`Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that none of you should give a share to Satan from himself; do not think that it is obligatory upon me to turn only to the right after prayer. I have often seen that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would also turn to the left.

'Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that' the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The one who knows the Qur'an most should lead the people in prayer. If they are equal in the Qur'an, then the one who knows the Sunnah most. If they are equal in the Sunnah, then the one who migrated earlier. If they are equal in migration, then the one who accepted Islam earlier. And do not lead in prayer in the place of authority of someone else (i.e., do not lead in the presence of the appointed Imam without his permission), nor sit on his seat in his house except with his permission.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that he used to pray with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). When he (peace be upon him) would go into bowing (ruku‘), the companions would also bow, and when he (peace be upon him) would raise his head from bowing, he would say:“Sami‘ Allahu liman hamidah,”and we would remain standing until we saw that he (peace be upon him) had placed his forehead on the ground; only then would we go into prostration (sajdah).

Sidna Abu Mas'ud Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, says that a man came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said: "I do not come to the morning congregation because so-and-so prolongs the recitation." He said: "I have never seen the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, so angry while giving advice as he was that day." The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "O people! Some of you make others dislike the religion. Whoever among you leads the people in prayer should keep it short, for behind him are the elderly, the weak, and those who have needs."

‘Ubaidullah bin Abdullah says: I went to Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) and requested,“Please tell me about the incidents during the illness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).”She said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fell ill, he asked,“Have the people performed the prayer?”We replied,“No, they are waiting for you.”He said,“Place water for me in a vessel.”We placed the water, and he performed ghusl (ritual bath). After that, he tried to walk but fainted. When he regained consciousness, he again asked,“Have the people performed the prayer?”We replied,“No, O Messenger of Allah! They are waiting for you.”He said,“Place water for me in a basin.”So we complied with his order, and he performed ghusl again. Then he prepared to walk, but again he fainted. When he regained consciousness, he asked again,“Have the people performed the prayer?”We replied,“No, O Messenger of Allah! They are all waiting for you.”Meanwhile, the people were all waiting in the mosque for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to come for the ‘Isha prayer. Finally, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a message through a man to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead the prayer. That man went to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and said,“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has ordered you to lead the people in prayer.”Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) was very soft-hearted (he would start crying quickly), so he said to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him),“O Umar! You lead the prayer.”Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) replied,“No, you are more deserving of leading, and you have been ordered to do so.”Thus, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) led the prayer for several days. During this period, one day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) felt a little better, so he went to the mosque for the Zuhr prayer, supported by two men. One of these two men was Sayyiduna Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), who was his uncle. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reached the mosque when Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) was leading the prayer as Imam. When he saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he wanted to step back, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gestured to him not to step back and said to those with him,“Seat me next to Abu Bakr.”So they seated him next to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) began to pray sitting, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) continued to stand and follow the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as if the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the Imam and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) was the follower, and all the companions, as before, were following Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) in this obligatory Zuhr prayer. ‘Ubaidullah bin Abdullah narrates: I went to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and said,“I will narrate to you the hadith that Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated to me.”At his request, I narrated the entire hadith to him. After listening, he said,“This entire hadith is absolutely correct.”Then he asked,“Did Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) not mention the name of the other person who was with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?”I replied,“No.”He said,“The other man was Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).”

Narrated from Sayyiduna Mughirah bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) that I participated in the Battle of Tabuk with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). One morning, before the Fajr prayer, at the same place of Tabuk, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went out to relieve himself and I was with him carrying a water jug. After relieving himself, when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) returned, I poured water over his hands. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) first washed his hands three times, then washed his face. He tried to pull up the sleeves of his cloak to his arms, but the sleeves were tight, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) took his hands out from under the cloak and washed them up to the elbows, and then wiped over his leather socks. Then I set out with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). When we arrived there, we saw that Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) was leading the prayer. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed one rak’ah behind him. After Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) completed both rak’ahs and turned to say salam, he saw that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had stood up to complete his prayer with a second rak’ah. The Muslims became anxious upon seeing this and recited tasbih abundantly. Then, after finishing the prayer, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that you people did well. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) expressed happiness that the people had performed the prayer on time.

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that a blind man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! I have no one to lead me to the mosque," and he sought permission from you (peace and blessings be upon him) to pray at home. So you (peace and blessings be upon him) granted him permission. Then, when he turned to leave, you (peace and blessings be upon him) called him back and asked, "Do you hear the call to prayer?" He replied, "Yes." So you (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Then come to the mosque."

Narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The prayer in congregation is twenty-five degrees superior to the prayer of a person alone.

‘Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that we used to think that (in the time of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him) only that hypocrite would stay behind from the congregational prayer whose hypocrisy was evident, or a sick person. And even a sick person, if he could, would come by placing his hands on the shoulders of two men and join the prayer. And he said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us matters of religion and guidance, and among those matters of guidance is to pray in a mosque where the call to prayer (adhan) is given.

Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The prayer offered in congregation is superior by more than twenty degrees to the prayer offered at home or in the market, because when any one of you performs ablution well and goes to the mosque solely for the purpose of prayer, then for every step he takes towards the mosque, one rank is raised for him and one sin is erased. After entering the mosque, as long as he remains seated waiting for the prayer, he is considered to be in prayer, and the angels continue to supplicate for him as long as he remains seated at the place of prayer, as long as he does not harm the angels (by breaking his ablution). The angels keep saying: O Allah! Have mercy on him. O Allah! Forgive him. O Allah! Accept his repentance.