(a) Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform i'tikaf for ten days in the middle ten days of Ramadan. One year he performed i'tikaf until, when it was the twenty-first night, which is the night at the end of which he would come out of i'tikaf, he said: "Those who have performed i'tikaf with me should also perform i'tikaf in the last ten days. I was shown this night (Laylat al-Qadr), then I was made to forget it, and I saw myself prostrating in water and mud the following morning. So seek it in the odd nights of the last ten."
(b) Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) says: It rained that night, and the roof of the mosque was made of twigs and branches, so it leaked. Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) says: My eyes saw marks of mud on the blessed forehead and nose of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and that was the morning of the twenty-first.
(c) Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Al-Humaydi used to cite this hadith as evidence that a person should not wipe his forehead during prayer, because the mark was seen on the pure forehead and nose of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after he had finished praying.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 3551
(a) It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "Four things are part of coarseness: (1) urinating while standing, (2) praying in a place where people are passing in front, with no barrier (sutrah) between the one praying and those passing, (3) wiping dust from one's face during prayer, and (4) not responding to the adhan."
(b) This narration is likewise reported from Abdullah bin Buraydah, from his father, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), with the same meaning; in it "blowing in prayer" is mentioned in place of passing in front of the one praying, and the number four is not stated.
Al-Bukhari said: This hadith is munkar (denounced); its narrators are inconsistent about it.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 3552
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:صحيح لغيره
Hadith Takhrij«صحيح لغيره۔ اخرجه البخاري في تاريخه 3/ 495»
(a) Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) says that this hadith is reported through another chain from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Four things are part of coarseness: (1) a man urinating while standing, (2) wiping the forehead excessively before finishing the prayer, (3) not responding, and (4) praying in a path where they would cut off his prayer."
(b) It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a person should not wipe the dust from his face in prayer until he has finished the tashahhud and the salam.
Its narrator Harun bin Harun is not corroborated by trustworthy narrators in his hadiths from al-A'raj; this hadith has also been narrated through other routes, all of them weak.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 3553
Ubayd bin Umayr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: As long as the mark of prostration remains on a person's face, the angels continue to supplicate for mercy for him.
Al-Abbas said: No one other than him (Muhadir) narrated it. It has also been narrated to us from Sa'id bin Jubayr that he counted it as coarseness, and from al-Hasan that he saw no harm in it.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 3554
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:حسن
Hadith Takhrij«حسن۔ اخرجه ابو نعيم في الحلية 3/ 272»