When the Prophet (saws) finished two rak'ahs of an obligatory prayer, a man asked him: Messenger of Allah, has the prayer been shortened, or have you forgotten? he replied: I did not do all that. The people said: Messenger of Allah, you did that. Therefore, he offered another two rak'ahs or prayer and did not make two prostrations due to forgetfulness.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has also been narrated by Dawud al-Hussain from Abu Sufyan, freed slave of Ibn Abi Ahmad on the authority of Abu Hurairah from the Prophet (saws). This version goes: He then made two prostrations while he was sitting after the salutation.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) offered prayer. The version of the narrator Ibrahim goes: I do not know whether he increased or decreased (the rak'ahs of prayer).

When he gave the salutation, he was asked: Has something new happened in the prayer, Messenger of Allah? He said: What is it? They said: You prayed so many and so many (rak'ahs). He then relented his foot and faced the Qiblah and made two prostrations. He then gave the salutation. When he turned away (finished the prayer), he turned his face to us and said: Had anything new happened in prayer, I would have informed you. I am only a human being and I forget just as you do; so when I forget, remind me, and when any of you is in doubt about his prayer he should aim at what is correct, and complete his prayer in that respect, then give the salutation and afterwards made two prostrations.

Abu Dawud said: Ibn al-Muthanna said: Ibn 'Adi narrated this tradition from his memory on the authority of 'Urwah from 'Aishah.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has also been transmitted by al-'Ala b. al-Musayyab and Shu'bah from al-Hakam on the authority of Abu Ja'far. Al-'Ala reported it as a statement of the Prophet (saws), and Shu'bah as a statement of Abu Ja'far, saying: She should perform ablution for every prayer.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar used not to recite when praying over a dead person.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Zayd ibn Aslam said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stopped for a rest one night on the way to Makka and appointed Bilal to wake them up for the prayer. Bilal slept and everyone else slept and none of them woke up until the sun had risen. When they did wake up they were all alarmed. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered them to ride out of the valley, saying that there was a shaytan in it. So they rode out of the valley and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered them to dismount and do wudu and he told Bilal either to call the prayer or to give the iqama. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then led them in the prayer. Noticing their uneasiness, he went to them and said, 'O people! Allah seized our spirits (arwah) and if He had wished He would have returned them to us at a time other than this. So if you sleep through the time for a prayer or forget it and then are anxious about it, pray it as if you were praying it in its time.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, turned to Abu Bakr and said, 'Shaytan came to Bilal when he was standing in prayer and made him lie down and lulled him to sleep like a small boy.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then called Bilal and told him the same as he had told Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr declared, 'I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah.' "

Abu Dawud said: This is operative in the obligatory prayer.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar did not say qunut in any of the prayers.

Yahya related to me from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father used to pray on the day of Fitr before the prayer in the mosque.

Mu`adh bin Jabal used to pray with the Prophet and then go to lead his people in prayer. Once he led the people in prayer and recited Surat-al-Baqara. A man left (the row of the praying people) and offered (light) prayer (separately) and went away. When Mu`adh came to know about it, he said. "He (that man) is a hypocrite." Later that man heard what Mu`adh said about him, so he came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! We are people who work with our own hands and irrigate (our farms) with our camels. Last night Mu`adh led us in the (night) prayer and he recited Sura-al-Baqara, so I offered my prayer separately, and because of that, he accused me of being a hypocrite." The Prophet called Mu`adh and said thrice, "O Mu`adh! You are putting the people to trials? Recite 'Washshamsi wad-uhaha' (91) or'Sabbih isma Rabbi ka-l-A'la' (87) or the like."

My father said, "One night we were traveling with the Prophet and some people said, 'We wish that Allah's Apostle would take a rest along with us during the last hours of the night.' He said, 'I am afraid that you will sleep and miss the (Fajr) prayer.' Bilal said, 'I will make you get up.' So all slept and Bilal rested his back against his Rahila and he too was overwhelmed (by sleep) and slept. The Prophet got up when the edge of the sun had risen and said, 'O Bilal! What about your statement?' He replied, 'I have never slept such a sleep.' The Prophet said, 'Allah captured your souls when He wished, and released them when He wished. O Bilal! Get up and pronounce the Adhan for the prayer.' The Prophet performed ablution and when the sun came up and became bright, he stood up and prayed."

Anas bin Malik Al-Ansari, told me, "Abu Bakr used to lead the people in prayer during the fatal illness of the Prophet till it was Monday. When the people aligned (in rows) for the prayer the Prophet lifted the curtain of his house and started looking at us and was standing at that time. His face was (glittering) like a page of the Qur'an and he smiled cheerfully. We were about to be put to trial for the pleasure of seeing the Prophet, Abu Bakr retreated to join the row as he thought that the Prophet would lead the prayer. The Prophet beckoned us to complete the prayer and he let the curtain fall. On the same day he died."

One of the Companions of the Prophet (may peace be upon), came upon us in Egypt. When he was narrating traditions in the Mosque of Egypt, I heard him say: I was the seventh or the sixth person in the company of the Messenger of Allah ( peace be upon him) in the house of a person.

In the meantime Bilal came and called him for prayer. He came out and passed by a person who had his fire-pan on the fire. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to him: Has the food in the fire-pan been cooked? He replied: Yes, my parents be sacrificed upon you. He then took a piece out of it and continued to chew it until he uttered the first takbir (AllahuAkbar) of the prayer. All this time I was looking at him.

Amr ibn Maymun al-Awdi said: Mu'adh ibn Jabal, the Messenger of the Messenger of Allah (saws) came to us in Yemen, I heard his takbir (utterance of AllahuAkbar) in the dawn prayer. He was a man with loud voice. I began to love him. I did depart from him until I buried him dead in Syria (i.e. until his death).

Then I searched for a person who had deep understanding in religion amongst the people after him. So I came to Ibn Mas'ud and remained in his company until his death. He (Ibn Mas'ud) said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to me: How will you act when you are ruled by rulers who say prayer beyond its proper time? I said: What do you command me, Messenger of Allah, if I witness such a time? He replied: Offer the prayer at its proper time and also say your prayer along with them as a supererogatory prayer.

After me you will come under rulers who will be detained from saying prayer at its proper time by (their) works until its time has run out, so offer prayer at its proper time. A man asked him: Messenger of Allah, may I offer prayer with them? He replied: Yes, if you wish (to do so).

Sufyan (another narrator through a different chain)said: May I offer prayer with them if I get it with them? He said: Yes, if you wish to do so.

Anas ibn Hakim ad-Dabbi said that he feared Ziyad or Ibn Ziyad; so he came to Medina and met AbuHurayrah. He attributed his lineage to me and I became a member of his lineage.

AbuHurayrah said (to me): O youth, should I not narrate a tradition to you? I said: Why not, may Allah have mercy on you?

(Yunus (a narrator) said: I think he narrated it (the tradition) from the Prophet (saws):) The first thing about which the people will be called to account out of their actions on the Day of Judgment is prayer. Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to the angels - though He knows better: Look into the prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly. If it is perfect, that will be recorded perfect.

If it is defective, He will say: See there are some optional prayers offered by My servant. If there are optional prayer to his credit, He will say: Compensate the obligatory prayer by the optional prayer for My servant. Then all the actions will be considered similarly.

Allah's Apostle said, "There will be afflictions (and at the time) the sitting person will be better than the standing one, and the standing one will be better than the walking, and the walking will be better than the running. And whoever will look towards those afflictions, they will overtake him, and whoever will find a refuge or a shelter, should take refuge in it." The same narration is reported by Abu Bakr, with the addition, "(The Prophet said), 'Among the prayers there is a prayer the missing of which will be to one like losing one's family and property."

The Prophet prayed facing Bait-ulMaqdis (i.e. Jerusalem) for sixteen or seventeen months but he wished that his Qibla would be the Ka`ba (at Mecca). (So Allah Revealed (2.144) and he offered `Asr prayers(in his Mosque facing Ka`ba at Mecca) and some people prayed with him. A man from among those who had prayed with him, went out and passed by some people offering prayer in another mosque, and they were in the state of bowing. He said, "I, (swearing by Allah,) testify that I have prayed with the Prophet facing Mecca." Hearing that, they turned their faces to the Ka`ba while they were still bowing. Some men had died before the Qibla was changed towards the Ka`ba. They had been killed and we did not know what to say about them (i.e. whether their prayers towards Jerusalem were accepted or not). So Allah revealed:-- "And Allah would never make your faith (i.e. prayer) to be lost (i.e. your prayers offered (towards Jerusalem). Truly Allah is Full of Pity, Most Merciful towards mankind." (2.143)

Abu Dawud said: Al-Qasim b. Mabrur reported from Yunus from Ibn Shihab from 'Amrah from 'Aishah from Umm Habibah daughter of Jahsh. Similarly, it was reported by Ma'mar from al-Zuhri from 'Amrah from 'Aishah. Ma'mar sometimes reported from 'Amrah on the authority of Umm Habibah to the same effect. Similarly, it was reported by Ibrahim b. Sa'd and Ibn 'Uyainah from al-Zuhri from 'Amrah from 'Aishah. Ibn 'Uyainah said in his version: He (al-Zuhri) did not say that the Prophet (saws) commanded her to take bath.

It has also been transmitted by al-Awza'i in a similar way. In this version he said: 'Aishah said: She used to take bath for very prayer.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Ali ibn Abi Talib said, "Things that pass in front of a man praying do not break his prayer."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar did not pray either before the prayer or after it on the day of Fitr.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Umar used to say, "(Voluntary) prayer in both the day and night is two at a time with a taslim after every 2 raka'ahs."

Malik said, "That is the custom among us."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar, shortened the prayer when he left for hajj or umra at Dhu'l Hulayfa.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Ibn Umar stayed in Makka for ten nights, shortening the prayer, except when he prayed it behind an imam, in which case he followed the imam's prayer.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from as-Sa'ib ibn Yazid that he saw Umar ibn al-Khattab beating al-Munkadir for praying after asr.

Prayer passed through three stages and fasting also passed through three stages. The narrator Nasr reported the rest of the tradition completely. The narrator, Ibn al-Muthanna, narrated the story of saying prayer facing in the direction of Jerusalem.

He said: The third stage is that the Messenger of Allah (saws) came to Medina and prayed, i.e. facing Jerusalem, for thirteen months.

Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed the verse: "We have seen thee turning thy face to Heaven (for guidance, O Muhammad). And now verily We shall make thee turn (in prayer) toward a qiblah which is dear to thee. So turn thy face toward the Inviolable Place of Worship, and ye (O Muslims), wherever ye may be, turn your face (when ye pray) toward it" (ii.144). And Allah, the Reverend and the Majestic, turned (them) towards the Ka'bah. He (the narrator) completed his tradition.

The narrator, Nasr, mentioned the name of the person who had the dream, saying: And Abdullah ibn Zayd, a man from the Ansar, came. The same version reads: And he turned his face towards the qiblah and said: Allah is most great, Allah is most great; I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; come to prayer (he pronounced it twice), come to salvation (he pronounced it twice); Allah is Most Great, Allah is most great. He then paused for a while, and then got up and pronounced in a similar way, except that after the phrase "Come to salvation" he added. "The time for prayer has come, the time for prayer has come."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Teach it to Bilal, then pronounce the adhan (call to prayer) with the same words. As regards fasting, he said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to fast for three days every month, and would fast on the tenth of Muharram. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed the verse: ".......Fasting was prescribed for those before you, that ye may ward off (evil)......and for those who can afford it there is a ransom: the feeding of a man in need (ii.183-84). If someone wished to keep the fast, he would keep the fast; if someone wished to abandon the fast, he would feed an indigent every day; it would do for him. But this was changed. Allah, the Exalted, revealed: "The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an ..........(let him fast the same) ...

Allah's Apostle said, "Once three persons (from the previous nations) were traveling, and suddenly it started raining and they took shelter in a cave. The entrance of the cave got closed while they were inside. They said to each other, 'O you! Nothing can save you except the truth, so each of you should ask Allah's Help by referring to such a deed as he thinks he did sincerely (i.e. just for gaining Allah's Pleasure).' So one of them said, 'O Allah! You know that I had a laborer who worked for me for one Faraq (i.e. three Sas) of rice, but he departed, leaving it (i.e. his wages). I sowed that Faraq of rice and with its yield I bought cows (for him). Later on when he came to me asking for his wages, I said (to him), 'Go to those cows and drive them away.' He said to me, 'But you have to pay me only a Faraq of rice,' I said to him, 'Go to those cows and take them, for they are the product of that Faraq (of rice).' So he drove them. O Allah! If you consider that I did that for fear of You, then please remove the rock.' The rock shifted a bit from the mouth of the cave. The second one said, 'O Allah, You know that I had old parents whom I used to provide with the milk of my sheep every night. One night I was delayed and when I came, they had slept, while my wife and children were crying with hunger. I used not to let them (i.e. my family) drink unless my parents had drunk first. So I disliked to wake them up and also disliked that they should sleep without drinking it, I kept on waiting (for them to wake) till it dawned. O Allah! If You consider that I did that for fear of you, then please remove the rock.' So the rock shifted and they could see the sky through it. The (third) one said, 'O Allah! You know that I had a cousin (i.e. my paternal uncle's daughter) who was most beloved to me and I sought to seduce her, but she refused, unless I paid her one-hundred Dinars (i.e. gold pieces). So I collected the amount and brought it to her, and she allowed me to sleep with her. But when I sat between her legs, she said, 'Be afraid of Allah, and do not deflower me but legally. 'I got up and left the hundred Dinars (for her). O Allah! If You consider that I did that for fear of you than please remove the rock. So Allah saved them and they came out (of the cave)."