Simak bin Harb says: I asked Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) about the prayer of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so he said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform light prayers; he did not recite long surahs like those people, and in the Fajr prayer he would recite "Qaf. By the Glorious Qur'an" or surahs of similar length.

`Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite Surah Al-Fatihah and another surah in the first two rak‘ahs of Zuhr and Asr, and sometimes he would let us hear a verse or so, and in the last two rak‘ahs he would recite only Surah Al-Fatihah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to recite in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr, in each rak'ah, the equivalent of thirty verses, and in the last two rak'ahs, the equivalent of fifteen verses, or he said, half of that. And in the first two rak'ahs of 'Asr, in each rak'ah, the equivalent of fifteen verses, and in the last two rak'ahs, half of that (he used to recite).

`Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) says that (his mother) Umm Fadl heard him (Ibn Abbas) reciting Al-Mursalat 'Urfa, so she said, "Son, by reciting this surah you reminded me that the last thing I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was this surah, as he recited it in the Maghrib prayer."

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), then come to his own people and lead them in prayer. One night, after praying the 'Isha prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he came and led his people in prayer and started reciting Surah Al-Baqarah. A man turned away, said salam, prayed alone, and left. The people said, "Have you become a hypocrite?" He replied, "By Allah, I am not a hypocrite. I will go to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and tell him." Then he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah! We are people with camels (we draw water from them all day), and Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) comes after praying 'Isha with you and starts reciting Surah Al-Baqarah." Upon hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned to Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) and said, "O Mu'adh! Are you a troublemaker? (Do you want to make people dislike the prayer and cause discord by reciting such long surahs?) Recite such-and-such surahs." Sufyan said, "I said to 'Amr that Abu Zubair narrated from Jabir that he said, 'Recite: Wash-shamsi wa duhaha, wad-duha, wal-layli idha yaghsha, sabbih isma rabbika al-a'la.'" 'Amr said, "Recite surahs like these."

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that one day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in prayer. When he finished the prayer, he turned towards us and said, "O people! I am your imam, so do not precede me in bowing, prostrating, standing, or in saying salam. I see you from in front and behind. By the One in whose hand is my soul, if you were to see what I see, you would laugh little and weep much." The people asked, "O Messenger of Allah! What have you seen?" He replied, "I have seen Paradise and Hell."

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Whoever raises his head from prostration before the Imam should fear lest Allah transforms his face into that of a donkey.

It is narrated from Aswad and Alqamah that we both came to Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them) at his house. He asked, "Have those people (i.e., the nobles and leaders of that time) prayed behind you?" We said, "No." He said, "Get up and pray, because the time for prayer has come, and it is not necessary to delay your prayer while waiting for the nobles and leaders." Then he did not order us to give the adhan nor the iqamah. When we began to stand behind him, he took our hands and placed one of us on his right side and the other on his left. When we bowed (in ruku'), we placed our hands on our knees. He struck our hands and joined our palms together, placing them between our thighs. When the prayer was finished, he said, "Now your nobles and leaders will arise who will delay the prayer from its proper time and will constrict the prayer, until the sun is about to set (i.e., they will delay the Asr prayer so much)." When you see them doing this, then pray your prayer at its proper time (i.e., at the best time), then pray again with them as a nafl (supererogatory) prayer. And when you are three people, all of you should pray together (i.e., stand in a row and the imam should be in the middle), and when there are more than three, one person should become the imam and stand in front, and when he bows (in ruku'), he should place his hands on his thighs and bend, and join both palms together and place them between his thighs, as if I am seeing at this moment the difference in the fingers of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

Mus'ab bin Sa'd narrates that I prayed next to my father and placed my hands between my knees, so my father said to me, "Place both your palms on your knees." Mus'ab said that then I did the same again, so he struck my hand and said, "We have been forbidden from doing this and have been commanded to place both palms on the knees in (ruku')."

‘Mother of the Believers, Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) says that’ the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in his bowing and prostration, acting upon the Qur’an, would often recite this supplication: Subhanak Allahumma Rabbana wa bihamdika Allahumma ighfir li.