Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to mix with us so much that he would say to my younger brother, "O Abu Umair! What happened to your little bird?" When the time for prayer came, we spread our mat for the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), then the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) performed prayer on it and we prayed behind him. (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) The statement of Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that "the time for prayer had come" means that it was the time for a voluntary (nafl) prayer. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would not perform the obligatory prayer in congregation at the house of any Ansari except in the mosque where congregational prayer was held.