Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) lifted the curtain (during his illness before passing away) and the people were standing in rows behind Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O people! Now nothing remains of the glad tidings of prophethood (because prophethood has been concluded with me) except for righteous dreams which a Muslim sees or is shown. And know that I have been forbidden from reciting the Qur'an in bowing (ruku‘) and prostration (sujud); in ruku‘, glorify your Lord, and in sujud, strive in supplication, for it is more appropriate and likely that your supplication will be accepted.

Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him): When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would raise his head from bowing (ruku'), he would say: "O our Lord, all praise is exclusively for You, as much as fills the heavens and fills the earth and fills whatever else You will after that (with praise). You are the Possessor of majesty and honor. The truest statement a servant has said—and all of us are Your servants—is: O our Allah! There is none who can withhold what You give, and none who can give what You withhold, and the effort of the earnest does not benefit them against You (rather, only what You will happens)."

Ma'dan bin Abi Talhah al-Ya'mari says: I met Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him), the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I said to him, "Tell me of an act by which Allah will admit me to Paradise," or he said, "Tell me of the deed which is most beloved to Allah." Upon hearing this, Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) remained silent. Then I asked him again, but he remained silent. When I asked him a third time, he said, "I also asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) this question, and he said: 'Make frequent prostrations (sujood) to Allah, for you will not make a single prostration to Allah except that Allah will raise you one degree and remove from you one sin.'" Ma'dan said: Then I met Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him the same question, and he gave the same answer as Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) had given.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: A servant is closest to his Lord while in prostration, so make plenty of supplication in prostration.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones: on the forehead—and he (peace be upon him) pointed with his hand towards his nose—and on both hands, and on both knees, and on the toes of both feet, and I have been forbidden to gather up the clothes and hair.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Keep your limbs even in prostration, and none of you should spread his arms like a dog.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Malik bin Buhaina (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed prayer, he would separate his hands (from his sides) so much that I could see the whiteness of his armpits.

`Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) says that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sat in prayer, he would place his left foot between his thigh and shin, and spread out his right foot, and place his left hand on his left knee, and his right hand on his right thigh, and would gesture with his finger.

Tawoos says: We said to Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), "What do you say about the sitting posture of Iq’aa?" He said, "It is Sunnah." We said, "We consider this sitting to be hard on a person (or on the feet)." He said, "(No), rather it is the Sunnah of your Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." (Iq’aa is to sit with both feet upright and sitting on the heels.)

Hattan bin Abdullah al-Raqashi says that I was praying with Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him). When we were sitting in Tashahhud, someone from behind said that prayer has been made obligatory along with goodness and zakat. After the prayer, Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, "Who among you said this?" Everyone remained silent, so he (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "(You people are listening), tell me, who among you said this?" When everyone remained quiet, he (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me, "O Hattan! Perhaps you said these words?" I said, "No, I did not say them; I was afraid that you might get upset." Then a person said, "I said these words, and my intention was only goodness and virtue." Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "You people do not know what you should recite in your prayer. Whereas the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has explained all matters to us during the sermon and taught us how to pray. That is, before you start the prayer, straighten the rows. Then one of you should become the imam, and when he says Allahu Akbar, you should also say it. And when he finishes 'wa la-d-dallin', you should say Ameen so that Allah is pleased with you. When the imam says the takbir and bows (ruku'), you should also say the takbir and bow, and after the imam's takbir and ruku', you should perform the takbir and ruku'. And do not perform the takbir and ruku' before the imam, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said that your slight delay is counted as being equal to the imam's ruku' and takbirs. Then when the imam says 'Sami' Allahu liman hamidah', you should say 'Allahumma Rabbana wa laka al-hamd', and Allah hears your supplications, because Allah has said through His Messenger that whoever praises and glorifies Allah, Allah hears him. When the imam says the takbir and prostrates (sajdah), you should also say the takbir and prostrate, because the imam says the takbir and prostrates and rises a moment before you, and you perform these actions a moment after, so you will be with him. And when the imam sits in Tashahhud, each of you should recite this supplication: 'All verbal, physical, and financial acts of worship are for Allah alone. O Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is His servant and Messenger.'"