Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 2995 — A man who falls short in his prayer

Zayd bin Wahb says: Once Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) entered the mosque and saw a man praying towards the gates of Kindah, but he was not performing the bowing and prostration properly. When he had completed his prayer, Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: For how long have you been praying like this? He said: For forty years. Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You have not prayed for forty years. If you had died praying like this, you would have left this world upon a nature (fitrah) other than the one upon which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was created. Then Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) began to teach him the prayer, and he said: A man may make his prayer light, but he should not fall short in the bowing and prostration.