Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform a complete but the most concise prayer. By this, he meant: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform a concise prayer according to the general custom of the people of that time, which was in accordance with the general habit of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the narration transmitted by Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: One of us would go towards Baqi' to relieve himself, and then he would come back and perform ablution, and he would still catch the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the first rak'ah of the Zuhr prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do this so that people could also come and join the prayer. He did not do this in every rak'ah. He would do this only in the first rak'ah. In this, there is evidence that the one who catches the bowing (ruku') is considered to have caught the opening takbir.

Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would recite (Qur'an) in the first two units (rak'ahs) while leading us in the Zuhr prayer. He would make the first rak'ah long and the second one (relatively) shorter.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: We used to estimate the standing (qiyam) of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the Zuhr and Asr prayers. So we estimated that in the first two rak'ahs of the Zuhr prayer, his standing was as long as the recitation of thirty verses, and regarding his standing in the last two rak'ahs, we estimated that it was half of that. And in the first two rak'ahs of the Asr prayer, we estimated that his standing was as long as the last two rak'ahs of Zuhr, and regarding the last two rak'ahs of Asr, we estimated that it was half of that. (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) The statement of Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that we estimated the standing in the first two rak'ahs to be as long as the recitation of thirty verses, apparently seems contrary to the statement of Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to make the first rak'ah long and the second rak'ah short. However, praise be to Allah, it is not so. Because in the first rak'ah, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would recite thirty verses with pauses, in a measured and melodious tone, and in the second rak'ah, he would recite the same number of verses without pauses and melody. So the recitation would be equal in both, but the first rak'ah would be longer than the second.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I was sitting with Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) when some people from Kufa came to him. They complained about Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him), to the extent that they said to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) does not lead the prayer properly. So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Until recently, he used to lead the prayer very well. He called Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) and informed him about this. Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) said: As for the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), I lead them in prayer as he did; I make the first two rak’ahs long and the last two rak’ahs relatively short. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Abu Ishaq, this is what I thought of you. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a person with him to inquire about him in Kufa. He took him around all the mosques of Kufa, and everyone spoke well of him. Until they reached the mosque of Banu Abs, where there was a man named Abu Sa’dah. He said: Allah knows, he does not go out for any military expedition, nor does he distribute (the spoils of war) equally, and he does not judge with justice. The narrator says: Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) became angry and said: O Allah! If this man is lying, then lengthen his life, increase his poverty, and subject him to trials. The narrator says: The narrator named Umair has reported this. He saw that due to old age, the man’s eyebrows were drooping over his eyes, he was extremely poor, and he was afflicted with trials, but he did not get anything. He was asked: O Abu Sa’dah! What is your condition? He used to say: An old man who is afflicted with trials. The supplication of Sayyiduna Sa’d against me has been accepted.

Sayyiduna Wa'il bin Hujr Hadrami (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I thought to myself that I would definitely observe how the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the prayer. I observed him: when he stood up, he said the takbeer and raised his hands until he brought them level with his ears. He placed his right blessed hand on the back of his left hand’s palm, wrist, and forearm. Then, when he intended to go into ruku‘, he raised both his hands to the same extent (as he did at the beginning), then he went into ruku‘. Then he placed both his hands on his knees. Then he raised his head and raised both his hands to the same extent. Then he went into sujood. He placed both his palms in line with his ears. Then he sat down. He spread his left leg and placed his left hand on his left knee and his right hand on his right knee, and he placed his right elbow on his right knee. He joined two fingers together and made a circle with them, then raised one finger. I saw him moving it and supplicating with it. After that, once I came to him during the winter season and I saw that people were wearing winter clothes and they were moving their hands inside their clothes (i.e., they were performing the raising of the hands inside their cloaks).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) began the prayer, he would raise both hands up to the shoulders. When he said the takbeer to go into bowing (ruku‘), and when he raised his head from bowing, he would raise them in the same way, and he would say:“Allah has heard the one who praised Him. Our Lord, to You belongs all praise.”The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would not do this (i.e., raise his hands) during the prostrations (i.e., between the two prostrations).

Sayyiduna Wa’il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I performed prayer behind the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). When he entered the row (i.e., began the prayer), he raised both hands and said the takbeer. He had wrapped a cloth around himself as a covering. He inserted his hand a little inside the cloth and, with his right hand, held his left hand. Then, when he intended to go into bowing (ruku’), he took both hands out, raised them, and said the takbeer, then he went into ruku’. When he raised his head from ruku’, he raised both hands and, saying the takbeer, went into prostration (sajdah). Then he placed his face between both hands. The narrator named Ibn Jahadah states: I mentioned this to Hasan bin Abu’l-Hasan, so he said: This is the prayer of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him); whoever wanted to do so did it, and whoever wanted to leave it left it. Imam Abu Hatim (may Allah have mercy on him) states: The narrator named Muhammad bin Jahadah is among the trustworthy and precise narrators. He is a person of virtue regarding religiousness; however, he made a mistake regarding the name of this narrator, because even a horse can stumble. He said: This is Wa’il bin Alqamah, whereas it is Alqamah bin Wa’il.

Sayyiduna Malik bin Huwairith (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) began the prayer, he would raise both his hands while saying the takbeer, until both hands reached the level of his ears. He would do the same when going into ruku‘ and when rising from ruku‘.

Salim narrates from his father (Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with him): I saw the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) that when he began the prayer, he raised both his hands until he brought them up to the level of his shoulders. When he intended to go into bowing (ruku‘), he raised his hands, and when he raised his head from bowing, he also performed the raising of the hands. He did not raise his hands between the prostrations.

Muhammad bin Amr narrates: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Humayd (may Allah be pleased with him) say in the presence of ten Companions, among whom was Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him): "I have more knowledge than all of you regarding the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." The people asked, "You are neither an early Companion nor have you followed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) more than us." Sayyiduna Abu Humayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "That is so." The other Companions said, "Then present (how the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to pray)." So Sayyiduna Abu Humayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer, he would face the Qiblah and raise both his hands until he brought them up to his shoulders. Then he would say «اللہ اکبر» , then when he would go into bowing (ruku‘), he would say the takbir and raise both his hands. Then he would straighten his back and would neither raise his head nor lower it excessively. Then he would raise his head (i.e., rise from ruku‘) and say, 'Allah has heard the one who praises Him.' Then he would raise both his hands and bring them up to his shoulders, then he would stand straight, then he would go into prostration (sujud) and turn the tips of his toes towards the Qiblah. Then he would raise his head, say «اللہ اکبر» , and spread his left leg and sit on it in the manner of tawarruk. Then he would turn to give salam."