Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: And he did not speak falsely. He says, when the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to pray with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), after raising their heads from bowing (ruku‘), they would remain standing, until when they saw that he had gone into prostration, then they would also go into prostration.

Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When we used to pray behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), after rising from bowing (ruku‘), we would remain standing until we saw that he had gone into prostration (sajdah), then we would go into prostration.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates this statement of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him: "Soon there will come people (the narrator is unsure, perhaps these are the words) there will be people who will perform the prayer; if they perform the prayer completely, then you will get the reward and they will also get the reward, and if they fall short in it, then its burden will be upon them and you will still get the reward." (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) The narrator named Abu Ayyub Afriki is Abdullah bin Ali, and he is a trustworthy narrator from Kufa.

Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not try to go into ruku‘ (bowing) or sujood (prostration) before me, because for as long as I go into ruku‘ before you, you will find me in that state when you reach it, and for as long as I go into sujood before you, you will find me in that state when I raise my head. The reason for this is that my weight has increased."

Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) stated this on the pulpit. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not try to go into bowing (ruku) or prostration (sajdah) before me, because my weight has increased. When going into ruku, I will go before you, so you will find me when I raise my head from ruku, and before you, when I go into sajdah, so you will find me when I raise (my head) from sajdah."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "O people! My weight has increased, so do not go into bowing (ruku) or prostration (sajdah) before me; rather, I will go before you, and you will reach there, whoever goes ahead first."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: I used to know that the prayer of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had ended by the sound of the takbeer.

Lady Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), who is the honorable wife of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), narrates: In the blessed era of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), women would stand up immediately after saying the salam (ending the prayer), while the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the men who prayed behind him would remain seated for as long as Allah willed. Then, when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would stand up, the men would also stand up.

Sayyida Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: In the blessed time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), women would stand up when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) finished the obligatory prayer with salam, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the men who prayed behind him would remain seated. Then, when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood up, the men would also stand up.

Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) once pronounced the takbir for the Fajr prayer, then he gestured to the people (to remain in their places), then he departed. He performed ghusl (ritual bath). He returned, and drops of water were dripping from his head. He led the people in prayer. (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) The statement of Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) led them in prayer means that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) did so by pronouncing the takbir anew. It does not mean that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) returned and continued from where the previous prayer was left off, because it is impossible that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would leave, perform ghusl, and all the people would remain standing in their state without an imam, until the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) returned. Whoever uses this narration as evidence that continuing a prayer (bina) is permissible, it is necessary for him not to consider the standing of the followers without an imam as invalid, for a duration as long as the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had left, performed ghusl, and returned, and during which the followers did not recite (Qur'an). So, when it is correct to negate the permissibility of what we have mentioned, then it will also be established that continuing a prayer (bina) during the prayer is not permissible. And it will be necessary for those people to consider recitation behind the imam as obligatory, because one of these two matters must be necessary: either they will consider it permissible for the followers to stand during the prayer without any recitation and without an imam, for the duration we have mentioned, or they will direct those followers to what we have mentioned, that they must recite behind the imam, even if the imam is not standing in front of them.