Narrated Az-Zuhri that he visited Anas bin Malik at Damascus and found him weeping and asked him why he was weeping. He replied, "I do not know anything which I used to know during the life-time of Allah's Apostle except this prayer which is being lost (not offered as it should be)."

I came to `Aisha while she was praying, and said to her, "What has happened to the people?" She pointed out towards the sky. (I looked towards the mosque), and saw the people offering the prayer. Aisha said, "Subhan Allah." I said to her, "Is there a sign?" She nodded with her head meaning, "Yes." I, too, then stood (for the prayer of eclipse) till I became (nearly) unconscious and later on I poured water on my head. After the prayer, the Prophet praised and glorified Allah and then said, "Just now at this place I have seen what I have never seen before, including Paradise and Hell. No doubt it has been inspired to me that you will be put to trials in your graves and these trials will be like the trials of Masih-ad-Dajjal or nearly like it (the sub narrator is not sure which expression Asma' used). You will be asked, 'What do you know about this man (the Prophet Muhammad)?' Then the faithful believer (or Asma' said a similar word) will reply, 'He is Muhammad Allah's Apostle who had come to us with clear evidences and guidance and so we accepted his teachings and followed him. And he is Muhammad.' And he will repeat it thrice. Then the angels will say to him, 'Sleep in peace as we have come to know that you were a faithful believer.' On the other hand, a hypocrite or a doubtful person will reply, 'I do not know, but I heard the people saying something and so I said it.' (the same). "

While the Prophet was distributing (war booty etc.) one day, Dhul Khawaisira, a man from the tribe of Bani Tamim, said, "O Allah's Apostle! Act justly." The Prophets said, "Woe to you! Who else would act justly if I did not act justly?" `Umar said (to the Prophet ), "Allow me to chop his neck off." The Prophet said, "No, for he has companions (who are apparently so pious that) if anyone of (you compares his prayer with) their prayer, he will consider his prayer inferior to theirs, and similarly his fasting inferior to theirs, but they will desert Islam (go out of religion) as an arrow goes through the victim's body (games etc.) in which case if its Nasl is examined nothing will be seen thereon, and if its Nady is examined, nothing will be seen thereon, and if its Qudhadh is examined, nothing will be seen thereon, for the arrow has gone out too fast even for the excretions and blood to smear over it. Such people will come out at the time of difference among the (Muslim) people and the sign by which they will be recognized, will be a man whose one of the two hands will look like the breast of a woman or a lump of flesh moving loosely." Abu Sa`id added, "I testify that I heard that from the Prophet and also testify that I was with `Ali when `Ali fought against those people. The man described by the Prophet was searched for among the killed, and was found, and he was exactly as the Prophet had described him." (See Hadith No. 807, Vol. 4)

While the Prophet was distributing (something, `Abdullah bin Dhil Khawaisira at-Tamimi came and said, "Be just, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said, "Woe to you ! Who would be just if I were not?" `Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "Allow me to cut off his neck ! " The Prophet said, " Leave him, for he has companions, and if you compare your prayers with their prayers and your fasting with theirs, you will look down upon your prayers and fasting, in comparison to theirs. Yet they will go out of the religion as an arrow darts through the game's body in which case, if the Qudhadh of the arrow is examined, nothing will be found on it, and when its Nasl is examined, nothing will be found on it; and then its Nadiyi is examined, nothing will be found on it. The arrow has been too fast to be smeared by dung and blood. The sign by which these people will be recognized will be a man whose one hand (or breast) will be like the breast of a woman (or like a moving piece of flesh). These people will appear when there will be differences among the people (Muslims)." Abu Sa`id added: I testify that I heard this from the Prophet and also testify that `Ali killed those people while I was with him. The man with the description given by the Prophet was brought to `Ali. The following Verses were revealed in connection with that very person (i.e., `Abdullah bin Dhil-Khawaisira at-Tarnimi): 'And among them are men who accuse you (O Muhammad) in the matter of (the distribution of) the alms.' (9.58)

Once Allah's Apostle fell off a horse and his leg or shoulder got injured. He swore that he would not go to his wives for one month and he stayed in a Mashruba [??] (attic room) having stairs made of date palm trunks. So his companions came to visit him, and he led them in prayer sitting, whereas his companions were standing. When he finished the prayer, he said, "Imam is meant to be followed, so when he says 'Allahu Akbar,' say 'Allahu Akbar' and when he bows, bow and when he prostrates, prostrate and if he prays standing pray, standing. After the 29th day the Prophet came down (from the attic room) and the people asked him, "O Allah's Apostle! You swore that you will not go to your wives for one month." He said, "The month is 29 days."

We used to say the greeting, name and greet each other in the prayer. Allah's Apostle heard it and said:--"Say, 'at-tahiyyatu lil-lahi was-salawatu wat-taiyibatu . Assalamu 'Alaika aiyuha-n-Nabiyu warahmatu- l-lahi wa-barakatuhu. _ Assalamu alaina wa-'ala 'ibadi-l-lahi as-salihin.. Ashhadu an la ilaha illa-l-lah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan `Abdu hu wa Rasuluh. (All the compliments are for Allah and all the prayers and all the good things (are for Allah). Peace be on you, O Prophet, and Allah's mercy and blessings (are on you). And peace be on us and on the good (pious) worshipers of Allah. I testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Apostle.) So, when you have said this, then you have surely sent the greetings to every good (pious) worshipper of Allah, whether he be in the Heaven or on the Earth . "

Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever gives two kinds (of things or property) in charity for Allah's Cause, will be called from the gates of Paradise and will be addressed, 'O slaves of Allah! Here is prosperity.' So, whoever was amongst the people who used to offer their prayers, will be called from the gate of the prayer; and whoever was amongst the people who used to participate in Jihad, will be called from the gate of Jihad; and whoever was amongst those who used to observe fasts, will be called from the gate of Ar-Raiyan; whoever was amongst those who used to give in charity, will be called from the gate of charity." Abu Bakr said, "Let my parents be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle! No distress or need will befall him who will be called from those gates. Will there be any one who will be called from all these gates?" The Prophet replied, "Yes, and I hope you will be one of them."

Allah's Apostle used to practice I`tikaf every year in the month of Ramadan. And after offering the morning prayer, he used to enter the place of his I`tikaf. `Aisha asked his permission to let her practice I`tikaf and he allowed her, and so she pitched a tent in the mosque. When Hafsa heard of that, she also pitched a tent (for herself), and when Zainab heard of that, she too pitched another tent. When, in the morning, Allah's Apostle had finished the morning prayer, he saw four tents and asked, "What is this?" He was informed about it. He then said, "What made them do this? Is it righteousness? Remove the tents, for I do not want to see them." So, the tents were removed. The Prophet did not perform I`tikaf that year in the month of Ramadan, but did it in the last ten days of Shawwal.

Allah's Apostle came to Mecca through its higher region on the day of the Conquest (of Mecca) riding his she-camel on which Usama was riding behind him. Bilal and `Uthman bin Talha, one of the servants of the Ka`ba, were also accompanying him till he made his camel kneel in the mosque and ordered the latter to bring the key of the Ka`ba. He opened the door of the Ka`ba and Allah's Apostle entered in the company of Usama, Bilal and `Uthman, and stayed in it for a long period. When he came out, the people rushed to it, and `Abdullah bin `Umar was the first to enter it and found Bilal standing behind the door. He asked Bilal, "Where did the Prophet offer his prayer?" He pointed to the place where he had offered his prayer. `Abdullah said, "I forgot to ask him how many rak`at he had performed."

Whenever Allah's Apostle intended to invoke evil upon somebody or invoke good upon somebody, he used to invoke (Allah after bowing (in the prayer). Sometimes after saying, "Allah hears him who sends his praises to Him, all praise is for You, O our Lord," he would say, "O Allah. Save Al-Walid bin Al-Walid and Salama bin Hisham, and `Aiyash bin Abu Rabi`a. O Allah! Inflict Your Severe Torture on Mudar (tribe) and strike them with (famine) years like the years of Joseph." The Prophet used to say in a loud voice, and he also used to say in some of his Fajr prayers, "O Allah! Curse soand- so and so-and-so." naming some of the Arab tribes till Allah revealed:--"Not for you (O Muhammad) (but for Allah) is the decision." (3.128)

(the daughter of Abu Talib) I visited Allah's Apostle in the year of the Conquest of Mecca and found him taking a bath, and his daughter, Fatima was screening him. When I greeted him, he said, "Who is it?" I replied, "I am Um Hani, the daughter of Abu Talib." He said, "Welcome, O Um Hani ! " When the Prophet had finished his bath, he stood up and offered eight rak`at of prayer while he was wrapped in a single garment. When he had finished his prayer, I said, "O Allah's Apostle! My maternal brother assumes (or claims) that he will murder some man whom I have given shelter, i.e., so-and-so bin Hubaira." Allah's Apostle said, "O Um Hani! We shelter him whom you have sheltered." Um Hani added, "That happened in the forenoon."

When we prayed with the Prophet we used to say: As-Salam be on Allah from His worshipers, As- Salam be on Gabriel, As-Salam be on Michael, As-Salam be on so-and-so. When the Prophet finished his prayer, he faced us and said, "Allah Himself is As-Salam (Peace), so when one sits in the prayer, one should say, 'at-Tahiyatu-li l-lahi Was-Salawatu, Wat-Taiyibatu, As-Salamu 'Alaika aiyuhan- Nabiyyu wa Rah-matul-iahi wa Barakatuhu, As-Salamu 'Alaina wa 'ala 'Ibadillahi assalihin, for if he says so, then it will be for all the pious slave of Allah in the Heavens and the Earth. (Then he should say), 'Ash-hadu an la ilaha illalllahu wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan `Abduhu wa rasulu-hu,' and then he can choose whatever speech (i.e. invocation) he wishes " (See Hadith No. 797, Vol. 1).

Whenever the Prophet offered his Tahajjud prayer, he would say, "O Allah, our Lord! All the praises are for You; You are the Keeper (Establisher or the One Who looks after) of the Heavens and the Earth. All the Praises are for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is therein. You are the Truth, and Your saying is the Truth, and Your promise is the Truth, and the meeting with You is the Truth, and Paradise is the Truth, and the (Hell) Fire is the Truth. O Allah! I surrender myself to You, and believe in You, and I put my trust in You (solely depend upon). And to You I complain of my opponents and with Your Evidence I argue. So please forgive the sins which I have done in the past or I will do in the future, and also those (sins) which I did in secret or in public, and that which You know better than I. None has the right to be worshipped but You."

Whenever the Prophet offered the night (Tahajjud) prayer, he used to say, "O Allah! All the Praises are for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. And all the Praises are for You; You are the Keeper of the Heavens and the Earth. All the Praises are for You; You are the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is therein. You are the Truth, and Your Promise is the Truth, and Your Speech is the Truth, and meeting You is the Truth, and Paradise is the Truth and Hell (Fire) is the Truth and all the prophets are the Truth and the Hour is the Truth. O Allah! I surrender to You, and believe in You, and depend upon You, and repent to You, and in Your cause I fight and with Your orders I rule. So please forgive my past and future sins and those sins which I did in secret or in public. It is You Whom I worship, None has the right to be worshipped except You ." (See Hadith No. 329,Vol. 8)

'Abdur Rahman bin 'Abdul Qari said,

"I went out in the company of 'Umar bin Al-Khattab one night in Ramadan to the mosque and found the people praying in different groups. A man praying alone or a man praying with a little group behind him. So, 'Umar said, 'In my opinion I would better collect these (people) under the leadership of one Qari (Reciter) (i.e. let them pray in congregation!)'. So, he made up his mind to congregate them behind Ubai bin Ka'b. Then on another night I went again in his company and the people were praying behind their reciter. On that, 'Umar remarked, 'What an excellent Bid'a (i.e. innovation in religion) this is; but the prayer which they do not perform, but sleep at its time is better than the one they are offering.' He meant the prayer in the last part of the night. (In those days) people used to pray in the early part of the night."

`Ata' told me that he had heard Jabir bin `Abdullah saying, "The Prophet stood up to offer the prayer of the `Id ul Fitr. He first offered the prayer and then delivered the Khutba. After finishing it he got down (from the pulpit) and went towards the women and advised them while he was leaning on Bilal's hand. Bilal was spreading out his garment where the women were putting their alms." I asked `Ata' whether it was the Zakat of `Id ul Fitr. He said, "No, it was just alms given at that time. Some lady put her finger ring and the others would do the same." I said, (to `Ata'), "Do you think that it is incumbent upon the Imam to give advice to the women (on `Id day)?" He said, "No doubt, it is incumbent upon the Imams to do so and why should they not do so?"

Maimuna said, "Allah's Apostle was praying while I was in my menses, sitting beside him and sometimes his clothes would touch me during his prostration." Maimuna added, "He prayed on a Khumra (a small mat sufficient just for the face and the hands while prostrating during prayers).

that he had heard his father saying, "Allah's Apostle came to us at midday and water was brought for his ablution. He performed ablution and led us in Zuhr and `Asr prayers with a short stpear (or stick) planted in front of him (as a Sutra), while women and donkeys were passing beyond it."

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?" They said, "Not a trace of dirt would be left." The Prophet added, "That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds."

The Mu'adh-dhin (call-maker) of the Prophet pronounced the Adhan (call) for the Zuhr prayer but the Prophet said, "Let it be cooler, let it be cooler." Or said, 'Wait, wait, because the severity of heat is from the raging of the Hell-fire. In severe hot weather, pray when it becomes (a bit) cooler and the shadows of hillocks appear."

Allah's Apostle used to offer the `Asr prayer at a time when the sun was still hot and high and if a person went to Al-`Awali (a place) of Medina, he would reach there when the sun was still high. Some of Al-`Awali of Medina were about four miles or so from the town.

I offered the `Isha' prayer behind Abu Huraira and he recited, "Idha s-samaa'u n-shaqqat" (84) and prostrated. On my inquiring, he said, "I prostrated behind Abul-Qasim (the Prophet) (when he recited that Sura) and I will go on doing it till I meet him."

Once I prayed the `Isha' prayer with Abu Huraira and he recited, "Idha s-samaa'u n-shaqqat" (84) and prostrated. I said, "What is that?" He said, "I prostrated behind Abul-Qasim, (the Prophet) (when he recited that Sura) and I will go on doing it till I meet him."

I offered prayer beside my father and approximated both my hands and placed them in between the knees. My father told me not to do so and said, "We used to do the same but we were forbidden (by the Prophet) to do it and were ordered to place the hands on the knees."

The person who increased the number of Adhans for the Jumua prayers to three was `Uthman bin `Affan and it was when the number of the (Muslim) people of Medina had increased. In the lifetime of the Prophet there was only one Mu'adh-dhin and the Adhan used to be pronounced only after the Imam had taken his seat (i.e. on the pulpit).

One night the Prophet got up and said, "Subhan Allah! How many afflictions Allah has revealed tonight and how many treasures have been sent down (disclosed). Go and wake the sleeping lady occupants of these dwellings up (for prayers), perhaps a well dressed in this world may be naked in the Hereafter."

that Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) said, "Whoever attends the funeral procession till he offers the funeral prayer for it, will get a reward equal to one Qirat, and whoever accompanies it till burial, will get a reward equal to two Qirats." It was asked, "What are two Qirats?" He replied, "Like two huge mountains."

I saw `Umar, offering the Fajr (morning) prayer at Jam'; then he got up and said, "The pagans did not use to depart (from Jam') till the sun had risen, and they used to say, 'Let the sun shine on Thabir (a mountain).' But the Prophet contradicted them and departed from Jam' before sunrise."

The Prophet said, "Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven ."

Abu Sufyan told me that Heraclius said to him, "When I inquired you what he (i.e. Muhammad) ordered you, you replied that he ordered you to establish the prayer, to speak the truth, to be chaste, to keep promises and to pay back trusts." Then Heraclius added, "These are really the qualities of a prophet."

Whenever Allah's Apostle attacked some people, he would never attack them till it was dawn. If he heard the Adhan (i.e. call for prayer) he would delay the fight, and if he did not hear the Adhan, he would attack them immediately after dawn. We reached Khaibar at night.

While some people were offering Fajr prayer in the Quba' mosque, some-one came and said, "Allah has revealed to the Prophet Qur'anic instructions that you should face the Ka`ba (while praying) so you too, should face it." Those people then turned towards the Ka`ba.

We prayed along with the Prophet facing Jerusalem for sixteen or seventeen months. Then Allah ordered him to turn his face towards the Qibla (in Mecca):-- "And from whence-so-ever you start forth (for prayers) turn your face in the direction of (the Sacred Mosque of Mecca) Al-Masjid-ul Haram.." (2.149)

"When the "Surat-An-Nasr", 'When comes the Help of Allah and the conquest,' had been revealed to the Prophet he did not offer any prayer except that he said therein, "Subhanka Rabbana wa bihamdika; Allahumma ighfirli (I testify the Uniqueness of our Lord, and all the praises are for Him: O Allah, forgive me!")

Abul Qasim (the Prophet ) said, "There is an hour (or a moment) of particular significance on Friday. If it happens that a Muslim is offering a prayer and invoking Allah for some good at that very moment, Allah will grant him his request." (The sub-narrator placed the top of his finger on the palm of the other hand between the middle finger and the little one.)

Allah's Apostle visited a household among the Ansars, and he took a meal with them. When he intended to leave, he asked for a place in that house for him, to pray so a mat sprinkled with water was put and he offered prayer over it, and invoked for Allah's Blessing upon them (his hosts).

A man asked the Prophet "When will the Hour be established O Allah's Apostle?" The Prophet . said, "What have you prepared for it?" The man said, " I haven't prepared for it much of prayers or fast or alms, but I love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "You will be with those whom you love."

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq said to the Prophet, "Teach me an invocation with which I may invoke (Allah) in my prayer." The Prophet said, "Say: Allahumma inni zalamtu nafsi zulman kathiran wala yaghfirudhdhunuba illa anta, Faghfirli maghfiratan min indika war-hamni, innaka antalGhafur-Rahim."

Ibn 'Abbas reported it on the authority of Maimuana, the wife of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him), that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) took (a piece of goat's) shoulder at her place, and then offered prayer but did not perform ablution.