5. Establishing the Prayer and the Sunnah Regarding Them

‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Ali bin Shaiban narrated that his father, ‘Ali bin Shaiban, who was part of the delegation, said:

“We set out until we came to the Prophet (ﷺ). We gave him our oath of allegiance and performed prayer behind him. Then we offered another prayer behind him. He finished the prayer and saw a man on his own, praying behind the row.” He said: “The Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) stood beside him and when he finis…

It was narrated that Hilal bin Yasaf said:

“Ziyad bin Abu-Ja’d took me by the hand and made me stand near an old man at Raqqah, whose name was Wabisah bin Ma’bad. He said: ‘A man performed prayer behind the row on his own, and the Prophet (ﷺ) commanded him to repeat the prayer.’”

It was narrated that ‘Aishah said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Allah and His angels send blessings upon the right side of the rows.’”

It was narrated that Bara’ said:

“When we performed prayer behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) (One of the narrators) Mis’ar said: ‘One of the things we liked, or one of the things I liked’ ‘was to stand to his right.’”

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said:

“It was said to the Prophet (ﷺ): ‘The left side of the mosque has been abandoned. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whoever frequents the left side of the mosque, two Kifl* of reward will be recorded for him.”

It was narrated that Jabir said:

“When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished Tawaf around the House (the Ka’bah), he came to Maqam of Ibrahim (the Station of Ibrahim). ‘Umar said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, this is the Station of our father Ibrahim about which Allah said: “And take you (people) the Maqam of Ibrahim as a place of prayer.’…

It was narrated that Anas bin Malik told that ‘Umar said:

“I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), why do you not take the Maqam of Ibrahim as a place of prayer?’ Then the following was revealed: ‘And take you (people) the Maqam of Ibrahim as a place of prayer.’”

It was narrated that Bara’ said:

“We prayed with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) facing towards Baitul-Maqdis (Jerusalem) for eighteen months, then the Qiblah was changed to the Ka’bah two months after the Prophet (ﷺ) entered Al-Madinah. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed towards Baitul-Maqdis, he would often lift his face towards t…

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘What is between the east and the west is the Qiblah (prayer direction).’”* *This refers to the Qiblah for the the inhabitants of Al-Madinah. (Makkah is to the exact south of Al-Madinah.)

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

“When anyone of you enters the mosque, let him not sit down until he performs two Rak’ah.”

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

“When one of you enters the mosque, let him perform two Rak’ah before he sits down.”

It was narrated from Ma’dan bin Abu Talhah Al-Ya’muri that ‘Umar bin Khattab stood up one Friday to deliver a sermon, or, he delivered a sermon one Friday. He praised Allah, then he said:

“O people, you eat two plants that I find are nothing but obnoxious; this garlic and this onion. At the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), if a foul odour was detected from a man, I would see him seized by the arm and taken out to Al-Baqi’. Whoever must eat them, let him cook them to death.”

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Whoever eats from this plant; garlic, let him not annoy us with it in this mosque of ours.’”

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Whoever eats anything from this plant, let him not come to the mosque.’”

It was narrated that ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to the mosque at Quba’ and performed prayer there. Some men of the Ansar came and greeted him. I asked Suhaib, who was with him: ‘How did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) respond to them?’ He said: ‘He gestured with his hand.’”

It was narrated that Jabir said:

“The Prophet (ﷺ) sent me on an errand, then I caught up with him while he was performing prayer, and I greeted him. He gestured to me, then when he finished, he called me and said: ‘You greeted me before, but I was performing prayer.’”

It was narrated that ‘Abdullah said:

“We would greet others during the prayer, and it was said to us: ‘During the prayer one is preoccupied.’”

It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amir bin Rabi’ah that his father said:

“We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on a journey, and the sky was overcast so it was difficult for us to determine the Qiblah. So we performed prayer, and we marked the location.* Later, when the sun reappeared, we realized that we had prayed facing a direction other than the Qiblah. We mention…

It was narrated that Tariq bin ‘Abdullah Al-Muharibi said:

“The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘When you perform prayer, do not spit in front of you or to your right, but spit to your left or beneath your feet.’”

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw some sputum in the direction of the Qiblah of the mosque. He turned to the people and said:

“What is wrong with one of you that he stands facing Him (meaning his Lord) and spits in front of Him? Would anyone like to be faced by someone who spits in his face? If anyone of you needs to spit, then let him spit to his left, or let him do like this in his garment.” Then Ismail (Abu Bakr bin Ab…

It was narrated from Hudhaifah that he saw Shabath bin Rib’i spitting in front of him. He said:

“O Shabath! Do not spit in front of you, for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to forbid that, and he said: ‘When a man stands up to perform prayer, Allah turns His Face towards him until he turns away or he commits an evil Hadath.’”* * In Injah Al-Hajah, 'Abdul-Ghani Dehlawi said: "Meaning he does a…

It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) spat on his garment while he was performing prayer, then he rubbed it.

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Whoever smoothes the pebbles, then he has engaged in Laghw.”* *Meaning he has done what is not suitable.

It was narrated that Mu’aiqib said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, concerning smoothing the pebbles during prayer: ‘If you must do that, then do it only once.’”

It was narrated that Abu Dharr said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘When anyone of you gets up to perform prayer, then indeed mercy is facing him, so he should not smooth the pebbles.’”

Maimunah the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to perform prayer on a Khumrah.”

It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed prayer on a reed mat.”

It was narrated that ‘Amr bin Dinar said:

“When Ibn ‘Abbas was in Basrah, he performed prayer on his rug, then he told his companions that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to perform prayer on his rug.”

It was narrated that ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abdur-Rahman said:

“The Prophet (ﷺ) came to us and led us in prayer in the mosque of Banu ‘Abdul- Ashhal, and I saw him putting his hands on his garment when he prostrated.”

It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Thabit bin Samit, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed prayer among Banu ‘Abdul-Ashhal, wearing a cloak in which he was wrapped and putting his hands on it to protect them from the cold of the pebbles.

It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said:

“We used to perform prayer with the Prophet (ﷺ) when it was very hot. When one of us could not place his forehead firmly on the ground, he would spread his garment and prostrate on it.”

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

“The Tasbih (saying Subhan-Allah) is for men and clapping is for women.”

It was narrated from Sahl bin Sa’d As-Sa’idi that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

“The Tasbih is for men and clapping is for women.”

It was narrated that Nafi’ used to say:

“Ibn ‘Umar said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) granted a concession for the women to clap, and for the men to say the Tasbih.”

It was narrated that Ibn Abu Aws said:

“My grandfather, Aws, used to perform prayer, and sometimes he would make a gesture while praying, and I would give him his sandals. He said: ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performing prayer in his sandals.’”

It was narrated from ‘Amr bin Shu’aib, from his father, that his grandfather said:

“I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performing prayer both barefoot, and while wearing sandals.”

It was narrated that ‘Abdullah said:

“We saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performing prayer wearing sandals and leather slippers.”

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “I was commanded not to tuck up my hair or my garment.”* *Drawing together during prostration to protect it from the dirt.

It was narrated that ‘Abdullah said:

“We were ordered to not (tuck up our) hair (nor garment) and not to repeat ablution for what we stepped on.”

Mukhawwal said:

“I heard Abu Sa’d, a man from the people of Madinah, say: ‘I saw Abu Rafi’, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), when he saw Hasan bin ‘Ali performing prayer, with his hair braided. He undid it, or told him not to do that, and said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade a man from performing…

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Do not lift your gaze to the heavens lest your sight be snatched away,” meaning during prayer.

It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) led his Companions in prayer one day. When he had finished prayer he turned to face the people and said: ‘What is wrong with some people that they lift their gaze to the heavens?’ He spoke severely concerning that: ‘They should certainly abstain from that or Allah will snatch away their sight.’”

It was narrated from Jabir bin Samurah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“Let those who lift their gaze to the heavens desist, or their sight will not come back.”

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said:

“A woman used to perform prayer behind the Prophet (ﷺ), and she was one of the most beautiful of people. Some of the people used to go into the first row so that they would not see her, and some of them used to lag behind so that they would be in the last row, and when they bowed, they would do like…

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said:

“A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! One of us performs prayer in a single garment.’ The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘Does everyone have two garments?’”

Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri narrated that he entered upon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he was performing prayer in a single garment, wrapping himself in it.

It was narrated that ‘Umar bin Abu Salamah said:

“I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performing prayer in a single garment, wrapping himself in it and throwing the ends over his shoulders.”

It was narrated from ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Kaisan that his father said:

“I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performing prayer at Bi’r ‘Ulya, in a garment.”

Ibn Kaisan narrated that his father said:

“I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) performing the Zuhr and the ‘Asr in a single garment, wrapping it around his chest.”

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘When a son of Adam recites a Sajdah* and prostrates, Satan withdraws weeping, saying: ‘Woe is me! The son of Adam was commanded to prostrate and he prostrated, and Paradise will be his; I was commanded to prostrate and I refused, so I am doomed to Hell.’” * An Ayah indicating prostration.