The virtue of prayer

Sayyidah Aishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: "Whoever harms a friend (wali) of Mine has made war against Me lawful for himself. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything like the obligatory duties, and the servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary deeds until I love him. If he asks Me for something, I give it to him, and if he supplicates to Me, I answer him. I do not hesitate over anything that I am going to do as much as I hesitate over the death of My servant, because he dislikes death, and I dislike what displeases him."
Ahmad recorded it; its chain contains Abd al-Wahid bin Qays bin Urwah, whom Abu Zur'ah, al-Ijli and, in one of two reports, Yahya bin Ma'in declared thiqah (trustworthy), while others declared him da'if (weak). The rest of its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat with this addition: "When I love him, I become his eye with which he sees, his ear with which he hears, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks."
The rest of the narration is as before, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except that his (al-Tabarani's) teacher Harun bin Kamil is a different case.
Al-Bazzar recorded something similar. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) The remaining chains of this narration will come in the Book of Asceticism (Zuhd), in the chapter: Whoever harms a friend (wali) of Allah.

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Allah Almighty says: My servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary deeds until I love him; then I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his tongue with which he speaks, and his heart with which he understands. When he supplicates to Me, I answer his supplication; when he asks Me for something, I give it to him; and when he seeks My help, I help him. And the most beloved to Me of the things by which My servant worships Me is sincerity (of devotion) to Me."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir.

From the same Companion it is mentioned in one narration that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever insults a friend (wali) of Mine has openly declared enmity against Me. O son of Adam, you will not attain what is with Me except by fulfilling what I have made obligatory upon you, and My servant keeps striving to gain My love through voluntary deeds until I love him." Then the narrator mentioned the narration as before. The chains of both narrations contain Ali bin Yazid, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out in the winter season while the leaves were falling. the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took hold of a branch of a tree, and its leaves began to fall. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu Dharr!" I said: "O Messenger of Allah, here I am at your service." the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When a Muslim servant offers the prayer, seeking by it the pleasure of Allah Almighty, his sins fall away from him just as these leaves are falling from this tree."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Mutarrif narrates: I was sitting with some people from Quraysh when a man came and began to pray. He was performing ruku' and sajdah but was not sitting (for tashahhud). I said: "By Allah! I cannot make out whether this man will finish his prayer after an even number or after an odd number." They said: "Why don't you get up, go to him and tell him so?" Mutarrif says: I got up and said: "O servant of Allah! I cannot tell whether you will finish your prayer after an even number of rak'ahs or after an odd number." He replied: "But Allah Almighty knows. I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Whoever performs one prostration for Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty records one good deed for him because of it, removes one sin from him because of it, and raises him one degree because of it.'" Mutarrif says: I asked: "Who are you?" He replied: "Abu Dharr." I went back to my companions and said: "May Allah Almighty repay you as bad companions are repaid! You directed me to teach one of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)!" In one narration the wording is: I saw him standing for a long time and performing ruku' and sajdah abundantly. I mentioned this to him, and he said: "I have spared no effort in praying well, for I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Whoever performs one ruku' or one sajdah is raised one degree by it, and one sin is erased from him by it.'"
Ahmad recorded all of these narrations, and al-Bazzar recorded similar narrations through various chains; the narrators of some of them are the narrators of the Sahih.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat.

Ziyad bin Abi Ziyad, the freed slave (mawla) of Banu Makhzum, reports from a servant of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), whether a man or a woman, who said: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would ask the servant: "Do you need anything?" Then one day the servant said: "O Messenger of Allah! I do have a need." the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What is your need?" The servant said: "My need is that you intercede for me on the Day of Resurrection." the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Who guided you to this?" The servant replied: "My Lord." the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Very well, but help me (in this) by performing many prostrations."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abu Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "O Abu Fatimah! If you wish to meet me (in the Hereafter), then perform many prostrations."
Ahmad recorded it; its chain contains Ibn Lahi'ah, who has been criticized.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Prayer is the best thing; whoever is able to perform it abundantly should perform it abundantly."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains Abd al-Mun'im bin Bashir, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a grave and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who is the occupant of this grave?" The people said: "So-and-so." the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Two rak'ahs would be more beloved to this person than the whole of your world."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A young man used to serve the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and was quick to attend to his needs. the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Ask me for whatever you need!" He said: "Supplicate to Allah Almighty for Paradise for me." The narrator says: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head, drew a breath, and then said: "Very well, but help me (in this) by performing many prostrations."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains Nasih bin Abdullah al-Tamimi, who is extremely da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Rabi'ah bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I used to serve the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during the day, and at night I would come to the door of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and spend the night there. I would keep hearing him recite: "Subhan Allah, Subhan Allah, Subhana Rabbi (Glory be to Allah, Glory be to Allah, Glory be to my Lord)," until I grew tired, or (the narrator is unsure, perhaps the words are:) my eyes would overcome me and I would fall asleep. One day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Rabi'ah! Ask of me and I will give you." I said: "Give me some time so that I may think it over." I reflected that this world is perishing and will come to an end, so I said: "O Messenger of Allah! I ask you to supplicate to Allah Almighty to save me from Hell and admit me into Paradise." the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Who told you to ask this?" I said: "No one told me to, but I know that this world will come to an end and perish, and you hold the station you hold with Allah Almighty, so I wished that you would supplicate to Allah Almighty." the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I will do so; help me (in this) by performing many prostrations."
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Part of it is recorded in the Sahih.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains Ibn Ishaq, who is thiqah (trustworthy) but a mudallis (one who conceals defects in the chain).

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "I will be the first one granted permission to raise his head (on the Day of Resurrection). I will raise my head and recognize the people of my Ummah on my right and on my left." It was asked: "O Messenger of Allah! How will you recognize them?" the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They will have radiant foreheads and limbs from the traces of prostration, and their offspring will be their light, before them."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains Ibn Lahi'ah, whose hadith is hasan (good), and the rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy). It has various chains which Ahmad recorded; I have mentioned it in the chapter on the Resurrection.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: There is no state more beloved to Allah Almighty in which to find His servant than finding him with his face placed in the dust (that is, in prostration).
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains Asim bin Abi al-Nujud, who has been criticized.

Sayyiduna Abu Rayhanah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and complained to him that the Qur'an slips away from me and that memorizing it is a hardship for me. the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not burden yourself with what you cannot bear; hold fast to prostration."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir from his teacher Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Irq bin al-Himsi; al-Dhahabi said: He is not relied upon.

Sayyiduna Jubayr bin Nawfal (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty does not favour anything from a servant as much as the excellence of praying two rak'ahs or more. Righteousness keeps being scattered over the head of the servant as long as he remains in prayer. And no servant draws near to Allah Almighty by anything more excellent than what has come from Him." (The narrator says:) the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) meant the Qur'an.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains Layth bin Abi Sulaym, who has been criticized.

Sayyiduna Salamah bin al-Akwa' (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Remain upright, though you will never be able to do it fully, and know that the most excellent of your deeds is prayer, and none but a believer will guard the prayer regularly."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains al-Waqidi, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Remain upright! How excellent it is if you remain upright. And the best of your deeds is prayer."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir from Muhammad bin Ubadah, from his father; I have not found anyone who has written a biography of him.

Malik bin Qays narrates: Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), who was in Iliya'. After a short while he left. He was searched for but was not found, (the narrator is unsure, perhaps the words are:) we searched for him but did not find him. Then we came to him, and at that time he was praying in an open space. He asked: "Why have you come?" The people said: "We have come to renew our acquaintance with you and to fulfil your right (that is, to benefit from you)." He said: "I have something you need. Once we were travelling with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and each of us had the duty of tending the camels for one day. When my particular day came, the day on which I was to tend the camels, I took the camels out to graze. When I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), his Companions were coming and going around him and he was speaking. My attention turned away from the camels and towards the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When I reached him, he was saying: 'Whoever performs ablution and performs it well, then prays two rak'ahs intending by them the pleasure of Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty will forgive him his previous sins.' I said: 'Allahu Akbar!' Then someone struck my shoulder; I turned around and saw that it was Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: 'O son of Amir! What the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said before this is more excellent.' I asked: 'What was it before this?' He said: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Whoever testifies that there is no god but Allah Almighty, with his heart affirming his tongue, will enter Paradise through whichever of its gates he wishes.'" (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: A hadith from this Companion other than this one is recorded in the Sahih.
Abu Ya'la recorded it; I have not found anyone who mentions the narrator Malik bin Qays. Its chain contains Abd al-Rahman bin Ziyad bin An'um, who has been criticized a great deal, and some have declared him thiqah (trustworthy).