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.

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head from the second bowing in the Fajr prayer, he recited this supplication: "O Allah! Deliver Walid bin Walid, Salama bin Hisham, Ayyash bin Rabi'ah, and the weak Muslims of Mecca, and tighten Your grip on the tribe of Mudar, and afflict them with a famine like that of the time of Yusuf (peace be upon him)."

Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Qunoot (Nazilah) continuously for a month after each of the five prayers. When he would rise from the bowing (ruku') in the last rak'ah and say «سمع الله لمن حمده» , he would supplicate against the tribe of Banu Sulaym (Ra'l, Dhakwan), and the followers would say Ameen. The narrator says: He had sent them (preachers) to invite them to Islam, whom they killed. Ikrimah says: The practice of Qunoot (Nazilah) began from here.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded to prostrate on seven (parts): two hands, two knees, the edges of the toes of both feet, and the forehead, and also forbade gathering the hair and clothes.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa‘id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: By the One Who honored you (O Prophet) and revealed the Book to you! I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) one night; he was leading the Maghrib prayer, and the tip of his forehead and nose were in water and mud (clay).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, narrates that the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: When a person performs prostration, he should also place his hands, and when he raises (his head), he should also raise his hands, because just as the face prostrates, both hands also prostrate.

Sayyiduna Wa'il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I will certainly observe the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He narrates that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began the prayer, he said the takbir and raised both hands; I saw his thumbs near his ears. He (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated the entire hadith. He says: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed sajdah, he placed his head between his hands at the same distance as it was during the opening takbir (tahrimah).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) removed the curtain (during his illness), and the people were standing in rows behind Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). In the narration of Ibn Maqri’, it is mentioned that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) began to step back, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) signaled him to stay, so he remained. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O people! Of the glad tidings of Prophethood, now only righteous dreams remain, which a person sees himself or are shown to someone concerning him. Then he said: I have been forbidden from reciting the Qur’an in the state of bowing and prostration, so in bowing, glorify the greatness of your Lord, and in prostration, strive to make supplication, for it is not unlikely that it will be accepted.