Chapter: The Beginning Of The Prayer.

Wail bin Hujr said: I came to the Prophet ﷺ during winter; I saw his companions raise their hands in their clothes in prayer.

Abu Humaid al-Saeedi once told a company of ten of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ; Abu Qatadah was one of them: I am one among you who is more informed of the way the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed. They said: Why, By Allah, you did not follow him more than us, nor did you remain in his company longer than us? He said: Yes. They said: Then describe (how the Prophet prayed). He said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up to pray, he raised his hands so as to bring them opposite his shoulders, and uttered the takbir (Allah is the most great), until every bone rested in its place properly: then re recited (some verses from the Quran); then he uttered the takbir (Allah is most great), raising his hands so as to bring them opposite his shoulders; then he bowed; placing the palms of his hands on his knees and keeping himself straight, neither raising nor lowering his head; then raised his head saying: “Allah listens to him who praise Him”; then raised his hands so as to bring them exactly opposite to his shoulders; then uttered: “Allah is most great”; then lowered himself to the ground (in prostration), keeping his arms away from his sides; then raised his head, bent his left foot and sat on it, and opened the toes when he prostrated: then he uttered: “Allah is most great”; then raised his head, bent his left foot and sat on it so that every bone returned to its place properly; then he did the same in the second (rak’ah). At the end of the two Rak’ahs he stood up and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great), raising his hands so as to bring them opposite to his shoulders; then he bowed, placing the palms of his hands on his knees and keeping himself straight, neither raising or lowering his head: then raised his head saying: “Allah listens to him who praises Him”; then raised his hands so as to bring them exactly opposite his shoulders; then uttered: “Allah is most great”; then lowered himself to the ground (in prostration), keeping his arms away from his sides; then raised his head, bent his left foot and sat on it, and opened the toes when he prostrated himself; then he prostrated; then uttered: “Allah is most great”; then raised his head, bent his left foot and sat on it so that every bone returned to its place properly; then he did the same in the second (rak’ah). At the end of two rak’ahs he stood up and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great), raising his hands so as to bring them opposite to his shoulders in the way he had uttered the Takbir (Allah is most great) at the beginning of the prayer; then he did that in the remainder of his prayer; and after prostration which if followed by the taslim (salutation) he out his left foot and sat on his left hip. They said: You have spoken the truth. This is how he ﷺ used to pray.

Amr al-Amiri said: I (once) attended the meeting of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. They began to discuss his prayer. Abu Humaid then narrated a part of the same tradition and said: When he bowed he clutched his knees with his palms, and he opened his fingers; then he bent his back without raising his upwards, and did not turn his face (on any side). When he sat at the end of two rak’ahs he sat on the sole of his left foot and raised the right, and after the fourth he placed his left hip on the ground and spread out both his feet one side.

The above mentioned tradition has also been reported by Muhammad bin Amr bin Ata through a different chain of narrators. This version adds: “When he prostrated himself he neither placed his arms on the ground nor closed them; putting forward his fingers towards the qiblah. ”

Abbas or Ayyash bin Sahl as-Saeedi said that he was present in a meeting which was attended by his father who was one of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, Abu Hurairah, Abu Humaid al-Saeedi and Abu Usaid. He narrated the same tradition with a slight addition or deletion. He said: He then raised his head after bowing and uttered: ”Allah listens to him who praises Him, to Thee, our Lord, be the praise, ” and raised his hands. He then uttered: “Allah is most great”; then he prostrated himself and rested on his palms, knees, and the end of his toes while prostrating: then he uttered the Takbir (Allah is most great), and sat down on his hips and raised his other foot; then he uttered the takbir and prostrated himself; then he uttered takbir and stood up, but did not sit on his hips. He (the narrator) then narrated the rest of the tradition. He further said: Then he sat down at the end of two rak’ahs; when he was about to stand after two rak’ahs, he uttered the takbir; then he offered the last two rak’ahs of the prayer. The narrator did not mention about his sitting on the hips spreading out his feet.

Abbas bin Sahl Said: Abu Humaid, Abu Usaid, Sahl. B Saad and Muhammad bin Maslamah (once) got together and discussed how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to offer his prayer. Abu Humaid said: I am more informed than any of you regarding the prayer offered by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Then he mentioned a part of it, and said: He then bowed and placed his hands upon his knees as if he caught hold of them; and bent them, keeping (his arms) away from his sides. He them prostrated himself and placed his nose and forehead (on the ground); and kept his arms away from his side, and placed his palms (on the ground opposite his shoulders; he then raised his head that every bone returned to its proper place; (he then prostrated twice) until he finished this prostrations). Then he sat down and spread out his left foot, putting forward the front of his right foot towards the qiblah placing the palm of his right hand on his right knee, and the palm of his left hand on his left knee, and he pointed with his finger. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by Ibn al-Mubarak from Fulaih who heard Abbas. Sahl narrating it; but I do not remember it. I think he made the mention of ‘Isa bin Abdullah who heard Abbas bin Sahl saying: I accompanied Abu Humaid al-Saeedi.

Abu Humaid reported to the same effect. He said: When he (the Prophet) prostrated he kept his thighs wide and did not let his belly touch the thighs. Abu Dawud says that Ibn Mubarak narrated this hadith from Abbas bin Sahl, which he did not remember well. It is thought that he has mentioned ‘Isa bin Abdullah, Abbas bin Sahl and Abu Humaid al-Saeedi.

Wail bin Hujr reported in this tradition from the Prophet ﷺ: When he prostrated, his knees touched the ground before his palms touched it; when he prostrated himself, he placed his forehead on the ground between his palms, and kept his armpits away from his sides. Hajjaj reported from Hammam and Shaqiq narrated a similar tradition to us from Asim bin Kulaib on the authority of his father from the Prophet ﷺ. And another version narrated by one of them has-and I think in all probability that this version has been narrated by Muhammad bin Juhadah-when he got up (after prostration), he got up with his knees and gave his weight on his thighs.

Narrated Wail ibn Hujr: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raising his thumbs in prayer up to the lobes of his ears.

Narrated Abu Hurairah: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) for prayer (in the beginning), he raised his hands opposite to his shoulders; and when he bowed, he did like that; and when he raised his head to prostrate, he did like that; and when he got up at the end of two rak'ahs, he did like that.

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: Maymun al-Makki said: that he saw Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr leading in prayer. He pointed with his hands (i. e. raised his hands opposite to the shoulders) when he stood up, when he bowed and when he prostrated, and when he got up after prostration, he pointed with his hands (i. e. raised his hands). The I went to Ibn Abbas and said (to him) I saw Ibn az-Zubayr praying that I never saw anyone praying. I then told him about the pointing with his hands (raising his hands). He said: If you like to see the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ follower the prayer as offered by Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr.

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: Nadr ibn Kathir as-Saadi said: Abdullah ibn Tawus prayed at my side in the mosque of al-Khayf. When he made the first prostration, he raised his head after it and raised his hands opposite to his face. This came as something strange for me. I, therefore, said it to Wuhayb ibn Khalid. Then Wuhayb ibn Khalid said to him: You are doing a thing that I did not see anyone do. Ibn Tawus then replied: I saw my father doing it, and my father said: I saw Ibn Abbas doing it. I do not know but he said: The Prophet ﷺ used to do it.

Nafi said on the authority of Ibn Umar that when he began prayer, he uttered the takbir ( Allah is most great) and raised his hands; and when he bowed ( he raised his hands); and when he said: “Allah listens to him who praises Him, ” (he raised his hands); and when he stood up at the end of two rak’ahs, he raised his hands. He (Ibn Umar) traced that back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Abu Dawud said: What is correct is that the tradition reported by Ibn Umar does not go back to the Prophet (may peace beupon him). Abu Dawud said: The narrator Baqiyyah reported the first part of this tradition from Ubaid Allah and traced it back to the Prophet ﷺ; and the narrator al-Thaqafi reported it from Ubaid Allah as a statement of Ibn Umar himself (not from the Porphet). In this version he said: When he stood at the end of two rak’ahs he raised them up to his breasts. And this is the correct version. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted as a statement of Ibn Umar (and not of the Prophet) by al-Laith bin Saad, Malik, Ayyub, and Ibn Juraij; and this has been narrated as a statement of the Prophet ﷺ by Hammad bin Salamah alone on the authority of Ayyub. Ayyub and Malik did not mention his raising of hands when he stood after two prostrations, but al-Laith mentioned it in his version. Ibn Juraij said in this version: I asked Nafi: Did Ibn Umar raise (his hands) higher for the first time? He said: No, I said: Point out to me. He then pointed to the breasts or lower than that.

Nafi said: When Abdullah bin Umar began his prayer, he raised his hands opposite to his shoulders; and when he raised his head after bowing, he raised them lower than that. Abu Dawud said: So as far as I know, no one narrated the words “he raised them lower that that” except Malik.