Abu Salamah narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) led those people in prayer. He would say the takbeer every time he bowed and every time he rose. Then, when he completed the prayer, he said: "I am the one among you whose prayer most closely resembles the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."

Abu Salamah narrates: When Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) was appointed as deputy of Marwan in Madinah, whenever he stood up to perform the obligatory prayer, he would say the takbeer, and when he was about to go into ruku, he would say the takbeer, and when he raised his head from ruku he said «سمع اللہ لمن حمدہ» , and then when he bent down to go into sajdah, he would say the takbeer. After reciting the tashahhud and standing up after two rak‘ahs, he would say the takbeer, and he continued in this manner until he completed his prayer. When he finished his prayer and said salam, he turned his face towards the people of the mosque and said: By Him in Whose hand is my soul, I resemble the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) more than any of you. Salim narrates: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also used to do the same, except that he would lower his voice while saying the takbeer.

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin the prayer with the takbeer and the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah. When he would go into bowing (ruku'), he would neither lower his gaze completely nor raise it upwards, but would adopt a position in between. When he would raise his head from ruku', he would not go into prostration (sajdah) until he had stood up straight first. When he would raise his head from prostration, he would not go into prostration a second time until he had sat up straight. He would spread his left foot and keep his right foot upright, and after two rak'ahs he would recite the tashahhud. He forbade following the footsteps of Satan, and he also forbade anyone from spreading their forearms like a beast. He would end the prayer by turning for the salam.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to keep his fingers apart during prayer.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "We, the group of Prophets, have been commanded to delay our pre-dawn meal (suhoor), to hasten in breaking our fast (iftar), and during prayer, to hold our left hands with our right hands." (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) Ibn Wahb heard this narration from Umar bin Harith and Talha bin Amr, who narrated it from Ata bin Abi Rabah.

Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin the obligatory prayer, he would recite this:“I have turned my face, being upright and as a Muslim, towards Him who created the heavens and the earth, and I am not among the polytheists. Surely, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. He has no partner. I have been commanded of this, and I am the first of the Muslims. O Allah! You are the King, there is no deity except You, You are free from all defects. All praise is for You, You are my Lord and I am Your servant. I have wronged myself, I confess my sins. So forgive all my sins. Only You forgive sins, and guide me to good character, for only You can guide to good character, and keep bad character away from me, for only You can keep bad character away from me. I am present in Your court. Success can only be attained from You, and goodness is in Your hand. The one whom You guide is truly guided. I am with Your help and I turn to You. You are blessed and exalted. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.”

Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin the obligatory prayer, he would recite this: "I turn my face, being upright, towards Him who created the heavens and the earth, and I am not among the polytheists. Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. He has no partner, and I have been commanded of this, and I am the first of the Muslims. O Allah! You are the King. There is no deity except You. You are free from all defects. All praise is for You. You are my Lord, I am Your servant. I have wronged myself. I confess my sins, so forgive all my sins. None forgives sins except You. Guide me to good character, for none guides to good character except You. Turn away bad character from me, for none can turn it away except You. I am present in Your court, happiness is obtained from You. Goodness is in Your hand. The one whom You guide is truly guided. I am with Your help and I turn to You. You are blessed and exalted. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You."

Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin the prayer, he would say the takbeer. Then he would recite this: "I have turned my face, being upright, towards Him who created the heavens and the earth, and I am not among the polytheists. Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. He has no partner. I have been commanded of this, and I am the first of the Muslims. O Allah! You are the King. There is no deity except You. All praise is for You. You are my Lord and I am Your servant. I have wronged myself, I admit my sins, so forgive my sins. None forgives sins except You. I am present and all success comes from You. All goodness is in Your hands, and evil cannot be attributed to You. I am supported by You and turn to You. You are blessed, exalted, and supreme. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance."

(Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) The statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "Evil cannot be attributed to You," means: Evil is not something by which nearness to You is attained. So here, "by which nearness is attained" is omitted.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the obligatory prayer, he used to recite: "I have turned my face, being upright, towards Him who created the heavens and the earth, and I am not of those who associate partners with Him. Surely, my prayer, my life, my death, and my sacrifice are for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. He has no partner. I have been commanded of this, and I am of the Muslims. O Allah! We are devoted to You. There is no deity except You. You are pure, and all praise is for You. You are my Lord, and I am Your servant. I have wronged myself. I confess my sins, so forgive all my sins. Only You can forgive sins. Only You can guide towards good character, so keep bad character away from me. Surely, only You can keep bad character away from me. I am present in Your court. Success can only be attained from You, and all goodness is in Your hand. The one whom You guide is truly guided. I am with Your help, and I turn to You. You are blessed, exalted, and supreme. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say the takbeer, he would remain silent for a while between the takbeer and the recitation. I said: May my parents be sacrificed for you. Please tell me what you say during the silence between the takbeer and the recitation. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said (I say this): "O Allah! Put a distance between me and my sins as You have put a distance between the East and the West. O Allah! Cleanse me of my sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah! Wash away my sins with water, snow, and hail."