Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would say the takbir for prayer, he would remain silent for a short while. I asked, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), may my parents be sacrificed for you, what supplication do you recite in your silence between the takbir and the recitation?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I recite this: «‏‏‏‏اللَّهُمَّ بَاعِدْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ خَطَايَايَ كَمَا بَاعَدْتَ بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ، اللَّهُمَّ نَقِّنِي مِنْ خَطَايَايَ كَمَا يُنَقَّى الثَّوْبُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنْ الدَّنَسِ، اللَّهُمَّ اغْسِلْنِي مِنْ خَطَايَايَ بِاالثَّلْجِ وَالْمَاءِ وَالْبَرَدِ» ‏‏‏‏ 'O Allah, distance me from my sins as You have distanced the East from the West. O my Lord, purify me of my sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah, wash me of my sins with snow, water, and hail.'"

Imam Abu Bakr, may Allah have mercy on him, says that the hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding how the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, began the prayer, is related to this chapter, and this chapter is very lengthy; I have explained it in the Kitab al-Kabir.

Contrary to the claim of those people who say that when the congregation has been held once in the mosque, then (those who come later) will perform the prayer individually.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man came (to the mosque) at a time when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had already finished the prayer, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who among you will give charity to him for the sake of reward?" He says that a man from among the people stood up and prayed with that man. This is the narration of Harun bin Ishaq.

Contrary to the statement of those Iraqi scholars who say that it is not permissible for one performing an obligatory prayer to follow one performing a supererogatory (nafl) prayer.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) used to perform prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then would return and lead his people in prayer, and he would recite the same prayer for them.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) used to perform the 'Isha prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), then return and lead his companions in the ('Isha) prayer. One day, when he returned, he led them in prayer, and a young man from his people also began to pray behind him. When the recitation (of Sayyiduna Mu'adh) became lengthy for this young man, he (prayed alone) and left. He took hold of his camel's rein and went away. When Sayyiduna Mu'adh completed the prayer, he was informed of this. He said, "Indeed, this is hypocrisy; I will surely inform the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)." Therefore, Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) told the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) the story of the young man. The young man said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Sayyiduna Mu'adh stays with you for a long time, then returns and leads us in a lengthy prayer." Upon this, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "O Mu'adh, are you a cause of tribulation (fitnah)?" And he asked the young man, "O nephew, how do you pray?" He replied, "I recite Surah Al-Fatihah and ask Allah for His Paradise and seek refuge with Him from Hellfire, but I do not know your murmuring and that of Sayyiduna Mu'adh (i.e., which supplications you make)." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Indeed, I and Mu'adh also murmur around these two (i.e., supplications for Paradise and seeking refuge from Hellfire)," or he gave a similar answer. The young man said, "But Mu'adh will soon know (whether I am a hypocrite or a true believer) when the people come (to the battlefield) and they know that the enemy has drawn near." Then, when the people descended into the field, the young man attained martyrdom. After that, the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked Sayyiduna Mu'adh, "What happened to the one who opposed me and you?" He replied, "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), he proved his word true to Allah; he was martyred, while my statement turned out to be wrong (when I called him a hypocrite)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) used to perform the 'Isha prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), then return and lead his companions in prayer. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that I have already written this issue in detail. I have mentioned in this issue the ahadith of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) regarding the prayer of fear, that the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) led one group in a voluntary prayer while they performed the obligatory prayer behind him. Thus, that prayer was voluntary for the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) and obligatory for them.

Hazrat Aswad narrates that I and Alqamah went to the service of Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud, so he asked, "Have those (rulers) people prayed behind you?" We replied, "No." He said, "You get up and pray (because the time of prayer has come)." So we got up and wanted to stand behind him, but he took our hands and made one of us stand on his right side and the other on his left side, then led the prayer without adhan and iqamah. When he bowed (in ruku'), he interlaced the fingers of both his hands and placed them between his legs. Then when he finished the prayer, he said, "I have seen the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) doing the same." Then he said, "Surely, soon there will be such rulers who will delay and restrict the prayers to the extent that a dying person remains alive after his breath is stuck in his throat. Therefore, whoever among you finds such circumstances, he should perform the prayer at its time, then make his prayer with those rulers a nafl (supererogatory) prayer."

And the clarification is that the first is an individual obligatory prayer, and the second is a supererogatory prayer in congregation, contrary to the statement of those who claim that the congregational prayer is the obligation, not the individual prayer, and the prohibition against abandoning the supererogatory prayer behind the imam who is performing the obligatory prayer, even if he has delayed the prayer from its time.