We were with the Prophet on a full moon night. He looked at the moon and said, "You will certainly see your Lord as you see this moon, and there will be no trouble in seeing Him. So if you can avoid missing (through sleep, business, etc.) a prayer before the rising of the sun (Fajr) and before its setting (`Asr) you must do so. He (the Prophet ) then recited the following verse: And celebrate the praises Of Your Lord before The rising of the sun And before (its) setting." (50.39)

I asked Ibn `Umar, "What is your opinion about the two rak`at before the Fajr (compulsory) prayer, as to prolonging the recitation in them?" He said, "The Prophet used to pray at night two rak`at followed by two and so on, and end the prayer by one rak`ah witr. He used to offer two rak`at before the Fajr prayer immediately after the Adhan." (Hammad, the sub-narrator said, "That meant (that he prayed) quickly.)"

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)

The Prophet (saws) said: Allah is single (witr) and loves what is single, so observe the witr, you who follow the Qur'an.

When the Prophet came to Medina, he stayed first with his grandfathers or maternal uncles from Ansar. He offered his prayers facing Baitul-Maqdis (Jerusalem) for sixteen or seventeen months, but he wished that he could pray facing the Ka'ba (at Mecca). The first prayer which he offered facing the Ka'ba was the 'Asr prayer in the company of some people. Then one of those who had offered that prayer with him came out and passed by some people in a mosque who were bowing during their prayers (facing Jerusalem). He said addressing them, "By Allah, I testify that I have prayed with Allah's Apostle facing Mecca (Ka'ba).' Hearing that, those people changed their direction towards the Ka'ba immediately. Jews and the people of the scriptures used to be pleased to see the Prophet facing Jerusalem in prayers but when he changed his direction towards the Ka'ba, during the prayers, they disapproved of it.

Al-Bara' added, "Before we changed our direction towards the Ka'ba (Mecca) in prayers, some Muslims had died or had been killed and we did not know what to say about them (regarding their prayers.) Allah then revealed: And Allah would never make your faith (prayers) to be lost (i.e. the prayers of those Muslims were valid).' " (2:143).

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Abbas and Ubada ibn as-Samit and al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Abdullah ibn Amir ibn Rabia had all prayed witr after the break of dawn.

Ibn 'Umar reported that Hafsa, the Mother of the Believers, informed him that when the Mu'adhdhin became silent after calling (people) to the dawn prayer, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) commenced the dawn (prayer) when it dawned by observing two short rak'ahs before the commencement of the (Fard) prayer.

While I was with the Prophet , some people from Bani Tamim came to him. The Prophet said, "O Bani Tamim! Accept the good news!" They said, "You have given us the good news; now give us (something)." (After a while) some Yemenites entered, and he said to them, "O the people of Yemen! Accept the good news, as Bani Tamim have refused it. " They said, "We accept it, for we have come to you to learn the Religion. So we ask you what the beginning of this universe was." The Prophet said "There was Allah and nothing else before Him and His Throne was over the water, and He then created the Heavens and the Earth and wrote everything in the Book." Then a man came to me and said, 'O `Imran! Follow your she-camel for it has run away!" So I set out seeking it, and behold, it was beyond the mirage! By Allah, I wished that it (my she-camel) had gone but that I had not left (the gathering). "

The Prophet went towards the Musalla and invoked Allah for rain. He faced the Qibla and wore his cloak inside out, and offered two rak`at.

"When the Mu'adh-dhin pronounced the Adhan, some of the companions of the Prophet would proceed to the pillars of the mosque (for the prayer) till the Prophet arrived and in this way they used to pray two rak`at before the Maghrib prayer. There used to be a little time between the Adhan and the Iqama." Shu`ba said, "There used to be a very short interval between the two (Adhan and Iqama).

While the Prophet was offering the `Isha' prayer, he said, "Allah hears him who sends his praises to Him," and then said before falling in prostration, "O Allah, save `Aiyash bin Rabi`a. O Allah, save Salama bin Hisham. O Allah, save Al-Walid bin Al-Wahd. O Allah, save the weak ones among the believers. O Allah, let Your punishment be severe on the tribe of Mudar. O Allah, inflict upon them years (of famine) like the years of Joseph."

While the Prophet was delivering a sermon on the Day of Nahr (i.e., 10th Dhul-Hijja-Day of slaughtering the sacrifice), a man got up saying, "I thought, O Allah's Apostle, such-and-such a thing was to be done before such-and-such a thing." Another man got up, saying, "O Allah's Apostle! As regards these three (acts of Hajj), thought so-and-so." The Prophet said, "Do, and there is no harm," concerning all those matters on that day. And so, on that day, whatever question he was asked, he said, "Do it, do it, and there is no harm therein."

I heard the Prophet describing the period of pause of the Divine Inspiration. He said in his talk, "While I was walking, I heard voices from the sky. I looked up, and behold ! I saw the same Angel who came to me in the cave of Hira' sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I was too much afraid of him (so I returned to my house) and said, 'Fold me up in garments!' They wrapped me up. Then Allah revealed: 'O you wrapped...and desert the idols before the prayer became compulsory.' Rujz means idols.