Mu’adhah says: I asked Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) how many rak’ahs the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray for the Duha (forenoon) prayer. She said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray four rak’ahs, and would add more as Allah willed.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, who says: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to me: O Bilal! Tell me about the most hopeful deed of yours, which, in your opinion, is the most beneficial in Islam, because I heard the sound of your shoes ahead of me in Paradise last night? Sayyiduna Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I have not done any such deed which, in my view, is the most hopeful in terms of benefit in Islam, except (this deed that) whenever I perform ablution at any hour of the night or day, I offer as much prayer with that ablution as Allah Almighty has destined for me.

Sayyiduna Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that one day when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) woke up in the morning, he called Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked: O Bilal! By which deed have you preceded me to Paradise? Because whenever I entered Paradise, I heard the sound of your footsteps ahead of me. Even last night when I entered Paradise, I heard the sound of your footsteps. (Then the narrator mentioned the hadith which was specific to Sayyiduna Umar ibn Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him.) The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him): By which deed have you preceded me to Paradise? Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whenever I become impure, I perform ablution and then offer two rak‘ahs (units of prayer). Upon hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is because of this deed (that you have preceded me to Paradise).

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri رضي الله عنه narrates: We were with the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم on the day of Jumu'ah. A Bedouin entered (the mosque) and sat behind the people, while the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم was seated on the pulpit. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم asked him: Have you prayed two rak'ahs? He replied: No. The Noble Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم ordered him, so he came to an empty spot near the pulpit and performed two rak'ahs.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I entered the mosque and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting among the people, so I also sat down. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: What prevented you from praying two rak‘ahs before sitting down? I said: I saw you and the people sitting, so I also sat down. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When any of you enters the mosque, he should not sit down before praying two rak‘ahs.

(Second chain) The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: When any of you comes to the mosque, he should pray two rak‘ahs before sitting.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach us Istikhara (the prayer for seeking guidance) with the same care as he would teach a surah from the Qur’an, and he would say: When any one of you intends to do something, he should pray two rak‘ahs (units) of prayer other than the obligatory ones, then he should say this supplication: O Allah! I seek goodness from You by Your knowledge, and I seek power from You by Your power, and I ask You from Your great bounty. For surely You have power and I have no power, and You know and I do not know, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah! If You know that this matter is better for me in my religion, my worldly life, my livelihood, and the outcome of my affairs, then ordain it for me, make it easy for me, and bless it for me. O Allah! If You know that this matter is bad for me in my religion, my worldly life, and the outcome of my affairs, then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and ordain for me what is good wherever it may be, and then make me content with it.

It is narrated from the Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Ayyub Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), who says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: When you intend to marry a girl, keep your engagement (proposal) in your heart, then perform ablution well and pray as many units of prayer as Allah has destined for you, then praise and glorify your Lord, then recite this supplication: O Allah! Surely You have power, I have no power, and You know, I do not know, rather You are the Knower of the unseen. If You consider such-and-such woman (also mention her name) better for me in my religion, my worldly life, and my Hereafter (then decree her for me), and if You consider someone else (another woman) better for me in my religion, my worldly life, and my Hereafter, then decide that for me and decree her for me.