Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that when the time of decline (of the sun) would come, Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) would call the adhan but would not say the iqamah until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived and Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) saw him, then he would say the takbir (iqamah).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Salamah bin Abdur Rahman bin Awf that he heard Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) saying that once the call for prayer (iqamah) was given and we straightened the rows before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out, and when he stood at his place and had not yet said the opening takbir, he remembered something and returned. He said to us, "Remain standing in your places." We all remained standing, waiting for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to return. He came after performing ghusl, and water was dripping from his blessed head (due to the ghusl). Then he said the takbir and led us in prayer.

Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that for prayer, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would pass his hand over our shoulders and say: "Stand straight and do not move forward or backward, otherwise discord will arise in your hearts. Also, let those who are very wise and intelligent stand closest to me, and then those who are next to them." After this, Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Today, countless differences have arisen among you people."

Narrated from Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: If people knew the reward and merit of the call to prayer and standing in the first row, and there was no other way but to draw lots, then they would draw lots for it. And if people knew the virtue of offering prayer at its earliest time, they would compete with each other for it. And if they knew the excellence of 'Isha and Fajr prayers, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.

`Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The best rows among men are the first rows and the worst are the last rows, and for women, the worst rows are the first rows (when the men's rows are close to them) and the best rows are the last rows (which are farther from the men).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: If it were not difficult for the Muslims—and in Zuhair’s narration, it is stated: If it were not difficult for my Ummah—I would have commanded them to use the miswak at the time of every prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came and joined the row for prayer while he was out of breath, so he said, "All praise is for Allah, abundant praise, pure and blessed." Then when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had finished the prayer, he said: Who among you said these words? So all the people remained silent. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked again: Who said these words? For he has not said anything bad. So that man said: I came and I was out of breath, so I said these words. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I saw twelve angels competing with each other as to which of them would take these words up (i.e., to Allah, the Exalted).

Narrated Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood for prayer, he would raise both his hands up to his shoulders, then say Allahu Akbar, and when he intended to bow (for ruku'), he would do the same, and when he raised his head from ruku', he would do the same, but when he raised his head from prostration (sajdah), he would not do so, meaning he would not raise both hands between the two prostrations.

Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin the prayer by saying Allahu Akbar and would start the recitation with“Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Alamin”(meaning he would say Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem quietly), and when he bowed (in ruku‘), he would neither raise nor lower his head but keep it level with his back, in between. And when he raised his head from ruku‘, he would not go into prostration (sajdah) until he stood up straight, and when he raised his head from prostration, he would not perform the second prostration until he sat up straight. After every two rak‘ahs, he would recite the Tashahhud (at-Tahiyyat) in the sitting position, spreading his left foot and keeping his right foot upright, and he forbade sitting like the devil and also forbade a person from spreading both hands on the ground like a wild beast, and he would end the prayer with salam.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would stand for prayer, he would say the takbeer, and then at the time of bowing (ruku‘) he would say the takbeer, and when raising his head from ruku‘ he would say:“Sami‘a Allahu liman hamidah,”and then while standing he would say:“Rabbana wa lakal-hamd,”and then when he would prostrate he would say the takbeer, and when raising his head from prostration he would also say the takbeer, and then until the end of the prayer, he would say the takbeer at every (sitting and rising). And after two rak‘ahs, when standing up, he would again say“Allahu Akbar.”After this, Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Among all of you, I perform the prayer most like the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).