The Prophet (saws) said: The imam is appointed only to be followed; when he says "Allah is most great," say "Allah is most great" and do not say "Allah is most great" until he says "Allah is most great." When he bows; bow; and do not bow until he bows. And when he says "Allah listens to him who praise Him," say "O Allah, our Lord, to Thee be the praise."

The version recorded by Muslim goes: "And to Thee be the praise: And when he prostrate; and do not prostrate until he prostrates. When he prays standing, pray standing, and when he prays sitting, all of you pray sitting.

Abu Dawud said: The words "O Allah, our Lord, to You be the praise" reported by Sulaiman were explained to me by some of our companions.

The Prophet (saws) went out at night and found AbuBakr praying in a low voice, and he passed Umar ibn al-Khattab who was raising his voice while praying.

When they both met the Prophet (saws) together, the Prophet (saws) said: I passed by you, AbuBakr, when you were praying in a low voice. He replied: I made Him hear with Whom I was holding intimate converse, Messenger of Allah. He (the Prophet) said to Umar: I passed by you when you were praying in a loud voice. He replied: Messenger of Allah, I was awakening the drowsy and driving away the Devil.

Al-Hasan added in his version: The Prophet (saws) said: Raise your voice a little, AbuBakr, and he said to Umar: Lower your voice a little.

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) forbade the (people) meeting the caravan (for entering into business transaction with them), and the selling of goods by a townsman on behalf of a man of the desert, and seeking by a woman the divorce of her sister (from her husband), and outbidding (against one another), and tying up the udders (of animals), and buying of (things) in opposition to one's brother.

The Prophet (saws) said: whoever performs ablution, and performs his ablution perfectly, and then goes to the mosque and finds that the people had finished the prayer (in congregation), Allah will give him a reward like one who prayed in congregation and attended it; The reward of those who prayed in congregation will not be curtailed.

I asked: Messenger of Allah, in which part of night the supplication is more likely to be accepted?

He replied: In the last part: Pray as much as you like, for the prayer is attended by the angels and it is recorded till you offer the dawn prayer; then stop praying when the sun is rising till it has reached the height of one or two lances, for it rises between the two horns of the Devil, and the infidels offer prayer for it (at that time). Then pray as much as you like, because the prayer is witnessed and recorded till the shadow of a lance be- comes equal to it. Then cease prayer, for at that time the Hell-fire is heated up and doors of Hell are opened.

When the sun declines, pray as much as you like, for the prayer is witnessed till you pray the afternoon prayer; then cease prayer till the sun sets, for it sets between the horns of the Devil, and (at that time) the infidels offer prayer for it. He narrated a lengthy tradition.

Abbas said: AbuSalam narrated this tradition in a similar manner from AbuUmamah. If I have made a mistake unintentionally, I beg pardon of Allah and repent to Him.

I went on an expedition with the Messenger of Allah (saws), and I was present with him at the conquest. He stayed eighteen days in Mecca and prayed only two rak'ahs (at each time of prayer). And he said: You who live in the town must pray four; we are travellers.

Allah's Apostle arrived at Medina with Abu Bakr, riding behind him on the same camel. Abu Bakr was an elderly man known to the people, while Allah's Apostle was a youth that was unknown. Thus, if a man met Abu Bakr, he would say, "O Abu Bakr! Who is this man in front of you?" Abu Bakr would say, "This man shows me the Way," One would think that Abu Bakr meant the road, while in fact, Abu Bakr meant the way of virtue and good. Then Abu Bakr looked behind and saw a horse-rider pursuing them. He said, "O Allah's Apostle! This is a horse-rider pursuing us." The Prophet looked behind and said, "O Allah! Cause him to fall down." So the horse threw him down and got up neighing. After that the rider, Suraqa said, "O Allah's Prophet! Order me whatever you want." The Prophet said, "Stay where you are and do not allow anybody to reach us." So, in the first part of the day Suraqa was an enemy of Allah's Prophet and in the last part of it, he was a protector. Then Allah's Apostle alighted by the side of the Al-Harra and sent a message to the Ansar, and they came to Allah's Prophet and Abu Bakr, and having greeted them, they said, "Ride (your she-camels) safe and obeyed." Allah's Apostle and Abu Bakr rode and the Ansar, carrying their arms, surrounded them. The news that Allah's Prophet had come circulated in Medina. The people came out and were eagerly looking and saying "Allah's Prophet has come! Allah's Prophet has come! So the Prophet went on till he alighted near the house of Abu Ayub. While the Prophet was speaking with the family members of Abu Ayub, `Abdullah bin Salam heard the news of his arrival while he himself was picking the dates for his family from his family garden. He hurried to the Prophet carrying the dates which he had collected for his family from the garden. He listened to Allah's Prophet and then went home. Then Allah's Prophet said, "Which is the nearest of the houses of our kith and kin?" Abu Ayub replied, "Mine, O Allah's Prophet! This is my house and this is my gate." The Prophet said, "Go and prepare a place for our midday rest." Abu Ayub said, "Get up (both of you) with Allah's Blessings." So when Allah's Prophet went into the house, `Abdullah bin Salam came and said "I testify that you (i.e. Muhammad) are Apostle of Allah and that you have come with the Truth. The Jews know well that I am their chief and the son of their chief and the most learned amongst them and the son of the most learned amongst them. So send for them (i.e. Jews) and ask them about me before they know that I have embraced Islam, for if they know that they will say about me things which are not correct." So Allah's Apostle sent for them, and they came and entered. Allah's Apostle said to them, "O (the group of) Jews! Woe to you: be afraid of Allah. By Allah except Whom none has the right to be worshipped, you people know for certain, that I am Apostle of Allah and that I have come to you with the Truth, so embrace Islam." The Jews replied, "We do not know this." So they said this to the Prophet and he repeated it thrice. Then he said, "What sort of a man is `Abdullah bin Salam amongst you?" They said, "He is our chief and the son of our chief and the most learned man, and the son of the most learned amongst us." He said, "What would you think if he should embrace Islam?" They said, "Allah forbid! He can not embrace Islam." He said, " What would you think if he should embrace Islam?" They said, "Allah forbid! He can not embrace Islam." He said, "What would you think if he should embrace Islam?" They said, "Allah forbid! He can not embrace Islam." He said, "O Ibn Salam! Come out to them." He came out and said, "O (the group of) Jews! Be afraid of Allah except Whom none has the right to be worshipped. You know for certain that he is Apostle of Allah and that he has brought a True Religion!' They said, "You tell a lie." On that Allah's Apostle turned them out.