Sahl b. Sa'd said that the people received command that a man should place the right hand on the left forearm in prayer. Bukhari transmitted it.

Jabir reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The most excellent prayer consists in long standing in prayer.” Muslim transmitted it.

Wa il b. Hujr said he saw that when the Prophet (ﷺ) stood up to pray he raised his hands till they were in front of his shoulders and placed his thumbs opposite his ears, then he said the takbir. Abu Dawud transmitted it, and in a version by him it says that he raised his thumbs to the lobes of his ears.

Qabisa b. Hulb quoted his father as saying that God’s Messenger would lead them in prayer and hold his left hand in his right. Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

AI-Fadl b. ‘Abbas reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The prayer is in twos, every two rak'as containing an utterance of the tahiyat, and acts of submission, supplication and humility. Then you should uplift your hands, i.e., raise them to your Lord, with the palms opposite your face, and say, ‘My Lord, my Lord.’ Anyone who does not do that is such and such.”* A version has, “is guilty of imperfection.” *A vague phrase indicating that the prayer is defective. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Sa'id b. al-Harith b. al-Mu‘alla said that Abu Sa'id al-Khudri led them in prayer and said the takbir loudly when he raised his head after the prostration, when he prostrated himself, and when he rose at the end of two rak'as, and he said, “Thus did I see the Prophet (ﷺ) do." Bukhari transmitted it.

‘Ikrima said: I prayed behind an old man in Mecca and he said the takbir twenty-two times. When I said to Ibn ‘Abbas that the man was a fool, he replied, “I am surprised at you. It was the sunna of Abul Qasim.’’* *This is the Prophet’s kunya. Bukhari transmitted it.

‘Ali b. al-Husain told in mursal form that God’s Messenger said the takbir in prayer as often as he got down1 and got up2 and that this continued to be his method in prayer till he met God. 1. i.e. for bowing or prostration. 2. i.e. after prostration. Malik transmitted it.

‘Alqama said that Ibn Mas'ud suggested leading them in prayer in the way God’s Messenger had performed it. He prayed, raising his hands only once, along with the takbir at the beginning. Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it, and Abu Dawud said it is not sahih put this way.

Abu Humaid as-Sa‘idi said that when God’s Messenger stood up to pray, he faced the qibla, raised his hands and said, “God is most great." Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Abu Huraira told how on an occasion when God’s Messenger led them in the noon prayer, there was a man at the back of the rows who performed the prayer badly. When he had said the taslim God’s Messenger called out to him, “So and so, do you not fear God? Do you not see how you should pray? You people think that part of what you are doing is hidden from me, but I swear by God that I see behind me just as I see in front of me." Ahmad transmitted it.

Anas said that a man came panting and entered the row of worshippers and said, “God is most great. Praise be to God, much, good and blessed.” When God’s Messenger finished his prayer he asked, “Which of you is the one who spoke the words?” but the people remained silent. He asked again, and when they still kept silence, he said, “Which of you said them? He said nothing wrong.” Then a man said, “I came and had difficulty in breathing, so I said them.” He replied, “I saw twelve angels racing one another to be the one to take them up to God.” Muslim transmitted it.

‘A’isha said that when God’s Messenger began to pray he said, “Glory be to Thee, O God, and with praise of Thee do I begin my worship. Blessed is Thy name, exalted is Thy majesty, and there is no god but Thee.” Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted it from Abu Sa'id. Tirmidhi said, “This is a tradition which I know only from Haritha, and critical remarks have been made about his memory.”

Jabir said that when the Prophet (ﷺ) began prayer he said the takbir, then said, “My prayer and my devotion, my life and my death belong to God, the Lord of the universe, who has no partner. I have been so commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims. O God, guide me to the best deeds and the best qualities, Thou who alone canst guide to the best of them; and guard me from evil deeds and evil qualities, Thou who alone canst guard from their evil ones.” Nasa’i transmitted it.

Muhammad b. Maslama said that when God’s Messenger stood up to observe voluntary prayers he said, “God is most great. I have turned my face as a hanif towards Him who created the heavens and the earth, and I am not a polytheist.” And he mentioned the tradition like that of Jabir, except that he said, “l am of the Muslims.” Then he said, “O God, Thou art the King. There is no god but Thee. Glory be to Thee, and with praise of Thee .” Then he would recite . Nasa’i transmitted it.

Abu Zuhair an-Numairi said: We went out with God’s Messenger one night and came upon a man who made supplication with persistence. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “He will have done something which guarantees if he puts a seal to it.” One of the people asked what he should use for a seal, and he replied, “Amen”. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Sulaiman b. Yasar quoted Abu Huraira as saying, “I never prayed behind anyone whose prayer more closely resembled that of God’s Messenger than so and so’s.” Sulaiman said that he prayed behind him, and he was prolonging the first two rak'as of the noon prayer, shortening the last two, shortening the afternoon prayer, reciting short suras from al-Mufassal* at the sunset prayer, medium suras from al-Mufassal at the evening prayer, and long ones from al-Mufassal at the morning prayer. * A name applied to the latter part of the Qur’an because there are many divisions, but opinions differ about where it begins. Lane mentions the different views in his Lexicon, pp 2407 f., saying the most correct opinion is that it begins with sura 49. Nasa’i transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted up to “shortening the afternoon prayer.”

‘Ubada b. as-Samit said: We were behind the Prophet (ﷺ) at the dawn prayer, and he recited a passage, but the recitation became difficult for him. Then when he finished he said, “Perhaps you recite behind your imam?” We replied, “Yes, Messenger of God.” He said, “Do it only when it is Fatihat al-Kitab, for he who does not include it in his recitation is not credited with having prayed.” Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Nasa’i has something to the same effect. In a version by Abu Dawud he said, “I am wondering what is the matter with me that the Qur’an should be at variance with me. So do not recite any of the Qur’an when I recite aloud, except Umm al-Qur'an."

Abu Huraira said that when God’s Messenger had finished a prayer in which he had recited aloud, he asked, “Did any of you recite along with me just now?” When a man replied that he had, he said, “I am wondering what is the matter with me that I should be contended with regarding the Qur’an.” He said that when the people heard that from God’s Messenger they ceased reciting along with him the passages which he recited aloud in the prayers. Malik, Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, and Nasa'i transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted something similar.

Ibn ‘Umar and al-Bayadi reported God’s Messenger as saying, “He who prays holds intimate converse with his Lord, so he must consider how he does so, and none of you must recite the Qur’an more loudly than others. Ahmad transmitted it.