'A'isha, the wife of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), said Allah prescribed the prayer as two rak'ahs, then it was completed (to four rak'ahs) at the place of residence, but was retained in the same position in journey as it was first made obligatory.

I witnessed the Prophet (saws) raise his hands in front of his ears when he began to pray. I then came back and saw them (the people) raising their hands up to their chest when they began to pray. They wore long caps and blankets.

I was with Buraida on a cloudy day and he said, "Offer the `Asr prayer earlier as the Prophet said, 'Whoever leaves the `Asr prayer will have all his (good) deeds annulled." (See Hadith No. 527 and 528)

Allah's Apostle made a small room in the month of Ramadan (Sa`id said, "I think that Zaid bin Thabit said that it was made of a mat") and he prayed there for a few nights, and so some of his companions prayed behind him. When he came to know about it, he kept on sitting. In the morning, he went out to them and said, "I have seen and understood what you did. You should pray in your houses, for the best prayer of a person is that which he prays in his house except the compulsory prayers."

Zurarah ibn Awfa said that Aisha was asked about the midnight prayer of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

She said: He used to offer his night prayer in congregation and then return to his family (in his house) and pray four rak'ahs. Then he would go to his bed and sleep, but the water for his ablution was placed covered near his head and his tooth-stick was also kept there until Allah awakened him at night.

He then used the tooth-stick, performed ablution perfectly then came to the place of prayer and would pray eight rak'ahs, in which he would recite Surah al-Fatihah, and a surah from the Qur'an as Allah willed. He would not sit during any of them but sit after the eighth rak'ah, and would not utter the salutation, but recite (the Qur'an) during the ninth rak'ah. Then he would sit and supplicate as long as Allah willed, and beg Him and devote his attention to Him; He would utter the salutation once in such a loud voice that the inmates of the house were almost awakened by his loud salutation. He would then recite Surah al-Fatihah while sitting, bow while sitting, and then recite the Qur'an during the second rak'ah, and would bow and prostrate while sitting. He would supplicate Allah as long as He willed, then utter the salutation and turn away.

This amount of prayer of the Messenger of Allah (saws) continued till he put a weight. During that period he retrenched two rak'ahs from nine and began to pray six and seven rak'ahs standing and two rak'ahs sitting. This continued till he died.

Bakkar ibn Yahya said that his grandmother narrated to him: I entered upon Umm Salamah. A woman from the Quraysh asked her about praying with the clothes which a woman wore while she menstruated.

Umm Salamah said: We would menstruate in the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (saws). Then each one of us refrained (from prayer) during menstrual period. When she was purified, she would look at the clothe in which she menstruated. If it were smeared with blood, we would wash it and pray with it; if there were nothing in it, we would leave it and that would not prevent us from praying with it (the same clothe).

As regards the woman who had plaited hair - sometimes each of us had plaited hair - when she washed, she would not undo the hair. She would instead pour three handfuls of water upon her head. When she felt moisture in the roots of her hair, she would rub them. Then she would pour water upon her whole body.

Anas was asked, "Did the Prophet wear a ring?" Anas said, "Once he delayed the: `Isha' prayer till midnight. Then he came, facing us ..... as if l am now Looking at the glitter of his ring ..... and said, "The people have offered their prayers and slept but you have been in prayer as you have been waiting for it."

The Prophet said, "The people who get tremendous reward for the prayer are those who are farthest away (from the mosque) and then those who are next farthest and so on. Similarly one who waits to pray with the Imam has greater reward than one who prays and goes to bed. "

The Prophet prayed (and the sub-narrator Ibrahim said, "I do not know whether he prayed more or less than usual"), and when he had finished the prayers he was asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Has there been any change in the prayers?" He said, "What is it?' The people said, "You have prayed so much and so much." So the Prophet bent his legs, faced the Qibla and performed two prostration's (of Sahu) and finished his prayers with Taslim (by turning his face to right and left saying: 'As-Salamu `Alaikum- Warahmat-ullah'). When he turned his face to us he said, "If there had been anything changed in the prayer, surely I would have informed you but I am a human being like you and liable to forget like you. So if I forget remind me and if anyone of you is doubtful about his prayer, he should follow what he thinks to be correct and complete his prayer accordingly and finish it and do two prostrations (of Sahu).

Sa'd ibn Hisham said: I came to Medina and called upon Aisha, and said to her: Tell me about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

She said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to lead the people in the night prayer, and then go to his bed and sleep. When midnight came he got up, went to answer the call of nature and to perform ablution with water. Having performed ablution, he entered the mosque and prayed eight rak'ahs.

To my mind he performed the recitation of the Qur'an, bowing and prostrating equally. He then observed witr with one rak'ah and prayed two rak'ahs sitting. Then he lay down on the ground. Sometimes Bilal came to him and called him for prayer. He then dozed, and sometimes I doubted whether he dozed or not, till he (Bilal) called him for prayer.

This is the prayer he offered till he grew old or put on weight. She then mentioned how he put on weight as Allah wished.

The Prophet delivered the Khutba after offering the prayer on the Day of Nahr and said, "Whoever offers the prayer like us and slaughters like us then his Nusuk (sacrifice) will be accepted by Allah. And whoever slaughters his sacrifice before the `Id prayer then he has not done the sacrifice." Abi Burda bin Niyar, the uncle of Al-Bara' said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have slaughtered my sheep before the `Id prayer and I thought today as a day of eating and drinking (not alcoholic drinks), and I liked that my sheep should be the first to be slaughtered in my house. So slaughtered my sheep and took my food before coming for the prayer." The Prophet said, "The sheep which you have slaughtered is just mutton (not a Nusuk)." He (Abu Burda) said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have a young she-goat which is dearer to me than two sheep. Will that be sufficient as a Nusuk on my behalf? "The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "Yes, it will be sufficient for you but it will not be sufficient (as a Nusuk) for anyone else after you."

Abu Dawud said: Ibn Dawud has narrated the first part of this tradition as a statement (of the Prophet), and denied that there was any mention of performing ablution for every prayer. The weakness of the tradition reported by Habib is also indicated by the fact that the version transmuted by al-Zuhri from 'Urwah on the authority of 'Aishah says that she used to wash herself for every prayer; (these words occur) in the tradition about the woman who has a flow of blood. This tradition has been reported by Abu al-Yaqzan from 'Adi b. Thabit from his father from 'Ali, and narrated by 'Ammar, the freed salve of Banu Hashim, from Ibn 'Abbas, and transmitted by 'Abd al-Malik b. Maisarah, Bayan, al-Mughirah, Firas, on the authority of al-Sha'bi, from Qumair from 'Aishah, stating: You should perform ablution for every prayer. The version transmitted by Dawud, and 'Asim from al-Sha'bi from Qumair from 'Aishah has the words: She should take bath only once every day. The version reported by Hisham b. 'Urwah from his father has the words: The woman having a flow of blood should perform ablution for every prayer. All these traditions are weak except the tradition reported by Qumair and the tradition reported by 'Ammar, the freed slave of Banu Hashim, and the tradition narrated by Hisham b. 'Urwah on the authority of his father. What is commonly known from Ibn 'Abbas is bathing (for every prayer).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah that Abdullah ibn Umar used to say "Allah is greater" in the prayer whenever he lowered himself and raised himself.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar used to raise his hands to the level of his shoulders when he began the prayer and when he raised his head from the ruku he would raise them less than that.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al As said, "When we arrived at Madina we were struck down by a severe epidemic which debilitated us greatly. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came out to the people while they were praying nawafil prayers sitting down. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The prayer of the one sitting is equal to only half the prayer of the one standing.' "

Yahya related to me from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A group of angels in the night and a group of angels in the day alternate with each other among you, and gather together at the time of the asr and fajr prayers. Then those that have spent the night among you ascend, and He asks them, and He knows best, 'How did you leave my slaves?' and they say, 'When we left them they were praying, and when we came to them they were praying.' "

Once Allah's Apostle remained behind us in a journey. He joined us while we were performing ablution for the `Asr prayer which was over-due. We were just passing wet hands over our feet (not washing them properly) so the Prophet addressed us in a loud voice and said twice or thrice, "Save your heels from the fire."

Sulayman, the freed slave of Maymunah, said: I came to Ibn Umar at Bilat (a place in Medina) while the people were praying. I said: Do you not pray along with them? He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: Do not say a prayer twice in a day.

Abu Ali said: Abu Dawud did not recite this tradition when he recited his collection(of sunan) for the fourth time.

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

Allah's Apostle said, "Your period (i.e. the Muslims' period) in comparison to the periods of the previous nations, is like the period between the `Asr prayer and sunset. And your example in comparison to the Jews and the Christians is like the example of a person who employed some laborers and asked them, 'Who will work for me till midday for one Qirat each?' The Jews worked for half a day for one Qirat each. The person asked, 'Who will do the work for me from midday to the time of the `Asr (prayer) for one Qirat each?' The Christians worked from midday till the `Asr prayer for one Qirat. Then the person asked, 'Who will do the work for me from the `Asr till sunset for two Qirats each?' " The Prophet added, "It is you (i.e. Muslims) who are doing the work from the `Asr till sunset, so you will have a double reward. The Jews and the Christians got angry and said, 'We have done more work but got less wages.' Allah said, 'Have I been unjust to you as regards your rights?' They said, 'No.' So Allah said, 'Then it is My Blessing which I bestow on whomever I like. "

Allah's Apostle said, "There are angels coming to you in succession at night, and others during the day, and they all gather at the time of `Asr and Fajr prayers. Then the angels who have stayed with you overnight ascend (to the heaven) and He (Allah) asks them though He perfectly knows their affairs. 'In what state have you left my slaves?' They say, 'When we left them, they were praying and when we came to them they were praying.' "

Anas was asked, "Did Allah's Apostle wear a ring?" He said, "Yes. Once he delayed the `Isha' prayer till midnight and after the prayer, he faced us and said, 'The people prayed and have slept and you remained in prayer as long as you waited for it.' " Anas added, "As if I were just now observing the glitter of his ring."

that his uncle said: "The Prophet was asked: If a person feels something during his prayer; should one interrupt his prayer?" The Prophet said: No! You should not give it up unless you hear a sound or smell something." Narrated Ibn Abi Hafsa: Az-Zuhri said, "There is no need of repeating ablution unless you detect a smell or hear a sound."

The Prophet (saws) said about the woman having a prolonged flow of blood: She should abandon prayer during her menstrual period: then she should take a bath and pray. She should perform ablution for every prayer.

Abu Dawud said: 'Uthman added: She should keep fast and pray.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) stood for offering the obligatory prayer, he uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) and raised his hands opposite to his shoulders; and he did like that when he finished recitation (of the Qur'an) and was about to bow; and he did like that when he rose after bowing; and he did not raise his hands in his prayer while he was in his sitting position.

When he stood up from his prostrations (at the end of two rak'ahs), he raised his hands likewise and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) and raised his hands so as to bring them up to his shoulders, as he uttered the takbir in the beginning of the prayer.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muslim ibn Abi Maryam that AIi ibn Abd ar-Rahman al-Muawi said, "Abdullah ibn Umar saw me playing with some small pebbles in the prayer. When I finished he forbade me, saying, 'Do as the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did.' I said, 'What did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, do?' He said, 'When he sat in the prayer, he placed his right hand on his right thigh and he closed his fist and pointed his index finger, and he placed his left hand on his left thigh. That is what he used to do.' "

I asked Jabir bin `Abdullah about praying in a single garment. He said, "I traveled with the Prophet during some of his journeys, and I came to him at night for some purpose and I found him praying. At that time, I was wearing a single garment with which I covered my shoulders and prayed by his side. When he finished the prayer, he asked, 'O Jabir! What has brought you here?' I told him what I wanted. When I finished, he asked, 'O Jabir! What is this garment which I have seen and with which you covered your shoulders?' I replied, 'It is a (tight) garment.' He said, 'If the garment is large enough, wrap it round the body (covering the shoulders) and if it is tight (too short) then use it as an Izar (tie it around your waist only.)' "

We were sitting with the Prophet and he looked at the moon on the night of the full-moon and said, "You people will see your Lord as you see this full moon, and you will have no trouble in seeing Him, so if you can avoid missing (through sleep or business, etc.) a prayer before sunrise (Fajr) and a prayer before sunset (`Asr) you must do so." (See Hadith No. 529, Vol. 1)

Fatima bint Abi Hubaish asked the Prophet, "I got persistent bleeding (in between the periods) and do not become clean. Shall I give up prayers?" He replied, "No, this is from a blood vessel. Give up the prayers only for the days on which you usually get the menses and then take a bath and offer your prayers."

Allah's Apostle said, "Angels come to you in succession by night and day and all of them get together at the time of the Fajr and `Asr prayers. Those who have passed the night with you (or stayed with you) ascend (to the Heaven) and Allah asks them, though He knows everything about you, well, "In what state did you leave my slaves?" The angels reply: "When we left them they were praying and when we reached them, they were praying."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had asked Ibn Shihab about the word of Allah, the Majestic, the Mighty, "O you who accept, when the call is made for the prayer on the day of jumua, make haste to the remembrance of Allah."(Sura 62 ayat 9). Ibn Shihab said, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab used to recite, 'When the call is made for the prayer on the day of jumua, go to the remembrance of Allah.' "

Malik said, "Making haste in the Book of Allah is only deed and action. Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, says 'and when he turns away, he acts in the land' (Sura 2 ayat 205), and He, the Exalted, said, 'and as for the one who comes to you acting with fear' (Sura 80 ayat 8), and He said, 'then he turned his back, and acted' (Sura 79 ayat 22),and He said, 'Your deeds are diverse' " (Sura 92 ayat 4). Malik said, "Thus making haste which Allah mentions in His Book is not running on the feet or exertion. It only means deed and actions."

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.