A maternal uncle of mine called AbuBurdah sacrificed before the prayer (for 'Id). The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Your goat is meant for flesh. He said: Messenger of Allah, I have a domestic kid with me. He said: Sacrifice it, but it is not valid for any man other than you.

Abu Dawud said: His grandfathers were Zaid and Ziyad.

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.

"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!")

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).

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."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When the heat is fierce, wait until it gets cooler before you do the prayer, for scorching heat is from the blast of Jahannam."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that A'isha, umm al-muminin said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray thirteen rakas in the night and then would pray two rakas when he heard the adhan for the subh prayer."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that a man used to lead the people in prayer in al-Aqiq (a place near Madina), and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz sent a message to him forbidding him to do so.

Malik said, "He only forbade him because his father was not known."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar that Sahl ibn Sad said, "People used to be ordered to place their right hands on their left forearms in the prayer."

Abu Hazim added, "I know for sure that Sahl traces that back to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace."

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."

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."

They (the Companions of the Prophet) wiped with pure earth (their hands and face) to offer the dawn prayer in the company of the Messenger of Allah (saws). They struck the ground with their palms and wiped their faces once. Then they repeated and struck the ground with their palms once again and wiped their arms completely up to the shoulders and up to the armpits with the inner side of their hands.

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.

The Prophet (saws) said: There are three types of people whose prayer is not accepted by Allah: One who goes in front of people when they do not like him; a man who comes dibaran, which means that he comes to it too late; and a man who takes into slavery an emancipated male or female slave.

The Prophet (saws) said: Allah does not accept the prayer of a woman who has reached puberty unless she wears a veil.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by Sa;id b. Abi 'Arubah from Qatadah on the authority of al-Hasan from the Prophet (saws).

I used to sleep lying between the Messenger of Allah (saws) and the qiblah. The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to pray when I (was lying) in front of him. When he wanted to offer the witr prayer - added by the narrator Uthman - he pinched me - then the narrators are agreed - and said: Set aside.

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone omits the Friday prayer without excuse, he must give a dinar in alms, or if he does not have as much, then half a dinar.

Abu Dawud said: Khalid b. Qais reported this tradition in this manner, but he disagreed in respect of chain (of transmitters) and agreed in respect of the text.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) came out on 'Id (the festival day). He first offered the prayer and then delivered the sermon . He then went to women, taking Bilal with him. The narrator Ibn Kathir said: The probable opinion of Shu'bah is that he commanded them to give alms. So they began to put (their jewellery).

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.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father said, "The following ayat was sent down about dua - 'And do not be loud in your prayer and do not be silent in it, but seek a way between these.' " (Sura 17 ayat 110)

Yahya said that Malik was asked about making dua in obligatory prayers and he said, "There is no harm in making dua in them."

Hamnah said my menstruation was great in quantity and severe. So I came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) for a decision and told him. I found him in the house of my sister, Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh.

I said: Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who menstruates in great quantity and it is severe, so what do you think about it? It has prevented me from praying and fasting.

He said: I suggest that you should use cotton, for it absorbs the blood. She replied: It is too copious for that. He said: Then take a cloth. She replied: It is too copious for that, for my blood keeps flowing. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: I shall give you two commands; whichever of them you follow, that will be sufficient for you without the other, but you know best whether you are strong enough to follow both of them.

He added: This is a stroke of the Devil, so observe your menses for six or seven days, Allah alone knows which it should be; then wash. And when you see that you are purified and quite clean, pray during twenty-three or twenty-four days and nights and fast, for that will be enough for you, and do so every month, just as women menstruate and are purified at the time of their menstruation and their purification.

But if you are strong enough to delay the noon (Zuhr) prayer and advance the afternoon ('Asr) prayer, to wash, and then combine the noon and the afternoon prayer; to delay the sunset prayer and advance the night prayer, to wash, and then combine the two prayers, do so: and to wash at dawn, do so: and fast if you are able to do so if possible.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Of the two commands this is more to my liking.¹

Abu Dawud said: 'Amr b. Thabit narrated from Ibn 'Aqil: Hamnah said: Of the two commands this is the one which is more to my liking.² In this version these words were not quoted as the statement of the Prophet (saws); it gives it as a statement of Hamnah.

Abu Dawud said: 'Amr b. Thabit was a Rafidi. This has been said by Yahya b. Ma'in.

Abu Dawud said: I heard Ahmad (b. Hanbal) say: I am doubtful about the tradition transmitted by Ibn 'Aqil.

Ibn `Umar said, "While the Prophet was on the pulpit, a man asked him how to offer the night prayers. He replied, 'Pray two rak`at at a time and then two and then two and so on, and if you are afraid of the dawn (the approach of the time of the Fajr prayer) pray one rak`a and that will be the witr for all the rak`at which you have offered." Ibn `Umar said, "The last rak`at of the night prayer should be odd, for the Prophet ordered it to be so.

Allah's Apostle entered the mosque and a person followed him. The man prayed and went to the Prophet and greeted him. The Prophet returned the greeting and said to him, "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed." The man went back prayed in the same way as before, returned and greeted the Prophet who said, "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed." This happened thrice. The man said, "By Him Who sent you with the Truth, I cannot offer the prayer in a better way than this. Please, teach me how to pray." The Prophet said, "When you stand for Prayer say Takbir and then recite from the Holy Qur'an (of what you know by heart) and then bow till you feel at ease. Then raise your head and stand up straight, then prostrate till you feel at ease during your prostration, then sit with calmness till you feel at ease (do not hurry) and do the same in all your prayers.

When `Abdullah bin Ubdi (bin Salul) died, his son came to Allah's Apostle and said ' O Allah's Apostle, give me your shirt so that I may shroud my fathers body in it. And please offer a funeral prayer for him and invoke Allah for his forgiveness." The Prophet gave him his shirt and said to him 'Inform us when you finish (and the funeral procession is ready) call us. When he had finished he told the Prophet and the Prophet proceeded to order his funeral prayers but `Umar stopped him and said, "Didn't Allah forbid you to offer the funeral prayer for the hypocrites when He said: "Whether you (O Muhammad) ask forgiveness for them or ask not forgiveness for them: (and even) if you ask forgiveness for them seventy times. Allah will not forgive them." (9.80) Then there was revealed: "And never (O Muhammad) pray for any of them that dies, nor stand at his grave." (9.34) Thenceforth the Prophet did not offer funeral prayers for the hypocrites.