of my brother, I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) say: He who observed the 'Isha' prayer in congregation, it was as if he prayed up to midnight, and he who prayed the morning prayer in congregation, it was as if he prayed the whole night.

He who prayed the morning prayer (in congregation) he is in fact under the protection of Allah. And it can never happen that Allah should demand anything from you in connection with the protection (that He guarantees) and one should not get it. He would then throw him in the fire of Hell.

The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) came to us and there was none in our house but I, my mother and my aunt Umm Haram. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Stand up so that I may lead you in prayer (and there was no time for prescribed prayer). He led us in prayer. A person said to Thabit: Where stood Anas with him (the Holy Prophet)? He replied: He was on the right side. He then blessed us, the members of the household with every good of this world and of the Hereafter. My mother said: Messenger of Allah (and then, pointing towards Anas, said), here is your little servant, invoke the blessing of Allah upon him too. He then blessed me with every good, and he concluded his blessings for me (with these words): Allah! increase his wealth, and his children and make (them the source of) blessing for him.

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 the prayer (in congregation). It was said to him or I said to him: It you were to buy a donkey you could ride upon it In the dark nights and in the burning sand. He said: I do not like my house to be situated 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 the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Allah has gathered all (rewards) for you.

There were some plots vacant around the mosque. Banu Salama decided to shift (to this land) and come near the mosque. This (news) reached the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he said to them (Banu Salama): I have received (information) that you intend to shift near the mosque. They said: Yes, Messenger of Allah, we have taken this decision. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) said: O Banu Salama, live in your houses, for your steps are recorded; live in your houses, for your steps are recorded.

I said to Jabir b. Samura: Did you sit in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him)? He said: Yes, very often. He (the Holy Prophet) used to sit at the place where he observed the morning or dawn prayer till the sun rose or when it had risen; he would stand, and they (his Companions) would talk about matters (pertaining to the days) of ignorance, and they would laugh (on these matters) while (the Holy Prophet) only smiled.

When there are three persons, one of them should lead them. The one among them most worthy to act as Imam is one who is best versed in the Qur'an.

The one who is most versed in Allah's Book should act as Imam for the people, but If they are equally versed in reciting it, then the one who has most knowledge regarding Sunnah if they are equal regarding the Sunnah, then the earliest one to emigrate; it they emigrated at the same time, then the earliest one to embrace Islam. No man must lead another in prayer where (the latter) has authority, or sit in his place of honour in his house, without his permission. Ashajj in his narration used the word," age" in place of" Islam".

We came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and we were all young men of nearly equal age. We stayed with him (the Holy Prophet) for twenty nights, and as the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was extremely kind and tender of heart, he therefore, thought that we were eager (to see) our family (we felt homesick). So he asked us about the members of the family that we had left behind and when we informed him, he said: Go back to your family, stay with them, and teach them (beliefs and practices of Islam) and exhort them to good, and when the time for prayer comes, one amongst you should announce Adhan and then the oldest among you should lead the prayer.

(When) Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) (wished to invoke curse or blessing on someone, he would do so at the end) of the recitation in the dawn prayer, when he had pronounced Allah-o-Akbar (for bending) and then lifted his head (saying):" Allah listened to him who praised Him; our Lord! to Thee is all praise" ; he would then stand up and say:" Rescue al-Walid b. Walid, Salama b. Hisham, and 'Ayyash b. Abd Rabi'a, and the helpless among the Muslims. O Allah! trample severely Mudar and cause them a famine (which broke out at the time) of Joseph. O Allah! curse Lihyan, Ri'l, Dhakwan, 'Usayya, for they disobeyed Allah and His Messenger." (The narrator then adds): The news reached us that he abandoned (this) when this verse was revealed:" Thou but no concern in the matter whether He turns to them (mercifully) or chastises them; surely they are wrongdoers" (ill. 127)

Allah the Exalted and Great revealed (a verse) regarding those who were killed at Bi'r Ma'una, and we recited it, till it was abrogated later on (and the verse was like this):, convey to it our people the tidings that we have met our Lord, and He was pleased with us and we were pleased with Him".

0 Allah I curse the tribes of Lihyan, Ri'l, Dhakwan, and 'Usayya for they disobeyed Allah and His Messenger (may peace be upon him). Allah pardoned (the tribe of) Ghifar and Allah granted protection to (the tribe of) Aslam

Messenger of Allah I may my father and mother be offered as ransom for thee, the same thing overpowered me which overpowered you. He (the Holy Prophet, then) said: Lead the beasts on: so they led their camels to some distance. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) then performed ablution and gave orders to Bilal who pronounced the Iqama and then led them in the morning prayer. When he finished the prayer he said: When anyone forgets the prayer, he should observe it when he remembers it, for Allah has said:" And observe the prayer for remembrance of Me" (Qur'an. xx. 14). Yunus said: Ibn Shilab used to recite it like this:" (And observe the prayer) for remembrance."

I was with the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) in a journey. We travelled the whole of the night, and when it was about to dawn, we got down for rest, and were overpowered (by sleep) till the sun shone. Abu Bakr was the first to awake amongst us. and we did not awake the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) from his sleep allowing him to wake up (of his own accord). It was 'Umar who then woke up. He stood by the side of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and recited takbir in a loud voice till the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) woke up. When he lifted his head, he saw that the sun had arisen; he then said: Proceed on. He travelled along with us till the sun shone brightly. He came down (from his camel) and led us in the morning prayer. A person, however, remained away from the people and did not say, prayer along with us. After having completed the prayer, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to him: O, so and so, what prevented you from observing prayer with us? He said: Apostle of Allah! I was not in a state of purity. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) ordered him arid lie performed Tayammum with dust and said prayer. He then urged me to go ahead immediately along with other riders to find out water, for we felt very thirsty. We were traveling when we came across a woman who was sitting (on a camel) with her feet hanging over two leathern water bags. We said to her: How far is water available? She, said: Far, very far, very far. You cannot get water. We (again) said: How much distance is there between (the residence of) your family and water? She said: It is a day and night journey. We said to her: You go to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). She said: Who is the Messenger of Allah? We somehow or the other managed to bring her to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he asked about her, and she informed him as she had informed us that she was a widow having orphan children. He ordered that her camel should be made to kneal down and he gargled in the opening (of her leathern water-bag). The camel was then raised up and we forty thirsty men drank water till we were completely satiated, and we filled up all leathern water-bags and water-skins that we had with us and we washed our companions, but we did not make any camel drink, and (the leathern water-bags) were about to burst (on account of excess of water). He then said: Bring whatever you have with you. So we collected the bits (of estable things) and dates and packed them up in a bundle, and said to her: Take it away. This is meant for your children, and know that we have not its any way done any loss to your water. W hen she came to her family she said: I have met the greatest magician amongst human beings, or he is an apostle, as he claims to be, and she then narrated what had happened and Allah guided aright those people through that woman. She affirmed her faith in Islam and so did the people embrace Islam.

He who forgets the prayer should say it when he remembers it, there is no explation for it, except this. Qatada said: (Allah says)" And observe prayer for remembrance of Me"

The prayer was prescribed as two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs both in journey and at the place of residence. The prayer while travelling remained as it was (originally prescribed), but an addition was made in the prayer (observed) at the place of residence.

I told 'Umar b. al-Khattab that Allah had said:" You may shorten the prayer only if you fear that those who are unbelievers may afflict you" (Qur'an, iv. 101), whereas the people are now safe. He replied: I wondered about it in the same way as you wonder about it, so I asked the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) about it and he said: It is an act of charity which Allah has done to you, so accept His charity.

Allah has prescribed the prayer through the word of your Prophet (may peace be upon him) as four rak'ahs when resident, two when travelling, and one when danger is present.

I asked Ibn 'Abbas: How should I say prayer when I am in Mecca, and when I do not pray along with the Imam? He said: Two rak'ahs (of prayer) is the Sunnah of Abu'l-Qasim (may peace be upon him).

I accompanied Ibn 'Umar on the road to Mecca and he led us in two rak'ahs at the noon prayer, then he went forward and we too went along with him to a place where he alighted, and he sat and we sat along with him, and he cast a glance to the side where he said prayer and he saw people standing and asked: What are they doing? I said: They are engaged in glorifying Allah, offering Sunnah prayer. He said: If I had done so I would have perfected my prayer; O my nephew! I accompanied the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) on a journey, and he made no addittion to two rak'ahs, till Allah called him. I accompanied Abu Bakr and he made no addition to two rak'ahs till Allah caused him to die. I accompanied 'Umar and he made no addition to two rak'ahs till Allah caused him to die. I accompanied 'Uthman and he made no addition to two rak'ahs, till Allah caused him to die, and Allah has said:" There is a model pattern for you in the Messenger of Allah" (al-Qur'an, xxxiii. 21).

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said four rak'ahs in the noon prayer while at Medina, but he offered two rak'ahs in the afternoon prayer at Dhu'l-Hulaifa.

We went out from Medina to Mecca with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he prayed two rak'ahs at each time of prayer till we returned to Medina. I said: For how long did he stay in Mecca? He said: (For) ten (days).

I heard 'Abd al-Rahman as saying; 'Uthman led us four rak'ahs of prayer at Mina. It was reported to Abdullah b. Mas'ud and he recited:" Surely we are Allah's and to Him shall we return," and then said: I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) at Mina two rak'ahs of prayer. I prayed along with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq two rak'ahs of prayer at Mina. I prayed along with 'Umar b. Khattab two rak'ahs of prayer at Mina. I wish I had my share of the two rak'ahs acceptable (to God) for the four rak'ahs.

I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) two rak'ahs and most of them offered two rak'ahs only in Mina, while the people felt secure.

Pray in your dwellings; and then said: When it was a cold, rainy night, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to command the Mu'adhdhin to say" Pray in your dwellings."

When you have announced" I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," do not say:" Come to the prayer," but make this announcement:" Say prayer in your houses." He (the narrator) said that the people disapproved of it. Ibn 'Abbas said: Are you astonished at it? He (the Holy Prophet), who is better than I, did it. Jumu'a prayer is no doubt obligatory, but I do not like that I should (force you) to come out and walk in mud and slippery ground.

When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was in a state of hurry on a journey, he combined the sunset and 'Isha' prayers.

When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) set out on a journey before the sun declined (from the meridian), he delayed the noon prayer till the afternoon prayer, and then dismounted (his ride) and combined them (noon and afternoon prayers), but if the sun had declined before his setting out on a journey, he observed the noon prayer and then mounted (the ride).

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed the noon and afternoon prayers together, and the sunset and Isha' prayers together without being in a state of fear or in a state of journey.

We set out with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) on the Tabuk expedition, and he observed the noon and afternoon prayers together and the sunset and 'Isha' prayers together.

None of you should give a share to Satan out of your self. He should not deem that it is necessary for him to turn but to the right only (after prayer). I saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) turning to the left.

I asked Anas how I should turn-to the right or to the left-when I say my prayers. He said: I have very often seen the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) turning to the right.

When we prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) we cherished to be on his right side so that his face would turn towards us (at the end of the prayer), and he (the narrator) said: I heard him say: O my Lord! save me from Thy torment on the Day when Thoil, wouldst raise or gather Thy servants.

There have come the people of Yemen; they are tender of hearts, the belief is that of the Yemenites, the understanding (of the faith) is that of the Yemenites and sagacity is that of the Yemenites.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessing be upon him) observed: You shall not enter Paradise so long as you do not affirm belief (in all those things which are the articles of faith) and you will not believe as long as you do not love one another. Should I not direct you to a thing which, if you do, will foster love amongst you: (i. e.) give currency to (the practice of paying salutation to one another by saying) as-salamu alaikum.

"The Religion is sincerity." We said, "To whom?" He said "To Allah, to His Book, To His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their masses."

The fornicator who fornicates is not a believer so long as he commits it and no thief who steals is a believer as long as he commits theft, and no drunkard who drinks wine is a believer as long as he drinks it. 'Abdul-Malik b. Abi Bakr' narrated this on the authority of Abu Bakr b. Abdur-Rahman b. Harith and then said: Abu Huraira made this addition: No plunderer who plunders a valuable thing that attracts the attention of people is a believer so long as he commits this act.