5. Establishing the Prayer and the Sunnah Regarding Them

It was narrated that Qatadah said; “I asked Anas bin Malik about the recitation of the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said:

‘He used to elongate his voice.’”

It was narrated that Ghudaif bin Harith said:

“I came to ‘Aishah and asked: ‘Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recite Qur’an loudly or softly?’ She said: ‘Sometimes he would recite loud and sometimes softly.’ I said, ‘Allahu Akbar! Praise is to Allah Who has made this matter one of broad scope.’”

It was narrated that Ibn `Abbas said:

“When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed Tahajjud at night, he would say: “Allahumma lakal-hamd, Anta nurus-samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Wa lakal-hamd, Anta qayyamus-samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Wa lakal-hamd, Anta malikus- samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Wa lakal-hamd, Antal-haqq, wa wa`duk…

It was narrated that ‘Asim bin Humaid said:

“I asked ‘Aishah: ‘With what did the Prophet (ﷺ) start voluntary prayers?’ She said: ‘You have asked me about something which no one has asked before. He used to say Allahu Akbar ten times, and Al-Hamdu Lillah ten times and Subhan Allah ten times, and he would say Allahumma aghfirli wahdini, warzuqn…

It was narrated that Abu Salamah bin `Abdur-Rahman said:

“I asked `Aishah: ‘With what did the Prophet (ﷺ) start his voluntary prayers?’ She said: ‘He would say: “Allahumma Rabba Jibra’il wa Mika’il wa Israfil, Fatiras-samawati wal-ard, `alimal-ghaybi wash- shahadah, Anta tahkumu baina `ibadika fima kanu fihi yakhtalifun, ihdini lima-khtulifa fihi minal-ha…

It was narrated that ‘Aishah said, and this is the Hadith of Abu Bakr. “During the period after he finished the ‘Isha’ prayer until the Fajr, the Prophet (ﷺ) used to pray eleven Rak’ah, saying the Salam after each two Rak’ah and praying Witr with one Rak’ah. He would prostrate for as long as it take…

It was narrated that ‘Aishah said:

“The Prophet (ﷺ) used to pray thirteen Rak’ah at night.”

It was narrated from ‘Aishah that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to pray nine Rak’ah at night.

It was narrated that ‘Amir Ash-Sha’bi said:

“I asked ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas and ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar about the Prophet’s prayer at night. They said: ‘(He prayed) thirteen Rak’ah, including eight, and three for Witr, and two Rak’ah after the Fajr.’”

It was narrated that Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhani said:

“I said, I must observe how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prays tonight. So I lay down at his door. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) got up and prayed two brief Rak’ah, then two long ones, which were very, very long, then two Rak’ah which were shorter than the ones preceding them, then two Rak’ah which were …

It was narrated from Kuraib, the freed slave of Ibn ‘Abbas, that Ibn ‘Abbas told him that he slept at the house of Maimunah, the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ), who was his maternal aunt. He said:

“I lay down across the pillow and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and his wife were laying along it. The Prophet (ﷺ) slept until midnight, or a little before, or a little after. The Prophet (ﷺ) woke up and began to rub the sleep from his face with his hand. Then he recited the last ten Verses of Surah Al…

It was narrated that ‘Amr bin ‘Abasah said:

“I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, who became a Muslim with you?’ He said: ‘A free man and a slave.’ I said: ‘Is there any hour of the night that is closer to Allah than another?’ He said: ‘Yes, the last half of the night.’”

It was narrated that ‘Aishah said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to sleep during the first part of the night and stay awake during the latter part.”

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

“Our Lord, the Blessed and Exalted, descends when one third of the night remains, every night and He says: ‘Who will ask of Me, that I may give him? Who will call upon Me, that I may answer him? Who will ask My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’ until dawn comes.” Hence they used to prefer volunt…

It was narrated that Rifa’ah Al-Juhani said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Allah provides respite until, when half or two thirds of the night had passed, He says: “My slave does not ask of anyone other than Me. Whoever calls upon Me, I will answer him; whoever asks of Me, I will give him; whoever asks My forgiveness, I will forgive him,” …

It was narrated that Abu Mas`ud said:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Whoever recites the last two Verses of Surat Al-Baqarah at night, that will be sufficient for him.” In his narration (one of the narrators) Hafs said: “`Abdur-Rahman said: ‘I met Abu Mas`ud when he was performing Tawaf, and he narrated this to me.’”

It was narrated from Abu Mas’ud that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

“Whoever recites the last two Verses of Surat Al-Baqarah at night, that will be sufficient for him.”

It was narrated that ‘Aishah said:

“The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘If anyone of you becomes drowsy, let him sleep until he feels refreshed, for he does not know, if he prays when he feels drowsy, he may want to say words seeking forgiveness but (instead) he ends up cursing himself.’”

It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered the mosque and saw a rope tied between two pillars. He said, “What is this rope?” They said:

“It belongs to Zainab. She prays here and when she gets tired she holds on to it.” He said: “Untie it, untie it; let any one of you pray when he has energy, if he gets tired let him sit down.”

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“When anyone of you gets up to pray at night, and his tongue stumbles over the words of the Qur’an, and he does not know what he is saying, let him lie down.”

It was narrated that ‘Aishah said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Whoever prays twenty Rak’ah between Maghrib and ‘Isha’, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.’”

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Whoever prays six Rak’ah after the Maghrib and does not speak evil between them, they will be made equivalent to twelve years’ worship.’”

It was narrated that ‘Asim bin ‘Amr said:

“A group from the people of ‘Iraq came to ‘Umar and when they came to him, he said to them: ‘Where are you from?’ They said: ‘From the inhabitants of ‘Iraq.’ He said: ‘Have you come with permission?’ They said: ‘Yes.’ Then they asked him about a man’s prayer in his house. ‘Umar said: ‘I asked the Me…

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“When anyone of you has finished his prayer, let him give his house a share of that, for Allah will put something good in his house because of that prayer.”

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Do not make your houses into graves.’”

‘Abdullah bin Sa’d said:

“I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): ‘Which is better prayer in my house or prayer in the mosque?’ He said: ‘Do you not see how close my house is to the mosque?’ But praying in my house is dearer to me than praying in the mosque, apart from the prescribed prayers.’”

It was narrated that ‘Abdullah bin Harith said:

“During the caliphate of ‘Uthman, when the people were present in large numbers, I asked about Duha prayer, and I could not find anyone who could tell me that he, meaning the Prophet (ﷺ), had prayed it, apart from Umm Hani’. She told me that he had prayed it with eight Rak’ah.”

It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said:

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘Whoever prays Duha with twelve Rak’ah, Allah will build for him a palace of gold in Paradise.’”

Mu’adhah Al-‘Adawiyyah said:

“I asked ‘Aishah: ‘Did the Prophet (ﷺ) pray Duha?’ She said: ‘Yes; four (Rak’ah) and he would add whatever Allah willed.’”

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Whoever regularly prays two Rak’ah of Duha, his sins will be forgiven even if they are like the foam of the sea.’”

It was narrated that Jabir bin ‘Abdullah said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to teach us Istikharah, just as he used to teach us a Surah of the Qur’an. He said: ‘If anyone of you is deliberating about a decision he has to make, then let him pray two Rak’ah of non- obligatory prayer, then say: Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi ‘ilmika wa astaqdiru…

It was narrated that ‘Abdullah bin Abi Awfa Al-Aslami said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out to us and said: ‘Whoever has some need from Allah or from any of His creation, let him perform ablution and pray two Rak’ah, then let him say: La ilaha illallahul-Halimul- Karim. Subhan-Allahi Rabbil-‘arshil-‘azim. Al-hamdu Lillahi Rabbil-‘Alamin. Allahumma inni …

It was narrated from ‘Uthman bin Hunaif that a blind man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said:

“Pray to Allah to heal me.” He said: “If you wish to store your reward for the Hereafter, that is better, or if you wish, I will supplicate for you.” He said: “Supplicate.” So he told him to perform ablution and do it well, and to pray two Rak’ah, and to say this supplication: “Allahumma inni as’alu…

It was narrated that Abu Rafi’ said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to ‘Abbas: ‘O uncle, shall I not give you a gift, shall I not benefit you, shall I not uphold my ties of kinship with you?’ He said: ‘Of course, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said: ‘Pray four Rak’ah, and recite in each Rak’ah the Opening of the Book (Al-Fatihah) and a Su…

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to ‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib: ‘O ‘Abbas, O my uncle, shall I not give you a gift, shall I not give you something, shall I not tell you of something which, if you do it, will expiate for ten types of sins? If you do them, Allah will forgive you your sins, the first a…

It was narrated that ‘Ali bin Abu Talib said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘When it is the night of the middle of Sha’ban, spend its night in prayer and observe a fast on that day. For Allah descends at sunset on that night to the lowest heaven and says: ‘Is there no one who will ask Me for forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Is there no …

It was narrated that ‘Aishah said:

“I missed the Prophet (ﷺ) one night, so I went out looking for him. I found him at Al-Baqi’, raising his head towards the sky. He said: ‘O ‘Aishah, were you afraid that Allah and His Messenger would wrong you?’” She said: “I said: ‘No, it is not that, but I thought that you had gone to one of your o…

It was narrated from Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

“Allah looks down on the night of the middle of Sha’ban and forgives all His creation, apart from the idolater and the Mushahin.” Another chain from Abu Musa, from the Prophet (ﷺ) with similar wording.

It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin Abu Awfa that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed two Rak’ah on the day when he was given the glad tidings of the head (death) of Abu Jahl.

It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that the Prophet (ﷺ) was given glad tidings that a need of his had been met, and he fell down prostrate.

It was narrated from ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Ka’b bin Malik that his father said that when Allah accepted his repentance, he fell down prostrate.

It was narrated from Abu Bakrah that when the Prophet (ﷺ) heard news that made him happy, or for which one should be happy, he would fall down prostrate in gratitude to Allah, the Blessed and Exalted.

It was narrated that ‘Ali bin Abu Talib said:

“If I heard a Hadith from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), Allah benefitted me with it as much as He willed, and if I heard it from anyone else, I would ask him to swear me an oath, then if he swore an oath I would believe him. Abu Bakr told me and Abu Bakr spoke the truth that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)…

It was narrated from ‘Asim bin Sufyan Thaqafi that they went on the campaign of Salasil, but no battle took place; they only took up their positions. Then they came back to Mu’awiyah, and Abu Ayyub and ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amir were with him. ‘Asim said:

“O Abu Ayyub, we have missed out on Jihad this year, and we were told that whoever prays in the four mosques will be forgiven his sins.” He said: “O son of my brother, shall I not tell you of something easier than that? I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘Whoever performs ablution as he has bee…

‘Uthman said:

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘Do you think that if there was a river in the courtyard of anyone of you, and he bathed in it five times each day, would there be any dirt left on him?’ They said: ‘(There would be) nothing.’ He said: ‘Prayer takes away sins like water takes away dirt.’”

It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud that a man did something with a woman that was less than adultery; I do not know how far it went, but it was less than adultery. He went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and told him about that. Then Allah revealed the words:

“And perform the prayer, at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night. Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds. That is a reminder for the mindful.” He said: “O Messenger of Allah, is this only for me?” He said: “It is for everyone who acts upon it.”

It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Allah enjoined fifty prayers upon my nation, and I came back with that until I came to Musa. Musa said: ‘What has your Lord enjoined upon your nation?’ I said: ‘He has enjoined fifty prayers on me.’ He said: ‘Go back to your Lord, for your nation will not be able t…

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said:

“Your Prophet (ﷺ) was enjoined to do fifty prayers but he returned to your Lord to make (i.e., reduce) them to five prayers.”

It was narrated that ‘Ubadah bin Samit said:

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘Five prayers that Allah has enjoined upon His slaves, so whoever does them, and does not omit anything out of negligence, on the Day of Resurrection Allah will make a covenant with him that He will admit him to Paradise. But whoever does them but omits somet…

It was narrated from Sharik bin ‘Abdullah bin Abu Namir that he heard Anas bin Malik say:

“While we were sitting in the mosque, a man entered riding a camel; he made it kneel in the mosque, then he hobbled it and said to them: ‘Which of you is Muhammad?’ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was reclining among them, so they said: ‘This fair- skinned man who is reclining.’ The man said to him: ‘O s…