It is narrated from Sayyiduna Wa'il Hadhrami (may Allah be pleased with him) that he prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Prophet (peace be upon him) would bow and rise, he would say the takbeer, and he would raise both his hands at the time of takbeer, and he would turn for salam to the right and to the left, it was said: to the extent that the whiteness of his face would become visible. He said: Yes.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Malik bin Huwairith (may Allah be pleased with him) that I, along with some people from my tribe (Banu Laith), came to the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). We were all young men and we stayed with him for twenty days. He was very kind-hearted. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw our longing to return to our families, he said: "Go back to your families and stay with them. Teach them and instruct them, and pray as you have seen me praying. When the time for prayer comes, let one of you give the call to prayer (adhan), and let the eldest among you lead the prayer."

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "When three men gather together, then the one among them who has recited (the Qur'an) the most is the most deserving to lead them in prayer."

Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I was with my maternal aunt, Lady Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her), when the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came after ‘Isha and he prayed four rak‘ahs. Then he stood up and said: "Has the boy gone to sleep?" or he said something similar. Then he stood and began to pray, so I went and stood on his left side. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took my hand and placed me on his right side.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once rode a horse and fell from it, injuring his right side. So he (peace be upon him) performed one of the (obligatory) prayers sitting, and we also prayed sitting with him. When he finished, he said: "The Imam is appointed to be followed, so do not oppose him. Therefore, when he prays standing, you should also pray standing; when he bows (in ruku‘), you should also bow; and when he says «سمع الله لمن حمده» , you should say «ربنا ولك الحمد» ; and if the Imam prays sitting, then all of you should also pray sitting."

Abdullah bin Abdullah (bin Utbah) said: I went to Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and asked her: Will you not describe to me the illness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? She said: Certainly, (listen). When the illness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intensified, he asked:“Have the people performed the prayer?”We said: No, O Messenger of Allah! The people are waiting for you. He said:“Put water for me in the tub.”Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: We put water for him, he sat and performed ghusl (ritual bath), and when he tried to get up, he fainted. When he regained consciousness, he again asked:“Have the people performed the prayer?”We said: No, O Messenger of Allah! The people are waiting for you. He (again) said:“Put water for me in the tub.”She said: We again put water for him and he sat and performed ghusl, then he tried to get up but again fainted. When he regained consciousness, he again said the same:“Have the people performed the prayer?”We said: No, O Messenger of Allah! The people are waiting for you. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said that the people were sitting in the mosque waiting for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for the Isha prayer. She said: Finally, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a man to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead the people in prayer. That man went to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commands you to lead the prayer. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was a very soft-hearted man. He said: Umar! You lead the prayer. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You are more deserving of it. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Thus, during those days of illness, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) continued to lead the prayers. Then, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) felt a little better, he came out for the Zuhr prayer supported by two men, one of whom was Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). At that time, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was leading the prayer. When Abu Bakr saw him, he wanted to step back, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gestured to him not to step back. Then he said to those two men: Seat me beside Abu Bakr. So they seated him beside Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and now Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was standing, praying following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and all the people were praying following Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was praying while sitting. Ubaydullah said: Then I went to Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and said to him: Shall I narrate to you the hadith that Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated about the illness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: Certainly, narrate it. So I narrated the whole hadith to him. He did not deny anything in it, except that he said: Did (Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her) mention the name of the man who was with Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him)? I said: No. Then he informed me that the (other person) was Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him and may He be pleased with him).

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sitting on the pulpit, then he pronounced the opening takbeer, and the people also pronounced the takbeer. Then he bowed (performed ruku’) on the pulpit itself, then raised his head from ruku’, then in that state he stepped back with his heels and prostrated below the pulpit, then ascended again and completed the prayer in the same manner. Imam Abu Muhammad Darimi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In this regard, the imam is permitted to lead the prayer while standing at a height above the congregation, and he may perform such actions in prayer.

Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man came to the service of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! By Allah, I am delayed in the Fajr prayer because of the lengthy prayer of so-and-so person. The narrator said: I have never seen the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) so severe in admonition and anger as he was that day. Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:“O people! Some of you are spreading aversion. Whoever leads the people in prayer should make it light, because among the worshippers behind him there may be an elderly, a weak, or someone with a need.”

Sayyiduna Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) say: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead the prayer in a manner that was very light, gentle, and complete.

Abdullah bin Abi Qatadah narrated from his father that the Messenger of Allah ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) said: "When the Iqamah for prayer is called, do not stand up until you see me."