Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that one night I did not find the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the bed, so I began searching for him with my hand. My hand touched his feet while both his feet were upright. I heard him supplicating, «‏‏‏‏اللَّهُمَّ إني أَعُوذ بِرِضَاك من سَخَطِك، وبِمُعَافَاتِكَ من عُقُوبَتِكَ، وأعُوذ بِك مِنْك، لا أُحْصِي ثَناءً عليك أنت كما أَثْنَيْتَ على نفسك» ‏‏‏‏ "O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your anger and in Your forgiveness from Your punishment. I seek refuge in You from You. I am unable to praise You as You have praised Yourself." This is the narration of Jannat Duraqi. Hazrat Ali bin Shuaib narrated from Ubaidullah with these words: "I am unable to enumerate Your praise."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to recite this supplication in his prostration, «‏‏‏‏اللّٰهُمَّ اغْفِرْلِيْ ذَنْبِيْ كُلَّهُ دِقَّهُ وَجِلَّهُ وَاَوَّلَهُ وَاٰخِرَهُ وَعَلَانِيَتَهُ وَسِرَّهُ » "O Allah, forgive all my sins, the small and the great, the first and the last, the open and the hidden."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for the obligatory prayer, he would say «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏. Then the rest of the hadith is mentioned, and he said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed prostration, he would supplicate in his prostration «‏‏‏‏اَللّٰهُمَّ لَكَ سَجَدْتُّ وَبِكَ امَنْتُ وَلَكَ اَسْلَمْتُ، سَجَدَوَجْهِيْ لِلَّذِيْ خَلَقَهُ وَصَوَّرَهُ وَشَقَّ سَمْعَهُ وَبَصَرَهُ تَبَارَكَ اللّٰهُ اَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِيْنَ» ‏‏‏‏: "O Allah, I have prostrated for You, and I have believed in You, and I have submitted to You, and You alone are my Lord. My face has prostrated to the One who created it, fashioned its hearing and sight. Blessed is Allah, the Best of Creators."

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) lifted the curtain of his blessed chamber while the people were praying behind Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "As for the prostrations, make supplication therein with great effort and striving, for it is more likely that your supplications will be accepted."

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we used to pray with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in intense heat, so when any one of us intended to prostrate, he would spread his garment due to the severe heat and would prostrate on it. And in the narration of San‘ani, it is mentioned: Therefore, when any one of us could not place his face on the ground, he would spread his garment and prostrate on it.

Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Thabit bin Samit narrates from his noble father, and he from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prayed in the mosque of Banu Abdul Ashhal. The Prophet (peace be upon him) had a sheet with which he was wrapped, and he would place his hands over it. This sheet protected the Prophet (peace be upon him) from the coolness of the pebbles.

Hazrat Muhammad bin Amr bin Ata says that I heard Sayyiduna Abu Humayd Sa’idi (may Allah be pleased with him) in the presence of ten companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: "I know the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) better than all of you." They said: "Neither is your companionship with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) older than ours, nor do you surpass us in following and emulating him." He said: "Why not (I know the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) better than you)?" They said: "(If that is the case) then present (describe the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him))." He said: "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer, he would raise both his hands up to his shoulders, then say «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏. Then he would stand completely straight until every bone would settle in its place. Then he would recite, then raise both hands and, saying «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏, would bow (ruku’), placing both palms on his knees, and would neither raise his head nor lower it excessively (but keep it in a moderate, level position). Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would say «‏‏‏‏سَمِعَ اللهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ» ‏‏‏‏ and raise both hands up to his shoulders in complete moderation, until every bone would return to its place. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would say «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏ and prostrate, keeping his arms away from his sides. Then when he would raise his head (from prostration), he would fold his left foot and sit on it, and keep the toes of his right foot upright. Then when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand, he would do the same in the second rak’ah. Then when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would rise after the tashahhud of two rak’ahs, he would do as he did at the beginning of the prayer (i.e., raise his hands up to his shoulders saying «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏)."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that indeed the Sunnah way in prayer is that when you sit in prayer, you should lay down your left foot and keep your right foot upright.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that among the Sunnah methods of prayer is that you spread your left foot and keep your right foot upright. And he said that when the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to sit in prayer, he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would lay down his left foot and keep his right foot upright. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that in my opinion, the addition of these words in the narration of Imam Ibn Uyainah is not established: that when the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to sit in prayer, he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would lay down his left foot and keep his right foot upright.

And this is of the type of permissible differences, so it is allowed for the one praying to sit on his feet between the two prostrations, and it is allowed for him to lay down the left foot and erect the right.