Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for the obligatory prayer, he would say «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏ and raise both his hands up to his shoulders. When he completed his recitation and intended to bow (ruku‘), he would also perform the raising of the hands in the same manner, and when he raised his head from ruku‘, he would again raise his hands in the same way. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not raise his hands while sitting in his prayer. And when he stood up after the tashahhud of two rak‘ahs, he would raise his hands in the same way and say «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Qilabah (may Allah have mercy on him) that he saw Sayyiduna Malik bin Huwairith (may Allah be pleased with him), when he would pray, he would say «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏ and raise both his hands, and when he intended to bow (ruku‘), he would raise both his hands, and when he raised his head from ruku‘, he would raise both his hands, and he stated that indeed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray in this manner as well.

Sayyiduna Malik bin Huwairith (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we came to the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while we were young men of about the same age. We stayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for twenty nights, and he was extremely kind and merciful. Then, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) realized that we wished to return to our families and were longing to meet them, he asked us: "Whom have you left behind among your relatives?" So we informed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about them. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go back to your families, stay with them, teach them matters of religion, and command them to act upon them." (Hazrat Abu Qilabah says that Hazrat Malik mentioned several things which I remember, and some I do not remember.) And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said: "And pray as you have seen me praying. When the time for prayer comes, let one of you give the call to prayer (adhan), and let the eldest among you lead the prayer." These are the words of Bundar's narration. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that indeed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded Sayyiduna Malik bin Huwairith (may Allah be pleased with him) and his young companions to pray in the same manner as they had seen the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) praying. And Sayyiduna Malik bin Huwairith (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say the takbir in prayer, and when he would go into ruku, and when he would raise his head from ruku, he would raise both his hands. Therefore, this is evidence that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded the raising of both hands (raf‘ al-yadayn) when the worshipper goes into ruku and when he raises his head from ruku. All the words narrated regarding this issue, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform raf‘ al-yadayn at the time of ruku, are of the same kind as I have explained, that the Arabs sometimes use the active participle (ism fa‘il) for a person who intends to do an action, even before he actually does it, as in the statement of Allah the Exalted, «‏‏‏‏يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة المائدة ] "O you who believe, when you stand for prayer, wash your faces." So Allah the Exalted has commanded that when a person intends to stand for prayer, he should wash the limbs of wudu; it does not mean that after standing in prayer, he should wash the limbs of wudu. Therefore, the meaning of Allah's statement "when you stand for prayer" is "when you intend to stand for prayer." Similarly, the words of the hadith "when he would go into ruku, he would perform raf‘ al-yadayn" mean that when he intended to go into ruku, he would perform raf‘ al-yadayn, as is mentioned in the ahadith of Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib and Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to go into ruku, he would perform raf‘ al-yadayn. We have mentioned all these narrations in Kitab al-Kabir. Similarly, in the statement «‏‏‏‏فَإِذَا دَخَلْتُم بُيُوتًا فَسَلِّمُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِكُمْ» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة النور ] "And when you enter houses, greet your people with peace," the command is to greet with salam at the time of entering the house, not after entering the house. If examples from the Book and Sunnah are collected on this issue, the book would become very lengthy.

Sayyiduna Abu Humayd Sa’idi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer, he would stand completely straight (then a part of the hadith is narrated), and he said: Then he would say «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏ and bow (ruku’), then while performing ruku’ with moderation, he would neither lower nor raise his head (but keep it level), and he would place both his hands on his knees. Then he would say «‏‏‏‏سَمِعَ اللهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ» ‏‏‏‏ and stand up completely straight until every bone returned to its place. Then he would bend towards the ground for prostration (sajdah), then say «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏, then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would separate his arms from his sides and bend the toes of his feet. Then he would bend his right foot and sit on it. Then he would sit with moderation until every bone returned to its place, then he would bend for prostration again, then say «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏. Then he would separate his elbows from his sides and spread his toes. Then he would bend his feet and sit, and sit with moderation until every bone returned to its place. Then he would stand up, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would do the same in the second rak’ah. Until, when he stood up after two rak’ahs, he would say «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏ and raise both his hands until they were level with his shoulders, just as he had done at the beginning of the prayer. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did likewise until, when he reached the rak’ah in which the prayer was completed, he would move his left foot back and sit on his side in tawarruk, then (after the tashahhud) he would say the salam. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Muhammad bin ‘Ata is Muhammad bin ‘Amr bin ‘Ata.

Hazrat Muhammad bin Amr bin Ata narrates that I heard Sayyiduna Abu Humayd As-Sa'idi (may Allah be pleased with him) saying in the presence of ten companions, among whom was also Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him). He said, "I am the one among you who knows the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) the best." Then (the respected Imam's) teachers narrated the entire hadith, and at the end of the hadith, these words were narrated: (The ten companions said) "You have spoken the truth; indeed, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray in this manner."

Hazrat Abbas bin Sahl al-Sa'idi narrates that some individuals from the Ansar gathered. Among them were Hazrat Sahl bin Sa'd al-Sa'idi, Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi, and Abu Usaid al-Sa'idi. They discussed the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). So, Sayyiduna Abu Humayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Allow me to describe (the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him) to you, for I know it better than you." They said, "(If that is so) then describe it." He said, "I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) perform the best ablution, then he entered the prayer and said the takbir, raising both his hands to the level of his shoulders. Then, when he bowed (in ruku'), he placed both his hands on his knees as if he were grasping them. (In ruku') he neither raised his head nor lowered it excessively (but kept it in a moderate position, level with his back), and he kept his arms away from his sides. Then, when he raised his head (from ruku'), he stood up straight until every bone returned to its place." Then Janab Bundar narrated the rest of the hadith, and at the end of the hadith, these words were mentioned: "All the noble companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said: 'The prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was like this.'" Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "I heard Muhammad bin Yahya saying that whoever, after hearing this hadith, does not raise his hands when going into ruku' and when rising from ruku', his prayer is incomplete."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered the mosque, and a man entered the mosque and performed prayer. (Then he came to the service of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and) greeted him with salam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) returned his greeting, then said: "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed." This happened three times (he prayed in this manner and the Prophet, peace be upon him, ordered him to go back and pray again). Finally, the man said, "By Him Who has sent you with the truth, I do not know any way (of praying) other than this." Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) (taught him the method of prayer and) said: "When you stand for prayer, say «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏, then recite from the Qur'an whatever you know by heart. Then bow (ruku‘) and perform ruku‘ with complete calmness, then when you rise from ruku‘, stand up straight, then prostrate (sajdah) and perform sajdah with complete calmness, then (when you raise your head from sajdah) sit up straight. In your entire prayer, do like this (with complete calmness and tranquility)." Imam Abu Bakr says: I have mentioned the narrations of Yahya bin Khallad from Rifaa‘ah bin Rafi‘ in Kitab al-Kabir. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Among the narrators of this hadith, except for Yahya bin Sa‘id, no narrator has narrated it from ‘Ubaydullah bin ‘Umar from Sa‘id from his father; rather, all of them narrate it from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) through the chain of Sa‘id.

It is not that the prayer becomes deficient, but it suffices, just as some people who claim knowledge think.

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

Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“The prayer of a person or a man is not sufficient who does not straighten his back equally in bowing (ruku’) and prostration (sujud).”The Imam narrates this in a similar manner from his teacher, Bishr bin Khalid ‘Askari, with the same chain. He has stated these words:“(Who) does not straighten his back in bowing and prostration.”