Salim b. 'Abdullah (b. 'Umar) reported on the authority of his father that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) observed the prayer of a traveller, i. e. two rak'ahs in Mina, and other places; so did Abu Bakr and 'Umar, and 'Uthman too observed two rak'ahs at the beginning of his caliphate, but he then completed four.

It has been narrated on the authority of Anas that the Prophet of Allah (may peace be upon him) wrote to Chosroes (King of Persia), Caesar (Emperor of Rome), Negus (King of Abyssinia) and every (other) despot inviting them to Allah, the Exalted. And this Negus was not the one for whom the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said the funeral prayers.

I screened the Prophet while he was taking a bath of Janaba. He washed his hands, poured water from his right hand over his left and washed his private parts. Then he rubbed his hand over a wall or the earth, and performed ablution similar to that for the prayer but did not wash his feet. Then he poured water over his body, shifted from that place, and washed his feet.

The things which annul prayer were mentioned before me (and those were): a dog, a donkey and a woman. I said, "You have compared us (women) to donkeys and dogs. By Allah! I saw the Prophet praying while I used to lie in (my) bed between him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I disliked to sit and trouble the Prophet. So, I would slip away by the side of his feet."

My grandmother Mulaika invited Allah's Apostle for a meal which she had prepared specially for him. He ate some of it and said, "Get up. I shall lead you in the prayer." I brought a mat that had become black owing to excessive use and I sprinkled water on it. Allah's Apostle stood on it and prayed two rak`at; and the orphan was with me (in the first row), and the old lady stood behind us.

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "Whoever takes a bath on Friday, purifies himself as much as he can, then uses his (hair) oil or perfumes himself with the scent of his house, then proceeds (for the Jumua prayer) and does not separate two persons sitting together (in the mosque), then prays as much as (Allah has) written for him and then remains silent while the Imam is delivering the Khutba, his sins in-between the present and the last Friday would be forgiven."

The Prophet said, "When it is a Friday, the angels stand at the gate of the mosque and keep on writing the names of the persons coming to the mosque in succession according to their arrivals. The example of the one who enters the mosque in the earliest hour is that of one offering a camel (in sacrifice). The one coming next is like one offering a cow and then a ram and then a chicken and then an egg respectively. When the Imam comes out (for Jumua prayer) they (i.e. angels) fold their papers and listen to the Khutba."

Aisha wanted to buy Barirah and he (the Prophet) went out for the prayer. When he returned, she told him that they (her masters) refused to sell her except on the condition that her Wala' would go to them. The Prophet replied, 'The Wala' would go to him who manumits.' " Hammam asked Nafi` whether her (Barirah's) husband was a free man or a slave. He replied that he did not know.

Allah's Apostle used to invoke Allah in the prayer saying, "O Allah, I seek refuge with you from all sins, and from being in debt." Someone said, O Allah's Apostle! (I see you) very often you seek refuge with Allah from being in debt. He replied, "If a person is in debt, he tells lies when he speaks, and breaks his promises when he promises."

That she borrowed a necklace from Asma' and it was lost. Allah's Apostle sent some of his companions to look for it. During their journey the time of prayer was due and they prayed without ablution. When they returned to the Prophet they complained about it. So the Divine Verse of Tayammum was revealed. Usaid bin Hudair said (to `Aisha), "May Allah reward you handsomely. By Allah, whenever you have a difficulty, Allah took you out of it and brought with it, a Blessing for the Muslims."

Abu Burda slaughtered (the sacrifice) before the (`Id) prayer whereupon the Prophet said to him, "Slaughter another sacrifice instead of that." Abu Burda said, "I have nothing except a Jadha'a." (Shu`ba said: Perhaps Abu Burda also said that Jadha'a was better than an old sheep in his opinion.) The Prophet said, "(Never mind), slaughter it to make up for the other one, but it will not be sufficient for anyone else after you."

the freed slave of Ibn Azhar that he witnessed the Day of `Id-al-Adha with `Umar bin Al-Khattab. `Umar offered the `Id prayer before the sermon and then delivered the sermon before the people, saying, "O people! Allah's Apostle has forbidden you to fast (on the first day of) each of these two 'Ida, for one of them is the Day of breaking your fast, and the other is the one, on which you eat the meat of your sacrifices."

That he heard Allah's Apostle, when raising his head from bowing of the first rak`a of the morning prayer, saying, "O Allah! Curse so-and-so and so-and-so" after he had said, "Allah hears him who sends his praises to Him. Our Lord, all the Praises are for you!" So Allah revealed:-- "Not for you (O Muhammad! )......(till the end of Verse) they are indeed wrong-doers." (3.128)

who was one of the companions of Allah's Apostle and one of the Ansar's who took part in the battle of Badr: I came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle I have weak eyesight and I lead my people in prayers. When it rains the water flows in the valley between me and my people so I cannot go to their mosque to lead them in prayer. O Allah's Apostle! I wish you would come to my house and pray in it so that I could take that place as a Musalla. Allah's Apostle said. "Allah willing, I will do so." Next day after the sun rose high, Allah's Apostle and Abu Bakr came and Allah's Apostle asked for permission to enter. I gave him permission and he did not sit on entering the house but said to me, "Where do you like me to pray?" I pointed to a place in my house. So Allah's Apostle stood there and said, 'Allahu Akbar', and we all got up and aligned behind him and offered a two-rak`at prayer and ended it with Taslim. We requested him to stay for a meal called "Khazira" which we had prepared for him. Many members of our family gathered in the house and one of them said, "Where is Malik bin Al-Dukhaishin or Ibn Al-Dukhshun?" One of them replied, "He is a hypocrite and does not love Allah and His Apostle." Hearing that, Allah's Apostle said, "Do not say so. Haven't you seen that he said, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah' for Allah's sake only?" He said, "Allah and His Apostle know better. We have seen him helping and advising hypocrites." Allah's Apostle said, "Allah has forbidden the (Hell) fire for those who say, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah' for Allah's sake only."

A man from Najd with unkempt hair came to Allah's Apostle and we heard his loud voice but could not understand what he was saying, till he came near and then we came to know that he was asking about Islam. Allah's Apostle said, "You have to offer prayers perfectly five times in a day and night (24 hours)." The man asked, "Is there any more (praying)?" Allah's Apostle replied, "No, but if you want to offer the Nawafil prayers (you can)." Allah's Apostle further said to him: "You have to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan." The man asked, "Is there any more fasting?" Allah's Apostle replied, "No, but if you want to observe the Nawafil fasts (you can.)" Then Allah's Apostle further said to him, "You have to pay the Zakat (obligatory charity)." The man asked, "Is there any thing other than the Zakat for me to pay?" Allah's Apostle replied, "No, unless you want to give alms of your own." And then that man retreated saying, "By Allah! I will neither do less nor more than this." Allah's Apostle said, "If what he said is true, then he will be successful (i.e. he will be granted Paradise)."

When my father died he owed a Jew thirty Awsuq (of dates). I requested him to give me respite for repaying but he refused. I requested Allah's Apostle to intercede with the Jew. Allah's Apostle went to the Jew and asked him to accept the fruits of my trees in place of the debt but the Jew refused. Allah's Apostle entered the garden of the date-palms, wandering among the trees and ordered me (saying), "Pluck (the fruits) and give him his due." So, I plucked the fruits for him after the departure of Allah's Apostle and gave his thirty Awsuq, and still had seventeen Awsuq extra for myself. Jabir said: I went to Allah's Apostle to inform of what had happened, but found him praying the `Asr prayer. After the prayer I told him about the extra fruits which remained. Allah's Apostle told me to inform (`Umar) Ibn Al-Khattab about it. When I went to `Umar and told him about it, `Umar said, "When Allah's Apostle walked in your garden, I was sure that Allah would definitely bless it."

Allah's Apostle said, "There was an Israeli man called Juraij, while he was praying, his mother came and called him, but he did not respond to her call. He said (to himself) whether he should continue the prayer or reply to his mother. She came to him the second time and called him and said, "O Allah! Do not let him die until he sees the faces of prostitutes." Juraij used to live in a hermitage. A woman said that she would entice Juraij, so she went to him and presented herself (for an evil act) but he refused. She then went to a shepherd and allowed him to commit an illegal sexual intercourse with her and later she gave birth to a boy. She alleged that the baby was from Juraij. The people went to Juraij and broke down his hermitage, pulled him out of it and abused him. He performed ablution and offered the prayer, then he went to the male (baby) and asked him; "O boy! Who is your father?" The baby replied that his father was the shepherd. The people said that they would build for him a hermitage of gold but Juraij asked them to make it of mud only."

That `Amr bin `Auf, who was an ally of Bani 'Amir bin Luai and one of those who fought at Badr in the company of the Prophet , said, "Allah's Apostle sent Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah to Bahrain to bring the Jizya taxation from its people, for Allah's Apostle had made a peace treaty with the people of Bahrain and appointed Al-`Ala' bin Al-Hadrami as their ruler. So, Abu 'Ubaida arrived with the money from Bahrain. When the Ansar heard of the arrival of Abu 'Ubaida (on the next day) they offered the morning prayer with the Prophet and when the morning prayer had finished, they presented themselves before him. On seeing the Ansar, Allah's Apostle smiled and said, "I think you have heard that Abu 'Ubaida has brought something?" They replied, "Indeed, it is so, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Be happy, and hope for what will please you. By Allah, I am not afraid that you will be poor, but I fear that worldly wealth will be bestowed upon you as it was bestowed upon those who lived before you. So you will compete amongst yourselves for it, as they competed for it and it will destroy you as it did them."

(The tribes of) Ril, Dhakwan, 'Usaiya and Bani Lihyan asked Allah's Apostle to provide them with some men to support them against their enemy. He therefore provided them with seventy men from the Ansar whom we used to call Al-Qurra' in their lifetime. They used to collect wood by daytime and pray at night. When they were at the well of Ma'una, the infidels killed them by betraying them. When this news reached the Prophet , he said Al-Qunut for one month In the morning prayer, invoking evil upon some of the 'Arab tribes, upon Ril, Dhakwan, 'Usaiya and Bani Libyan. We used to read a verse of the Qur'an revealed in their connection, but later the verse was cancelled. It was: "convey to our people on our behalf the information that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us, and has made us pleased." (Anas bin Malik added:) Allah's Prophet said Qunut for one month in the morning prayer, invoking evil upon some of the 'Arab tribes (namely), Ril, Dhakwan, Usaiya, and Bani Libyan. (Anas added:) Those seventy Ansari men were killed at the well of Mauna.

I witnessed the `Id-al-Fitr prayer with Allah's Apostle , Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman; and all of them offered it before delivering the sermon... and then delivered the sermon. Once the Prophet (after completing the prayer and the sermon) came down, as if I am now looking at him waving at the men with his hand to sit down, and walked through them till he, along with Bilal, reached (the rows of) the women. Then he recited: 'O Prophet! When believing women come to you to take the oath of allegiance that they will not worship anything other than Allah, will not steal, will not commit illegal sexual intercourse, will not kill their children, and will not utter slander, intentionally forging falsehood (by making illegal children belonging to their husbands)'....(60.12) Having finished, he said, 'Do you agree to that?" One lady, other than whom none replied the Prophet said, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle!" (The, sub-narrator, Al-Hasan did not know who the lady was.) Then the Prophet said to them: "Will you give alms?" Thereupon Bilal spread out his garment and the women started throwing big rings and small rings into Bilal's garment. (See Hadith No. 95 vol.2)

(An ally of the tribe of Bani 'Amir bin Lu'ai and one of those who had witnessed the battle of Badr with Allah's Apostle) Allah's Apostle sent Abu 'Ubaida bin AlJarrah to Bahrain to collect the Jizya tax. Allah's Apostle had concluded a peace treaty with the people of Bahrain and appointed Al 'Ala bin Al-Hadrami as their chief; Abu Ubaida arrived from Bahrain with the money. The Ansar heard of Abu 'Ubaida's arrival which coincided with the Fajr (morning) prayer led by Allah's Apostle. When the Prophet finished the prayer, they came to him. Allah's Apostle smiled when he saw them and said, "I think you have heard of the arrival of Abu 'Ubaida and that he has brought something." They replied, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle! " He said, "Have the good news, and hope for what will please you. By Allah, I am not afraid that you will become poor, but I am afraid that worldly wealth will be given to you in abundance as it was given to those (nations) before you, and you will start competing each other for it as the previous nations competed for it, and then it will divert you (from good) as it diverted them." '

Aisha said, "I borrowed a necklace from Asma' and it was lost. So Allah's Apostle sent a man to search for it and he found it. Then the time of the prayer became due and there was no water. They prayed (without ablution) and informed Allah's Apostle about it, so the verse of Tayammum was revealed." Usaid bin Hudair said to `Aisha, "May Allah reward you. By Allah, whenever anything happened which you did not like, Allah brought good for you and for the Muslims in that."

I went to Jabir bin `Abdullah and he was praying wrapped in a garment and his Rida was Lying beside him. When he finished the prayers, I said "O `Abdullah! You pray (in a single garment) while your Rida' is lying beside you." He replied, "Yes, I did it intentionally so that the ignorant ones like you might see me. I saw the Prophet praying like this. "

I asked the Prophet "Which deed is the dearest to Allah?" He replied, "To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times." I asked, "What is the next (in goodness)?" He replied, "To be good and dutiful to your parents" I again asked, "What is the next (in goodness)?" He replied, 'To participate in Jihad (religious fighting) in Allah's cause." `Abdullah added, "I asked only that much and if I had asked more, the Prophet would have told me more."

Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri told my father, "I see you liking sheep and the wilderness. So whenever you are with your sheep or in the wilderness and you want to pronounce Adhan for the prayer raise your voice in doing so, for whoever hears the Adhan, whether a human being, a jinn or any other creature, will be a witness for you on the Day of Resurrection." Abu Sa`id added, "I heard it (this narration) from Allah's Apostle."

Once on a rainy muddy day, Ibn `Abbas delivered a sermon in our presence and when the Mu'adhdhin pronounced the Adhan and said, "Haiyi `ala-s-sala(t) (come for the prayer)" Ibn `Abbas ordered him to say 'Pray at your homes.' The people began to look at each other (surprisingly). Ibn `Abbas said. "It was done by one who was much better than I (i.e. the Prophet or his Mu'adh-dhin), and it is a license.'

Abu Qilaba said, "Malik bin Huwairith came to this Mosque of ours and said, 'I pray in front of you and my aim is not to lead the prayer but to show you the way in which the Prophet used to pray.' " I asked Abu Qilaba, "How did he use to pray?' " He replied, "(The Prophet used to pray) like this Sheikh of ours and the Sheikh used to sit for a while after the prostration, before getting up after the first rak`a. "

Once solar eclipse occurred during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle. He offered the eclipse prayer. His companions asked, "O Allah's Apostle! We saw you trying to take something while standing at your place and then we saw you retreating." The Prophet said, "I was shown Paradise and wanted to have a bunch of fruit from it. Had I taken it, you would have eaten from it as long as the world remains."

Anas said, "I will leave no stone unturned in making you offer the prayer as I have seen the Prophet making us offer it." Anas used to do a thing which I have not seen you doing. He used to stand after the bowing for such a long time that one would think that he had forgotten (the prostrations) and he used to sit in-between the prostrations so long that one would think that he had forgotten the second prostration.

We offered a four rak`at prayer at Mina behind Ibn `Affan . `Abdullah bin Mas`ud was informed about it. He said sadly, "Truly to Allah we belong and truly to Him we shall return." And added, "I prayed two rak`at with Allah's Apostle at Mina and similarly with Abu Bakr and with `Umar (during their caliphates)." He further said, "May I be lucky enough to have two of the four rak`at accepted (by Allah)."

We went to receive Anas bin Malik when he returned from Sham and met him at a place called 'Ainat- Tamr. I saw him praying riding the donkey, with his face to this direction, i.e. to the left of the Qibla. I said to him, "I have seen you offering the prayer in a direction other than that of the Qibla." He replied, "If I had not seen Allah's Apostle doing it, I would not have done it."

`Imran bin Husain had piles. Once Abu Ma mar narrated from `Imran bin Husain had said, "I asked the Prophet (p.b.u.h) about the prayer of a person while sitting. He said, 'It is better for one to pray standing; and whoever prays sitting gets half the reward of that who prays while standing; and whoever prays while Lying gets half the reward of that who prays while sitting.' "