Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates: When the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, would say the takbeer in prayer, he would remain silent for a short while before reciting (Qur'an). I asked: O Messenger of Allah! May my parents be sacrificed for you. What is the reason for your silence between the takbeer and the recitation? The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said: I say this: "O Allah! Place a distance between me and my sins as You have placed a distance between the East and the West. O Allah! Purify me of sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah! Wash away my sins with water, hail, and snow."

Saeed bin Sam'an narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to us in the mosque. He said: There are three things which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to do, but people have abandoned them. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) would stand for prayer, he would raise both his hands, and before reciting (Qur'an), he would remain silent for a while in which he would ask Allah Almighty for His bounty, and during the prayer, every time he would go into bowing (ruku') and prostration (sajdah), he would say the takbeer.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say the takbeer in prayer, he would remain silent for a short while before recitation. I asked: O Messenger of Allah! May my parents be sacrificed for you. What do you recite between the takbeer and the recitation? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said (I recite 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."

The son of Jubair bin Mut'im narrates from his father that he saw the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), when he would begin the prayer, he would recite: "O Allah! I seek refuge in You from Satan, from his prompting, his blowing, and his spitting." The narrator named Amr says that by his prompting is meant epilepsy, by his blowing is meant arrogance, and by his spitting is meant poetry.

The son of Sayyiduna Jubair bin Mut’im (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from his father: When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin the prayer, he would say:“Allah is the Greatest, Most Great, and all praise is due to Allah, as much as may be.”He would say these words three times. Then he would say three times:“I declare the purity of Allah in the morning and evening.”Then he would say:“I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan, from his blowing, his spitting, and his whispering.”The narrator named Amr says: By ‘blowing’ is meant arrogance, by ‘whispering’ is meant epilepsy, and by ‘spitting’ is meant poetry.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates: In every prayer, recitation is done. So in those prayers in which the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, used to recite aloud to us, we recite aloud to you, and in those prayers in which the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, used to keep it hidden from us (i.e., recite in a low voice), we keep it hidden from you.

Sayyiduna Mahmood bin Rabee’ narrates about Sayyiduna ‘Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him). He learned about this statement of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him):“The prayer of that person is not valid who does not recite Surah Al-Fatihah (in the prayer).”

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When a person stands for prayer, he should not spit in front of him because as long as he is engaged in prayer, he is supplicating before his Lord. He should also not spit to his right side because there is an angel on his right. He should spit to his left side or under his foot and bury it." (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) This narration is a clear statement that it is obligatory for the follower (muqtadi) to recite Surah Al-Fatihah during prayer, because the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has informed that the one praying is supplicating to his Lord, and supplication can only occur when someone is addressed verbally; reciting tasbih or takbir or remaining silent does not constitute supplication.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever performs prayer and does not recite Surah Al-Fatihah, his prayer is incomplete, it is incomplete, it is not complete." (The narrator says) I said: O Abu Hurairah! Sometimes I am behind the Imam. So he pressed my wrist and said: O Persian! Recite it in your heart, because I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: "Allah Almighty says: I have divided the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah between Myself and My servant into two parts. Half of it is for Me and half of it is for My servant. My servant will get what he asks for." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says: You people begin the recitation. The servant says, 'All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.' Allah Almighty says: My servant has praised Me. The servant says, 'The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.' Allah says: My servant has extolled Me. The servant says, 'Master of the Day of Judgment.' Allah says: My servant has glorified Me. This verse is between Me and My servant. The servant says, 'You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help.' So this verse is between Me and My servant. He will get what he has asked for. The servant says: 'Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.' So these things will be given to My servant and My servant will get what he has asked for."

Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Once the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) led us in the morning prayer. It became difficult for him to recite (Qur'an). When he completed the prayer, he said: I think you recite behind your Imam as well. The narrator says: We said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! That is so. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Do not do so. You should recite Surah Al-Fatihah. The prayer of the one who does not recite it is not valid.