"I noticed that the Messenger of Allah was not there one night, and I thought that he had gone to one of his other wives. I looked for him then I came back, and there he was, bowing or prostrating and saying: 'Subhanaka wa bi hamdika la ilaha illa anta (Glory and praise be to You, there is none worthy of worship but You).' I said: 'May my father and mother be sacrificed for you; you were doing one thing and I was thinking of something else.'"

"I noticed the Prophet (PBUH) was not there one night, so I started looking for him with my hand. My hand touched his feet and they were held upright, and he was prostrating and saying: 'I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your anger, in Your forgiveness from Your punishment, and I seek refuge in You from You. I cannot praise You enough, You are as You have praised yourself.'"

We went to Anas b. Malik through Thabit and reached there (his house) while he was offering the forenoon prayer. Thabit sought permission for us and we entered, and he seated Thabit with him on his bedstead. He (Thabit) said to him (Anas b. Malik): O Abu Hamza (kunya of Anas b. Malik), your brothers from among the inhabitants of Basra ask you to narrate to them the hadith of intercession. He said: Muhammad (may peace be upon him) narrated to us: When it would be the Day of Resurrection, some of the people would rush to one another in bewilderment. They would come to Adam and say: Intercede (with your Lord) for your progeny. He would say: I am not fit to do this, but go to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) for he is the Friend of Allah. They would come to Ibrahim, but he would say: I am not fit to do this, but go to Moses, for he is Allah's Interlocutor. They would come to Moses, but he would say: I am not fit to do this, but you should go to Jesus, for he is the Spirit of Allah and His word. They would come to Jesus, and he would say, I am not fit to do this; you better go to Muhammad (may peace be upon him). They would come to me, and I would say: I am in a position to do that, I would go and ask the permission of my Lord and it would be granted to me. I would then stand before Him and would extol Him with praises which I am not able to do now, but with which Allah would inspire me, then I would fall in prostration and it would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise thy head, and say and it would be listened to; ask and it would be granted, intercede and it would be accepted. I shall say: My Lord, my people, my people It would be said: Go, and bring forth from it (Hell) him who has in his heart faith equal to the weight of a wheat grain or a barley seed. I would go and do that; then I would return to my Lord and extol Him with those praises (taught to me by Allah), then I would fall in prostration. It would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise your head, and say and it would be heard; ask and it would be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. So I would say: My people. my people. It would be said to me: Go and take out from it (Hell) him who has in his heart faith equal to the weight of a mustard seed. I would go and do that. I would again return to my Lord and extol Him with those praises. I would then fall in prostration. It would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise your head: say, and you would be listened to; ask and it would be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. I would say: My Lord, my people, my people. It would be said to me: Go, and bring out of the Fire him who has in his heart as much faith as the smallest, smallest, smallest grain of mustard seed. I would go and do that. This is the hadith which Anas narrated to us. We went out of his (house) and when we reached the upper part of Jabban (graveyard) we said: Would that we meet Hasan and salute him and he was hiding in the house of Abu Khalifa. He (Ma'bad b. Hilal, the narrator) said: We went to him and greeted him and we said: O Abu Sa'id, we come from your brother Abu Hamza (kunya of Anas), and we have never heard a hadith like this relating to intercession, which he has narrated to us. He said: Narrate it, we narrated the hadith. He said: Narrate it (still further). We said: He did not (narrate it) before us more than this. He said: He (Anas) had narrated it to us twenty years back, when he was strong and healthy. He has in fact missed something. I cannot make out whether the old man has forgotten or he has (intentionally) avoided to narrate it to you lest you should rely (absolutely) upon it (and abandon doing good deeds). We said to him: Relate that to us, and he laughed and said: There is haste in the nature of man. I did not make mention of it to you but for the fact that I wanted to narrate that to you (and added that the Holy Prophet said): I would then return to my Lord for the fourth time and extol Him with these praises. I would then fall in prostration. It would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise your head: say and it will be listened to; ask and it will be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. I would say: O my Lord, permit me regarding him who professed: There is no god but Allah. He (the Lord) would say: That is not for thee or that is not what lies with thee, but by My Honour, Glory, Greatness and Might, I would certainly take him out who professed it: There is no god but Allah. He (the narrator, Ma'bad) said: I hear testimony to the fact that the hadith transmitted to us-by Hasan was heard by him from Anas b. Malik and I can see that he reported it twenty years back, when he was hale and hearty.

“I saw the Messenger of Allah (saw) stoning ‘Aqabah Pillar at forenoon, but after that day, he would do it after the sun had passed its zenith.”

“I had built a house to shelter me from the rain and the sun, during the time of Allah’s Messenger (saw), and no creature of Allah helped me in building it.”

“We asked ‘Ali about the voluntary (prayer) of Allah’s Messenger (saw) during the day. He said: ‘You will not be able.’ We said: ‘Inform us of it, we will do what we can of it?’ So he said: ‘When he prayed the Fajr he would delay praying any more. When the sun appeared over there (west) – like it appears here, meaning in the direction of the east, about the amount for the ‘Asr prayer from there, meaning in the direction of the west, meaning before the Maghrib – he would stand and perform two Rak’ah* then he would delay praying until the sun appeared over there (west), meaning in the direction of the east, about the amount of the Zuhr prayer from there, then he would stand and perform four. And, four before the Zuhr when the sun passed the zenith, and two Rak’ah after it, and, four before the ‘Asr, separating between every two Rak’ah with Taslim** upon the angels that are close (to Allah), the Prophets, and those who follow them among the Muslims and the believers.’”
'Ali said: "That is sixteen Rak'ah of voluntary prayer which Allah's Messenger (SAW) performed during the day. And there are very few who offer them regularly."
Waki` said: “My father added: Habib bin Abu Thabit said: ‘O Abu Ishaq, this mosque filled with gold would not be dearer to me than this Hadith of yours.’”
* Meaning, when the sun was low above the eastern horizon. That is the time of the Duha.
** Meaning the Tashah-hud.

Have you become a hypocrite, so and so? He said: I swear by Allah that I have not, but I will certainly go to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and will inform (him) about this. He then came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and said: Messenger of Allah, we look after camels used for watering and work by day. Mu'adh said the night prayer with you. He then came and began with Surat al-Baqara. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) then turned to Mu'adh and said: Are you there to (put the people) to trial? Recite such and recite such (and such a surah). It is transmitted on the authority of Jabir, as told by Sufyan, that he (the Holy Prophet) had said: "By the sun and its morning brightness" (Surah xci), "By brightness" (Surah xciii), "By the night when it spreads" (Surah xcii), and "Glorify the name of thy most high Lord" (Surah lxxxii).

I and 'Urwah b. Zubair entered the mosque and found 'Abdullah b. 'Umar sitting near the apartment of A'ishah and the people were observing the forenoon prayer (when the sun had sufficiently risen). We asked him about their prayer, and he said: It is bid'a (innovation), Urwah said to him: O Abu Abd al-Rahman, how many 'umrahs did Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) perform? He said: Four 'umrahs, one he performed during the month of Rajab. We were reluctant either to believe him or reject him. We heard the noise of brushing of her teeth by 'A'ishah in her apartment. 'Urwah said: Mother of the Faithful, are you not hearing what Abi 'Abd al-Rahman is saying? She said: What is he saying? Thereupon he ('Urwah) said: He (Ibn 'Umar) states that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) performed four 'umrahs and one of them during the month of Rajab. Thereupon she remarked: May Allah have mercy upon Abu 'Abd al-Rahman. Never did Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) perform 'Umrah in which he did not accompany him, and he (Allah's Apostle) never performed 'Umrah during the month of Rajab.

that 'Umar said to Abu Bakr: "O best of people after the Messenger of Allah (SAW)!" So Abu Bakr said: "If you say that, then I have heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) say: 'The sun has not risen upon a man better than 'Umar.'"

Abu `Ubaida b. Muhammad b. `Ammar b. Yasir told that he asked ar-Rubaiyi`, daughter of Mu'awwidh b. `Afra' to describe God's messenger to him, and she replied, "If you had seen him, sonny, you would have seen the sun rising." Darimi transmitted it.

I never saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) reciting the Quraan in his prayer at night in sitting condition until he became old. Then he used to sit in it (the prayer) and recite the Quran until forty or thirty verses remained, then he stood and recited them and prostrated himself.

Abu Humaid, Abu Usaid, Sahl. B Sa’d and Muhammad b. Maslamah (once) got together and discussed how the Messenger of Allah(saws) used to offer his prayer. Abu Humaid said: I am more informed than any of you regarding the prayer offered by the Messenger of Allah (saws). Then he mentioned a part of it, and said: He then bowed and placed his hands upon his knees as if he caught hold of them; and bent them, keeping (his arms) away from his sides. He them prostrated himself and placed his nose and forehead (on the ground); and kept his arms away from his side, and placed his palms (on the ground opposite his shoulders; he then raised his head that every bone returned to its proper place; (he then prostrated twice) until he finished this prostrations). Then he sat down and spread out his left foot, putting forward the front of his right foot towards the qiblah placing the palm of his right hand on his right knee, and the palm of his left hand on his left knee, and he pointed with his finger.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by Ibn al-Mubarak from Fulaih who heard ‘Abbas . Sahl narrating it; but I do not remember it. I think he made the mention of ‘Isa b. ‘Abd Allah who heard ‘Abbas b. Sahl saying: I accompanied Abu Humaid al-Sa’idi.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said to me: “Do not squat between the two prostrations.”

A man entered the masjid when the Messenger of Allah (SAW) was standing and delivering the Khutbah. He turned to face the Messenger of Allah (SAW) standing and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, our wealth has been destroyed and the routes have been cut off. Pray to Allah (SWT) to send us rain.' The Messenger of Allah (SAW) raised his hands then said: "O Allah, send us rain." Anas said: "By Allah, we had not seen even a wisp of a cloud in the sky and there were no houses or buildings between us and (the mountain of ) Sal'. Then a cloud like a shield appeared, and when it reached the middle of the sky it spread and it began to rain." Anas said: "By Allah, we did not see the sun for a week. Then a man entered through that door on the following Friday, when the Messenger of Allah (SAW) was standing and delivering the Khutbah. He turned to face him standing and said: 'O Messenger of Allah (SAW), may Allah (SWT) send blessings upon you. Our wealth has been destroyed and the routes have been cut off. Pray to Allah (SWT) to withold (the rain) from us.' The Messenger of Allah (SAW) raised his hands and said: 'O Allah, around us and not on us.; O Allah, on the hills and mountains, the bottoms of the valleys and where the trees grow.' Then it stopped raining and we went out walking in the sun." Sharik said: 'I asked Anas: 'Was he the same man?' He said: 'No.'"

"The Prophet dispatched me for something he needed. I came to him while he was performing Salat on his mount, heading east, he made the prostrations lower than the bowing."

the Prophet (S) led them in Salat he forgot (something) so he performed two prostrations, then the Tashah-hud, then the Salam.

Zaid b Khalid al-Juhani reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone observes two prostrations without being negligent in them, God will forgive him his previous sins.” Ahmad transmitted it.

‘Imran b. Husain said that the Prophet led them in prayer and forgot something, so he made two prostrations, then uttered the shahada, then gave the salutation. Tirmidhi transmitted it and said this is a hasan gharib tradition.

We prostrated ourselves along with the Prophet on account of “When the sky is rent asunder”, Al-Qur’an; 84) and “Recite in the name of your Lord” (Al-Qur’an; 96). Muslim transmitted it.

Ibn 'Abbas said, "When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, visited a sick person, he would sit by his head and then say seven times, 'I ask Allah the Immense, the Lord of the Immense Throne, to cure you.' If the time of the invalid had not yet come, he would be cured of his pain."

The Prophet (may peace be upon him) prayed at solar eclipse; he recited from the Qur'an and then bowed; then he recited from the Qur'an and then bowed; he then recited from the Qur'an and bowed; he then recited fromt eh Qur'an and bowed. Then he prostrated himself and performed the second rak'ah similar to the first.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) prayed five rak’ahs in the noon prayer. He was asked whether the prayer had been extended. He asked what they meant by that. The people said : you prayed five rak’ahs. Then he made two prostrations after having given the salutation.

“When the deceased enters the grave, the sun is made to appear as if it is setting. He sits up, wipes his eyes and says: ‘Let me pray.’”

Mu'awiya reported God’s messenger as saying, "Emigration will not come to an end* till repentance comes to an end and repentance will not come to an end till the sun rises in-the place where it sets.” *This probably means that people will continue to leave districts in which it is difficult for them to observe their religion. Ahmad Abu Dawud and Darimi transmitted it.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) entered the mosque and a person also entered therein and offered prayer, and then came and paid salutation to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). The Mes- senger of Allah (may peace be upon him) returned his salutation and said: Go back and pray, for you have not offered the prayer. He again prayed as he had prayed before, and came to the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon. him) and saluted him. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) returned the salutation and said: Go back and say prayer, for you have not offered the prayer. This (act of repeating the prayer) was done three times. Upon this the person said: By Him Who hast sent you with Truth, whatever better I can do than this, please teach me. He (the Holy Prophet) said: When you get up to pray, recite takbir, and then recite whatever you conveniently can from the Qur'an, then bow down and remain quietly in that position, then raise your- self and stand erect; then prostrate yourself and remain quietly in that attitude; then raise yourself and sit quietly; and do that throughout all your prayers.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar used to say, "When a sick man is unable to prostrate he should motion with his head, and not raise anything to his forehead."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from al-Araj that Umar ibn al Khattab recited Surat an-Najm (Sura 53) and prostrated in it, and then got up and recited another sura.

"Allah's Messenger said to me: 'O Ali! I love for you what I love for myself, and I dislike for you what I dislike for myself. Do not squat between prostrations.'"

‘Abdallah b. Malik Ibn Buhaina* said that when the Prophet prostrated himself he spread out his arms so that the whiteness under his armpits was visible. * Buhaina was ‘Abdallah’s mother. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Talq b. ‘Ali al-Hanafi reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God does not regard the prayer of a servant who does not straighten his spine between his bowing and his prostration.” Ahmad transmitted it.

“I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones.”

We proceeded with the Messenger of Allah (saws) on the occasion of al-Hudaybiyyah. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Who will keep watch for us? Bilal said: I (shall do). The overslept till the sun arose. The Prophet (saws) awoke and said: Do as you used to do (i.e. offer prayer as usual). Then we did accordingly. He said: Anyone who oversleeps or forgets (prayer) should do similarly.

“Whoever says in the morning: ‘O Allah we have reached morning, calling You to witness, and calling the carriers of Your Throne to witness, and Your angels, and all of Your creation, that You are Allah, none has the right to be worshipped but You, Alone, without partner, and that Muhammad (saws) is Your slave and Your Messenger. (Allāhumma aṣbaḥnā nush-hiduka wa nush-hidu ḥamalata `arshika wa malā’ikataka wa jamī`a khalqika bi-annaka Allāh, lā ilāha illā anta, waḥdaka lā sharīka laka, wa anna Muḥammadan `abduka wa rasūluk)’ Allah will forgive him for whatever he does that day, and if he says it in the evening, Allah will forgive him for whatever sin he commits that night.”

Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Seven people Allah will give them His Shade on the Day when there would be no shade but the Shade of His Throne (i.e., on the Day of Resurrection): And they are: a just ruler; a youth who grew up with the worship of Allah; a person whose heart is attached to the mosques, two men who love and meet each other and depart from each other for the sake of Allah; a man whom an extremely beautiful woman seduces (for illicit relation), but he (rejects this offer and) says: 'I fear Allah'; a man who gives in charity and conceals it (to such an extent) that the left hand does not know what the right has given; and a man who remembers Allah in solitude and his eyes become tearful".

[Al-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.

"We entered upon Anas bin Malik and he said: 'Have you prayed?' We said: 'Yes.' He asid: 'O slave girl, bring me water for Wudhu! I have never prayed behind any Imam whose prayer more closely resembles the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) than this Imam of yours.'" Zaid said: "Umar bin Abdul Aziz used to complete the bowing and prostration (without rushing) and lighten the standing and sitting."

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) used to raise his hands until they were in level with his shoulders when he started to pray, and when he raised his head from bowing he did likewise, and when he said: Sami' Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears the one who praises Him)" he said: "Rabbana wa lakal-hamd (Our Lord, to You be praise)" and he did not raise his hands between the two prostrations.

When the Messenger of Allah (SAW) started to pray, he raised his hands until they were in level with his shoulders, and when he said the takbir before bowing, and when he raised his head from bowing he raised (his hands) likewise, and said: "Sami Allahu liman hamidah Rabbana wa lakal-hamd (Allah hears the one who praises Him; Our Lord, and to You be praise)," and he did not do that when prostrating.

"The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said the salam after three rak'ahs of 'Asr, then he entered his house. A man called Al-Khibaq stood up and said: 'Has the prayer been shortened, O Messenger of Allah?' He came out angry, dragging his upper garment and said: 'Is he speaking the truth?' They said: 'Yes.' So he stood and prayed that rak'ah, then he said the salam, then prostrated twice, then he said the salam (again)."

"I heard Ash-Sha'bi say: 'Alqamah bin Qais forgot (and made a mistake) in his prayer, and they told him about that after he had spoken, He said: 'Is that true, O odd-eyed one?' He said: 'Yes.' So he undid his cloak, then he performed two prostrations of forgtfulness,and said: 'This is what the Messenger of Allah (SAW) did.' He said: And I heard Al-Hakam say: 'Alqamah had prayed five.'"

"I noticed that the Messenger of Allah was not there one night, and I thought that he had gone to one of his other wives, so I reached out for him, and found him bowing or prostrating, and saying: 'Subhanaka wa bi hamdika la ilaha illa anta (Glory and praise be to You, there is none worthy of worship but You).' I said: 'May my father and mother be sacrificed for you; you were doing one thing, and I was thinking of something else.'"

'Umar (RAA) narrated, ‘The pagans did not use to depart from Muzdalifah until the sun had risen, and they would say, ‘Let the sun shine on Thabir (the highest mountain in Makkah). The Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H.) contradicted them and departed from Muzdalifah before sunrise.' Related by Al-Bukhari.

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Glorify your Lord in Ruku' (bowing posture) and exert yourself in supplication in prostration. Thus your supplications are liable to be accepted."

[Muslim].

Anas told that the Prophet said, “Keep looking in the direction towards which you prostrate yourself, Anas.” Baihaqi transmitted it in [Kitab] as-sunan al-kabir through al-Hasan from Anas, tracing it back to the Prophet.

Ibn ‘Abbas reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When the stars set two rak'as should be prayed before the dawn prayer, and after the prostration two rak'as should be prayed after the sunset prayer.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Jabir said, “God’s Messenger sent me on some business, and when I came to him he was praying on his riding-beast towards the east and making the prostration lower than the bowing.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

He heard Abu Musa say: "The Prophet of Allah (SAW) addressed us and taught us our Sunnah and our prayer. He said: 'When you pray, make your rows straight and let one of you lead you in prayer. When the Imam says the takbir, then say the takbir. When he recites 'Not (the way) of those who earned Your anger, nor those who went astray' then say: "Amin" and Allah will answer you. When he says the takbir and bows, then say the takbir and bow. The Imam bows before you do and stands up before you do.' The Prophet of Allah (SAW) said: 'This makes up for that. And when he says: "'Sami Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears the one who praises Him),' then say: "Allahumma Rabbana wa lakal-hamd (O Allah, our Lord, and to You be the praise), " Allah will hear you, for Allah has said on the lips of His Prophet (SAW): "Allah hears the one who praises Him." And when he (the Imam) says the takbir and prostrates, then say the takbir and prostrate. The Imam prostrates before you do and sits up before you do.' The Prophet of Allah (SAW) said: 'This makes up for that. And when he is sitting, let the first thing that any one of you says be: At-tahiyaatut-tayyibatus-salawatuLillah, salamun 'alayka ayyuhanabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, salamun 'alayna wa 'ala 'ibadillahis-salihin, ashhadu an la ilaha ill-Allah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluh (All compliments, good words and prayers are due to Allah, peace be upon you O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allah. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger)- seven phrases which are the greeting of the prayer.'"

‘Abbas my uncle, shall I not give you, shall I not present you, shall I not tell you, shall I not produce in you ten things, by your doing which God will forgive you your sin, first and last, old and new, involuntary and voluntary, small and great, secret and open? You should pray four rak'as reciting in each one Fatihat al-Kitab (Al-Qur’an; 1) and a sura and when you finish the recitation in the first rak'a you should say fifteen times while standing, “Glory be to God. Praise be to God. There is no god but God. God is most great.” Then you should bow and say it ten times while bowing. Then you should raise your head after bowing and say it ten times. Then you should get down in prostration and say it ten times while prostrating yourself. Then you should raise your head after prostrating yourself and say it ten times. ’ Then you should prostrate yourself and say it ten times, then raise your head and say it ten times. That is, seventy-five times in every rak'a. You should do that in four rak'as. If you can observe it once daily do so; if not, then once weekly; if not, then once a month; if not, then once a year; if not, then once in your lifetime. Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah and Baihaqi, in [Kitab] ad-Da'awat al-kabir, transmitted it, and Tirmidhi transmitted something similar from Abu Rafi'.

I saw the Messenger of Allah(may peace be upon him) leading the people in prayer with Umamah daughter of Abu al-As on his neck (shoulder). When he prostrated, he put her down.

Abu Dawud said: The narrator Makhramah did not hear from his father except one tradition.