‘A’isha said that God’s messanger prayed in his private apartment and the people followed his lead behind the apartment. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Abu Malik al-Ash‘ari said:I must tell you how God’s Messenger conducted prayer. He said that he had the iqama announced, drew the men up in line and drew up the youths behind them, then led them in prayer (mentioning how he conducted it), then said,“Thus is the prayer of. . ,”* ‘Abd al-A‘la said: I think he must have said“my people.”* The wording of the tradition is incomplete. ‘Abd al-A‘la who appears at a later stage in the isnad supplies what he considers the missing word must have been. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Qais b. ‘Ubad said:While I was in the mosque in the front row a man pulled me from behind, moved me aside and took my place, with the result, I swear by God, that I did not know what prayers I said. When he had finished I saw that he was Ubayy b. Ka'b. He said,“Young man, God does not wrong you, for this is a charge from the Prophet to us that we should be near him.”He then faced the qibla and said three times,“May ahl al-'aqd perish, by the Lord of the Ka'ba!”Then he said,“I swear by God that I do not grieve for them, but for those they have led astray.”I asked,“Abu Ya'qub, what do you mean by ahl al-'aqd?”* He replied,“The commanders.”* One of the meanings of 'aqd is“responsibility.” The phrase literally means“the people bf responsibility”, i.e. those who are in responsible positions. A chief ruler may be called sahib al-'aqd wal hall, i.e. he who binds and looses. Nasa’i transmitted it.

Abu Mas'ud reported God’s Messenger as saying,“The one of you who is most versed in God’s Book should act as imam for the people; but if they are equally versed in reciting it, then the one who has most knowledge regarding the sunna; if they are equal regarding the sunna, then the earliest of them to emigrate; if they emigrated at the same time, then the oldest of them. No man must lead another in prayer where the latter has authority, or sit in his place of honour in his house, without his permission.”Muslim transmitted it. A version by him has,“And a man must not act as imam for another in his own family.”

Abu Sa'id reported God’s Messenger as saying,“When there are three people one of them should lead them. The one among them most worthy to act as imam is the one who is most versed in the Qur’an.”Muslim transmitted it. The tradition of Malik b. al-Huwairith has been mentioned in a chapter following that on the excellence of the adhan (Ch. 7a).

Ibn ‘Abbas reported God’s Messenger as saying,“Let the best among you call the adhan for you, and the Qur’an readers act as your imams.”Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Abu ‘Atiya al-'Uqaili said:Malik b. al-Huwairith used to come to our place of prayer and tell us traditions, and one day when the time for prayer came we told him to go forward and lead the prayer, but he said to us: Put one of your own men forward to lead you in prayer, and I shall tell you why I am unwilling to do so. I heard God’s Messenger say, "If anyone visits people he must not act as their imam, but one of their men must do so.”Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Nasa’i transmitted it, but Nasa’i gave only the Prophet's words.

Anas said that God’s Messenger appointed Ibn Umm Maktum as substitute to lead the people in prayer, and he was blind. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Abu Umama reported God’s Messenger as saying, "There are three people whose prayer does not pass beyond earshot:a runaway slave till he returns, a woman with whom her husband is displeased throughout the night, and an imam whose people do not like him.”Tirmidhi transmitted it, and said this is a gharib tradition.

Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s Messenger as saying, "There are three people whose prayer is not accepted:one who goes in front of people when they do not like him, a man who comes to prayer dibaran, which means that he comes to it too late, and a man who takes into slavery an emancipated female slave.”Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it.