The Prophet (saws) said: Kill the two black things during prayer, the snake and scorpion.

Jabir b. Samurah reported that Bilal used to call for the noon prayer when the sun had declined.

Make haste to observe the witr prayer before morning.

I attended the 'Id prayer along with the Messenger of Allah (saws). When he finished the prayer, he said: We shall deliver the sermon; he who likes to sit for listening to it may sit and he who likes to go away may go away.

Abu Dawud said: this is a mursal tradition (i.e. the successor 'Ata directly reporting from the Prophet (saws) and omitting the link of the Companions).

Yasar, the client of Ibn Umar, said: Ibn Umar saw me praying after the break of dawn. He said: O Yasar, the Messenger of Allah (saws) came to us while we were offering this prayer. He (the Prophet) said: Those who are present should inform those who are absent: Do not offer any prayer after (the break of) dawn except two rak'ahs.

the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) paid attention to the people and said three times; straighten your rows (in prayer); by Allah, you must straighten your rows, or Allah will certainly put your faces in contrary directions. I then saw that every person stood in prayer keeping his shoulder close to that of the other, and his knee close to that of the other, and his ankle close to that of the other.

Abu Hurairah led us in the Friday prayer and recited Surah al-Jumu'ah and "When the hypocrites come to you" (63) in the last rak'ah. He said: I met Abu Hurairah when he finished the prayer and said to him: You recited the two surah that 'Ali used to recite at Kufah. Abu Hurairah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) reciting them on Friday.

Abu Hurairah would utter the takbir in every prayer, whether obligatory or non-obligatory, He would utter the takbir when he stood, and he would utter the takbir when he bowed, then he would say: “Allah listens to him who praises Him”; he then would say before prostrating himself; “ Our Lord, to Thee be praise”; then he would say while falling in prostration: “Allah is most great”; he then would utter the takbir when he raised his head after prostration, and then utter the takbir when he prostrated, and then utter takbir the takbir when he stood up at the end of two rak’ahs after sitting down. He used to do so in every rak’ah until he finished his prayer. Then he would say at the end of the prayer: By Him in Whose hands lies my life, I am closer to the Messenger of Allah(may peace be upon him) in respect of his prayer. Such was the prayer he used to offer until he departed from the world.

Abu Dawud said: Malik, al-Zubaidi and others have narrated so that they form the last words from al-Zuhri on the authority of ‘Ali b, Husain. And this is supported by the version reported by ‘Abd al-A’la from Ma’mar and SHu’aib b. Abi Hamzah on the authority of Al-Zuhri.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) returned from the Battle of Khaibar, he travelled during the night. When we felt sleep, he halted for rest. Addressing Bilal he said: Keep vigilance at night for us. But Bilal who was leaning against the saddle of his mount was dominated by sleep. Neither the Prophet (saws) nor Bilal nor any of his Companions could get up till the sunshine struck them. The Messenger of Allah (saws) got up first of all. The Messenger of Allah (saws) was embarrassed and said: O Bilal ! He replied: He who detained your soul, detained my soul, Messenger of Allah, my parents be sacrificed for you. Then they drove their mounts to a little distance. The Prophet (saws) perfumed ablution and commanded Bilal who made announcement for the prayer. He (the Prophet) led them in the Fajr prayer. When he finished prayer, he said: If anyone forget saying prayer, he should observe it when he recalls it, for Allah has said (in the Qur'an): "Establish prayer for my remembrance". Yunus said: Ibn Shihab used to recite this verse in a similar way (i.e. instead of reciting the word li-dhikri - for the sake of My remembrance - he would recite li-dhikra - when you remember). Ahmad (one of the narrator) said: 'Anbasah (a reporter) reported on the authority of Yunus the word li-dhikri (for the sake of my remembrance). Ahmad said: The word nu'as (occurring in this tradition) means "drowsiness".

Ilyas ibn AbuRamlah ash-Shami said: I witnessed Mu'awiyah ibn AbuSufyan asking Zayd ibn Arqam: Did you offer along with the Messenger of Allah (saws) the Friday and 'Id prayers synchronised on the same day? He said: Yes. He asked: How did he do? He replied: He offered the 'Id prayer, then granted concession to offer the Friday prayer, and said: If anyone wants to offer it, he may offer.

The Prophet (saws) said: The best of you are those whose shoulders are soft in prayer.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) began his prayer, he raised his hands extensively.

The Prophet (saws) said: Prayer by night and day should consist of pairs of rak'ahs.

Between a servant and unbelief there is the abandonment of prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to offer the Friday prayer when the sun declined.

Anas said that the Prophet (saws) appointed Ibn Umm Maktum as substitute to lead the people in prayer, and he was blind.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) taught me and what he taught me is this: Observe the five prayers regularly. He said: I told (him): I have many works at these times; so give me a comprehensive advice which, if I follow, should be enough for me. He said: Observe the two afternoon prayers (al-asrayn). But the term al-asrayn (two afternoon prayers) was not used in our language. Hence I said: What is al-asrayn? He said: A prayer before the sunrise and a prayer before the sunset (i.e. the dawn and the afternoon prayers).

We fasted with the Messenger of Allah (saws) during Ramadan, but he did not make us get up at night for prayer at any time during the month till seven nights remained; then he made us get up for prayer till a third of the night had passed. When the sixth remaining night came, he did not make us get up for prayer. When the fifth remaining night came, he made us stand in prayer till a half of the night had gone.

So I said: Messenger of Allah, I wish you had led us in supererogatory prayers during the whole of tonight.

He said: When a man prays with an imam till he goes he is reckoned as having spent a whole night in prayer. On the fourth remaining night he did not make us get up. When the third remaining night came, he gathered his family, his wives, and the people and prayed with us till we were afraid we should miss the falah (success).

I said: What is falah? He said: The meal before daybreak. Then he did not make us get up for prayer during the remainder of the month.

We proceeded with the Messenger of Allah (saws) on the occasion of al-Hudaybiyyah. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Who will keep watch for us? Bilal said: I (shall do). The overslept till the sun arose. The Prophet (saws) awoke and said: Do as you used to do (i.e. offer prayer as usual). Then we did accordingly. He said: Anyone who oversleeps or forgets (prayer) should do similarly.

Al-Aswad ibn Yazid said that he entered upon Aisha and asked her about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (saws) during the night. She said: He used to pray thirteen rak'ahs during the night. Then he began to pray eleven rak'ahs and left two rak'ahs. When he died, he would pray nine rak'ahs during the night. His last prayer during the night was witr.

He (the Prophet) said: She should abandon prayer and take a bath at the beginning of the additional period, and tie a cloth over her private parts and offer prayer.

Abu Dawud said; Hammad b. Zaid on the authority of Ayyub has pointed out the name of the woman who had a prolonged flow of blood (referred to) in this tradition to be Fatimah daughter of Abu Hubaish.

Ibn ‘Abbas said to his mu’adhdhin on a rainy day: “when you utter the words ‘ I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,” do not say,” Come to prayer” but say “Pray at your homes,” By this (announcement) the people were surprised. He said: One who was better than me has done it. The Friday prayer is an obligatory duty. But I disliked to put you to hardship so that you might walk in mud and rain.

The martyrs of Uhud were not washed, and they were buried with their blood. No prayer was offered over them.

The Prophet (saws) read the Qur'anic verse, "And take ye the Station of Abraham as a place of prayer.

The Prophet (saws) used to pray thirteen rak'ahs during the night including the two rak'ahs of the dawn prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) took (the meat of) a (goat's) shoulder and offered prayer and did not perform ablution.

The end of the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was known by the takbir (pronounced aloud).

The Messenger of Allah (saws) offered the prayer in his apartment and people were following him behind apartment.

Salim al-Barrad said: We came to AbuMas'ud Uqbah ibn Amr al-Ansari and said to him: Tell us about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

He stood up before us in the mosque and said the takbir. When he bowed, he placed his hands upon his knees and put his fingers below, and kept his elbows (arms) away from his sides, so everything returned properly to its place. Then he said: "Allah listens to him who praises Him"; then he stood up so that everything returned properly to its place; then he said the takbir and prostrated and put the palms of his hands on the ground; he kept his elbow (arms) away from his sides, so that everything returned to its proper place. Then he raised his head and sat so that everything returned to its place; he then repeated it in a similar way. Then he offered four rak'ahs of prayer like this rak'ah and completed his prayer.

Then he said: Thus we witnessed the Messenger of Allah (saws) offering his prayer.

The Prophet (saws) led (us) in the noon prayer, and a man came and recited behind him "Glorify the name of thy Lord, the Most High" (Surah 87). When he finished (the prayer), he said: Which of you recited? They (the people) said: A man (recited). He said: I knew that some one of you confused me in it (in the recitation of the Qur'an).

Abu Dawud said: Abu al-Walid said in his version: Shu'bah said: I asked Qatadah: Did Sa'id not say: Listen attentively to the Qur'an? He replied: (Yes), but that applies to prayer in which it (the Qur'an) is recited aloud. Ibn Kathir said in his version: I said to Qatadah: Perhaps he (the Prophet) disliked it (recitation). He said: If he had disliked it, he would have prohibited it.

I came to the prophet (may peace be upon him) at Mecca; he was sitting in a tent made of leather. Then Bilal came out and called to prayer. I looked at his mouth following him this side and that side (i.e., right and left). Later at his Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came out clad in a red suit, i.e, wearing the sheets of the Yemen, of the Qatri design. The version narrated by Musa has the word; “I saw Bilal going towards al-Abtah”.

He then made a call to prayer. When he reached the words “ come to prayer, come to salvation”. He turned his neck right and left, respectively; he did not turn himself (with his whole body). He then entered (his house) and came out with a lancet. The narrator then reported the rest of the tradition.

Persevere in observing these five times of prayer where the announcement for them is made, because they are from the paths of right guidance. And Allah, the Might, the Majestic, has laid down for his prophet (may peace be upon him) the paths of right guidance. I have seen the time when no one stayed away from prayer except a hypocrite whose hypocrite was well known. I witnessed the time when a man would be brought swaying between two men till he was set up in the row (of the prayer). Every one of us has a mosque of his in his house. If you were to pray in your houses and stay from your mosques. You would abandon the Sunnah (practice) of your prophet, and if you were Abandon the Sunnah (Practice) of your Prophet, you would become an unbeliever.

On the authority of a person who offered the prayer in time of danger along with the Messenger of Allah (saws) at the battle of Dhat al-Riqa. One section of people stood in the row of prayer along with the Messenger of Allah (saws) and the other section remained standing in front of the enemy. He led those who were with him in one rak'ah and remained standing (in his place) and they completed (the second rak'ah) by themselves. Then they turned away and arrayed before the enemy. Thereafter the other section came and he led them in the rak'ah which remained from his prayer. He then remained sitting (in his place) and they completed their one rak'ah by themselves. He then uttered the salutation along with them.

Malik said: I like the tradition reported by Yazid b. Ruman (i.e. the present tradition) more than (other versions) I heard.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) lagged behind (in a journey). He then narrated this story saying : Then we came to people. ‘Abd al-Rahman was leading them in the dawn prayer. When he perceived the presence of the Prophet (saws), he intended to retire. The Prophet (saws) asked him to continue and I and the Prophet (saws)offered one rak’ah of prayer behind him. When he had pronounced the salutation, the Prophet(saws) got up and offered the rak’ah which had been finished before, and he made no addition to it.

Abu Dawud said: Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, Ibn al-Zubair and Ibn ‘Umar hold the opinion that whoever gets an odd number of the rak’ahs of prayer, he should perform two prostrations on account of forgetfulness.

Umm Habibah had a prolonged flow of blood during the time of Messenger of Allah (saws). He commanded her to take bath for every prayer. The narrator then transmitted the tradition (in full).

Abu Dawud said: It has also been narrated by Abu al-Walid al-Tayalisi, but I did not hear him. He reported it from 'Aishah through a different chain of narrators. 'Aishah said: Zainab daughter of Jahsh had a prolonged flow of blood. The Prophet (saws) said to her: Take bath for every prayer. The narrator then reported the tradition (in full).

Abu Dawud said: The version transmitted by 'Abd al-Samad from Sulaiman b. Kathir has: "Perform ablution for every prayer." This is a misunderstanding on the part of 'Abd al-Samad. The correct version is the one narrated by Abu al-Walid.

The words of adhan were pronounced from the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws) twice in pairs (i.e. four times) each, and the words of iqamah were pronounced once in pairs (twice each), except that the phrase "The time for prayer has come" would be pronounced twice. When we heard iqamah, we would perform ablution, and go out for prayer. Shu'bah said: I did not hear AbuJa'far narrating any other tradition except this one.

We came to the Prophet (saws), and a man came and said: Prophet of Allah, what do you say if one prays in a single garment? The Messenger of Allah (saws) then took off his wrapper and combined it with his sheet, and put it on them. He got up and the Prophet of Allah (saws) led us in prayer. When he finished the prayer, he said: Does every one of you have two garments?

AbusSahba' said: We discussed the things that cut off the prayer according to Ibn Abbas. He said: I and a boy from Banu AbdulMuttalib came riding a donkey, and the Messenger of Allah (saws) was leading the people in prayer. He dismounted and I also dismounted. I left the donkey in front of the row (of the worshippers). He (the Prophet) did not pay attention to that. Then two girls from Banu AbdulMuttalib came and joined the row in the middle, but he paid no attention to that.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) began his prayer, he said: "Glory be to Thee, O Allah," and "Praise be to Thee" and "Blessed is Thy name, and Exalted is Thy greatness, sand there is no god but Allah."

Abu Dawud said: This tradition is not well known from 'Abd al-Salam b. Harb. No one narrated this except Talq b. Ghannam. A group of narrators reported the description of prayer from (the narrator) Budail; they did not mention therein this supplication.

Alqamah said that Abdullah ibn Mas'ud caught hold of his hand saying that the Messenger of Allah (saws) caught hold of his (Ibn Mas'ud's) hand and taught him the tashahhud during prayer.

He then narrated the (well known ) tradition (of tashahhud). This version adds: When you say this or finish this, then you have completed your prayer. If you want to stand up, then stand, and if you want to remain sitting, then remain sitting.

The Prophet (saws) stood on the day of the breaking of the fast ('Id) and offered prayer. He began the prayer before the sermon. He then addressed the people. When the Prophet (saws) finished the sermon, he descended (from the pulpit) and went to women. He gave them an exhortation while he was leaning on the hand of Bilal. Bilal was spreading his garment in which women were putting alms; some women put their rings and others other things.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) prayed on the day of the Conquest (of Mecca) eight rak'ahs saluting after every two rak'ahs.

Abu Dawud said: Ahmad b. Salih said that the Messenger of Allah offered prayer in the forenoon on the day of the Conquest of Mecca, and he narrated something similar. Ibn al-Sarh reported that Umm Hani said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) entered upon me. This version does not mention the prayer in the forenoon.

I and my father went to the house of my father-in-law from the Ansar to pay a sick visit to him. The time of prayer came. He said to someone of his relatives: O girl! bring me water for ablution so that I pray and get comfort. We objected to him for it. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: Get up, Bilal, and give us comfort by the prayer.

We came down from the mountain pass of Adhaakhir in the company of the Messenger of Allah (saws). The time of prayer came and he prayed facing a direction of prayer, and we were (standing) behind him. Then a kid came and passed in front of him. He kept on stopping it until he brought his stomach near the wall (to detain it), and at last it passed behind him, or as Musaddad said.

Ibn 'Umar was asked about praying two rak'ahs before the Maghrib prayer. He replied: I did not see anyone praying them during the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws). He (Ibn Umar) permitted to pray two rak'ahs after the Asr prayer.

Abu Dawud said: I heard Yahya b. Ma'in say: The correct name of the narrator Abu Shu'aib is the Shu'aib. Shu'bah made a mistake in narrating his name.

He used to lead the people in the 'Isha prayer and return to his family and pray four rak'ahs and go to his bed. The narrator then transmitted the tradition in full. This version does not mention the words: "During them (the rak'ahs) he equated all the recitation of the Qur'an, bowing and recitation." This also does not mention the words about the salutation: "Till he almost awakened us."

When you get up to pray, say the takbir, exalting Allah; then recite the Qur’an as much as it is convenient for you. The version adds: When you sit in the middle of the prayer, do it completely(so that you are at rest) and spread your left thigh; then recite the tashahhud. Then if you get up (again), do in a similar way until you finish your prayer.

Abu Hurairah said; The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) got up for the prayer and we also stood up along with him. A Bedouin said said during prayer; O Allah, show mercy to me and to Muhammed and do not show mercy to anyone along with us. When the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) uttered the salutation, he said to the Bedouin; you narrowed down a vast (thing). By this he meant the mercy of Allah.

We waited for the Prophet (saws) to offer the night prayer. He delayed until people thought that he would not come out and some of us said that he had offered the prayer. At the moment when we were in this condition the Prophet (saws) came out. People said to him as they were already saying. He said: Observe this prayer when it is dark, for by it you have been made superior to all the peoples, no people having observed it before you.

The mu'adhdhin of Ibn Umar said: prayer (i.e. the time of prayer has come). He said: Go ahead. He then alighted before the disappearance. He then offered the night prayer. He then said: When the Messenger of Allah (saws) was in a hurry about something, he would do as I did. Then he travelled and covered a distance of three days' journey on the day.

Abu Dawud said: A similar tradition has been transmitted by Ibn Jabir from Nafi' with the same chain.