Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite Surah Al-Fatihah and an additional Surah in each of the first two rak‘ahs of the Zuhr prayer, and sometimes he would let us hear a verse. He used to make the first rak‘ah longer than the second, and in each of the last two rak‘ahs, he would recite (only) Surah Al-Fatihah. Abu Qatadah says: In the ‘Asr and Fajr prayers, he used to do the same. Abu Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) says: This narration is also reported through another chain, but in that, there is no mention of the Fajr prayer.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that there is recitation in every prayer; where you (the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) recited aloud to us, we also recited aloud, and where you ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) recited quietly, we also recited quietly. I heard the Messenger of Allah ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) say: There is no prayer without recitation.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man said: O Messenger of Allah! Teach me something that will suffice me in place of the Qur'an. He said: «سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَلَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ» Say this. Sufyan says: In the narration of Abu Khalid al-Wasiti, these words are also present that the man said: These words are for my Lord, what is there for me? He said: «اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَارْحَمْنِي وَاهْدِنِي وَعَافِنِي» O Allah! Forgive me, have mercy on me, guide me, and grant me well-being. Recite this. The man said: Four words are for my Lord and four are for me.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When the reciter (imam) says Ameen, you should also say Ameen, because the angels also say Ameen. Whoever’s Ameen coincides with the Ameen of the angels, all his previous sins will be forgiven.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that whenever he would bow or rise (in prayer), he would say «الله اكبر» , and he would say: My prayer is the most similar to the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) among all of you.

Sayyiduna Abu Humayd Sa’idi (may Allah be pleased with him) said in the presence of ten Companions, including Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him): I know the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) better than all of you. They said: How is that? By Allah! Neither did you follow the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) more than us, nor did you keep his company more than us. Sayyiduna Abu Humayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Alright! They said: Well then, present it. Sayyiduna Abu Humayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood for prayer, he would raise his hands to the level of his shoulders and say the takbir, until every bone would settle in its place with moderation. Then he would recite, then say the takbir and raise his hands to the level of his shoulders, until every bone returned to its joint. Then he would bow (ruku’), placing his palms on his knees and keeping his back straight, neither lowering his head too much nor raising it high. Then he would raise his head and say «سمع الله لمن حمده» , then raise his hands to the level of his shoulders and stand up straight. Abu ‘Asim (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I think he said: until every bone returned to its place. Then he would say «الله اكبر» and bend towards the ground, prostrating with his hands away from his sides. Then he would raise his head and fold his left foot and sit on it. When he prostrated, he would keep the toes of both feet spread. Then he would prostrate again, then say «الله اكبر» and raise his head and fold his left foot and sit upright on it for as long as it took for every bone to return to its place. Then he would do the same in the second rak’ah. Then, when he stood up after two rak’ahs, he would raise both hands to the level of his shoulders just as he did at the beginning of the prayer. Then he would perform the rest of the prayer in the same way, until when he was in the final sitting, in which the salam is said, he would take out his left foot (from under his buttocks to the right side) and sit on his left hip. All of them said: You have spoken the truth; the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray like this.

Sayyiduna Abu Humayd Sa’idi (may Allah be pleased with him) said in the presence of ten Companions, including Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him): I know the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) better than all of you. Ibn Yahya (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Then he narrated the entire hadith.

Sayyiduna Rifa’ah bin Rafi’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he was sitting with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when a man entered the mosque and performed prayer. When he finished the prayer, he came to the Prophet and greeted him and all the people with salam. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied to him and said: Go back and pray, for you have not prayed. The companion says that he went back and prayed, so we began to observe his prayer, but we did not know what deficiency there was in his prayer. When he finished the prayer, he came to the Prophet and greeted him and all the people with salam. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied to him and said: Go back and pray again, for you have not prayed. Two or three times the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said this in the same way, so the man said: I do not know what deficiency you find in my prayer? The Prophet said: A person’s prayer is not complete until he performs ablution properly according to the way Allah has prescribed; he should wash his face and both hands up to and including the elbows, wipe his head, and wash both feet up to and including the ankles. Then he should say the takbir, praise and glorify Allah, then recite from the Qur’an as much as he is able according to Allah’s command. Then he should say the takbir and bow (ruku’), placing his palms on his knees until the joints settle in their places. Then, after saying «سمع الله لمن حمده» , he should stand up straight until every bone returns to its place and the back is straight. Then, after saying the takbir, he should prostrate, placing his forehead firmly on the ground (Hammam [may Allah have mercy on him] says: sometimes the place of the forehead is mentioned as the face) until the joints settle in their places. Then, after saying the takbir, he should raise his head and sit upright on his buttocks and straighten his back. The Prophet described the entire prayer in this manner until he finished the prayer, then said: No one’s prayer is complete until he prays in this way.

Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The prayer of the person who does not straighten his back in bowing and prostration is not sufficient.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us prayer: he said the takbeer and raised both hands, and when he went into ruku’, he placed his palms joined together between his knees. ‘Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: When this reached Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: My brother speaks the truth, this is how we used to do, then we were commanded to hold the knees and place both hands on the knees.