Rifaah bin Rafi said: One day we were praying behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised his head after bowing, he said: Allah listened to him who praised Him. A man behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: O Allah, Our Lord, and to Thee be praise, much praise, good and blessed. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished his prayer, he asked: Which of you if the one who spoke (the words) just now. The man said: I (uttered) these words, Prophet of Allah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: I saw more than thirty angels racing against one another to be the one to write them first.

Narrated Rifaah ibn Rafi: I offered prayer behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Rifaah sneezed. The narrator Qutaybah did not mention the name Rifaah (but he said: I sneezed). So I said: Praise be to Allah, praise much, good and blessed therein, blessed thereupon, as our Lord likes and is pleased. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished his prayer, he turned and said: Who was the speaker in prayer? He then narrated the rest of the tradition like that of Malik and completed it.

Narrated Rifaah ibn Rafi: A man entered the mosque. . . . . . He then narrated the tradition like the one narrated in (No. 855). This version is as follows: The Prophet ﷺ said: The prayer of anyone is not perfect unless he performs ablution perfectly; he should then utter the takbir, and praise Allah, the Exalted, and admire Him; he should then recite the Quran as much as he desires. He should then say: "Allah is Most Great". Next he should bow so that all his joints return to their proper places. Then he should say: "Allah listens to the one who praises Him", and stand erect. He should then say: "Allah is most great, " and should prostrate himself so that all his joints are completely at rest. Then he should say: "Allah is most great"; he should raise his head (at the end of prostration) till he sits erect. Then he should say: "Allah is most great"; then he should prostrate himself till all his joints return to their proper places. Then he should raise his head and say the takbir. When he does so, then his prayer is completed.

Narrated Rifaah ibn Rafi: This version (of Hadith No 856) adds: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: The prayer of any of you is not complete until he performs ablution perfectly, as Allah, the Exalted, has ordered you. He should wash his face and hands up to the elbows, and wipe his head and (wash) his feet up to the ankles. Then he should exalt Allah and praise Him. Then he should recite the Quran as much as it is convenient for him. (Narrator then narrated the tradition like Hammad's, No. 856). He said: He then utter the takbir and prostration himself so that his face is at rest. Hammam (sub-narrator) said: Sometimes he reported: So that his forehead is at rest on the ground, and his joints return to their places and are loosened. Then he should say the takbir and then sit right on his hips and erect his back. He described the nature of prayer in this way by offering four rak'ahs until he finished it. The prayer of any of you is not complete unless he does so.

This tradition has also been transmitted through a different chain of narrators by Rifaah bin Rafi. This version goes: When you get up and face the qiblah, what Allah wishes you to recite. And when you bow, put your palms on your knees and stretch out your back. When you prostrate yourself, do it completely ( so that you are at the rest). When you raise yourself then sit on your left thigh.

This tradition has also been transmitted by Rifaah b Rafi through a different chain of narrators. This version has: When you get up to pray, say the takbir, exalting Allah; then recite the Quran as much as it is convenient for you. The version adds: When you sit in the middle of the prayer, do it completely (so that you are at rest) and spread your left thigh; then recite the tashahhud. Then if you get up (again), do in a similar way until you finish your prayer.

Rifaah bin Rafi has also narrated this tradition through a different chain from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This version goes: Then perform ablution in a way Allah, the exalted, has command you, then say the shahadah and get up and say the takbir. Then if you know any of the Quran, recite it; otherwise say: “Praise be to Allah”; “Allah is most great”; “ There is no god but Allah” He ( the narrator) also said in this version: If some defect remains in this, that detect will remain in your prayer.