Pausing at a verse of mercy, a verse of punishment and a verse of glorification

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: I prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) began Surah al-Baqarah, and I said (to myself): He (peace and blessings be upon him) will recite it in one rak'ah. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) kept on reciting. I said: He will bow with it. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) began Surah al-Nisa' and recited all of it, then he began Surah Al Imran. He (peace and blessings be upon him) was reciting slowly and deliberately. Whenever he came to a verse containing glorification, he would say "Subhan Allah"; whenever he passed a verse of asking, he would ask; and whenever a verse of seeking refuge came, he would seek refuge. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) bowed and in his bowing kept saying: 'Subhana rabbiya al-'azim' (Glory be to my Lord, the Magnificent). His (peace and blessings be upon him) bowing was about as long as his standing. Then he said: 'Sami' Allahu liman hamidah' (Allah has heard the one who praised Him), then he stood up for nearly as long as he had bowed, then he prostrated and kept saying: 'Subhana rabbiya al-a'la' (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High). His (peace and blessings be upon him) prostrations too were about as long as his standing.

Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on him) relates: I asked Sulayman al-A'mash (may Allah have mercy on him): When I recite a verse of warning during the prayer, may I make supplication? He narrated a hadith to me with this chain:
Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: We prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In his bowing he (peace and blessings be upon him) would say 'Subhana rabbiya al-'azim' (Glory be to my Lord, the Magnificent) and in his prostrations 'Subhana rabbiya al-a'la' (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High). Whenever he came to a verse of mercy he would stop there and ask for mercy, and whenever he came to a verse of punishment he would pause there and seek refuge with Allah from the punishment.

Muslim bin Mikhraq (may Allah have mercy on him) relates: I said to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): Some people recite the whole Qur'an two or three times in one night. She said: Their reciting and not reciting are the same. I stood (in prayer) with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for a whole night, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited Surah al-Baqarah, Al Imran and al-Nisa'. Whenever he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed a verse containing glad tidings, he would supplicate and express his longing, and whenever he came to a verse containing a warning, he would also supplicate and seek refuge.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik al-Ashja'i (may Allah be pleased with him): One night I stood (in prayer) with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). In his standing he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited Surah al-Baqarah. Whenever he passed a verse of mercy he would stop and ask Allah for mercy, and whenever he passed a verse of punishment he would stop and seek refuge with Allah. Then he bowed for as long as his standing, and in his bowing he would say: 'Subhana dhi al-jabaruti wa al-malakuti wa al-kibriya'i wa al-'azamah' (Glory be to the One possessing great might, vast dominion, grandeur and magnificence). Then he prostrated for as long as his standing and in his prostrations recited the same supplication. Then he stood up and (in the second rak'ah) recited Surah Al Imran, then he recited one surah after another.

Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was performing a voluntary prayer, and I heard him (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "'Allahumma inni a'udhu bika min al-nar, waylun li-ahl al-nar' (O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the Fire. Woe and ruin to the people of the Fire)."

(a) Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) relates that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High" [Surah al-A'la: 1], he would say: 'Subhana rabbiya al-a'la' (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High).
(b) Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Waki' (may Allah have mercy on him) was contradicted in this hadith; Abu Waki' (may Allah have mercy on him) and Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated this hadith from Abu Ishaq (may Allah have mercy on him), from Sa'id bin Jubayr (may Allah have mercy on him), from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) as mawquf.

Musa bin Abi A'ishah (may Allah have mercy on him) relates that a man was praying on the roof of his house. When he recited "Is Allah Almighty not able to give life to the dead?" [Surah al-Qiyamah: 40], he said: 'Subhanaka fa-bala' (Glory be to You; indeed You are able). People asked him about this, and he said: I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

(a) Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever among you recites 'By the fig and the olive' [Surah al-Tin: 1] and reaches its last verse, 'Is not Allah the most just of all judges?' [Surah al-Tin: 8], let him say: 'Wa ana 'ala dhalika min al-shahidin' (And I am, of that, among those who bear witness). Whoever recites 'I swear by the Day of Resurrection' [Surah al-Qiyamah: 1] and reaches its verse 'Is Allah Almighty not able to give life to the dead?' [Surah al-Qiyamah: 40], let him say: 'Bala' (Yes, indeed). And whoever recites 'By those sent forth' [Surah al-Mursalat: 1] and reaches 'Then in what statement after this will they believe?' [Surah al-Mursalat: 50], let him say: 'Amanna billah' (We believe in Allah)."
(b) Isma'il bin Umayyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "I went to that Bedouin to hear the hadith from him again, lest he had made a mistake. The Bedouin said: My nephew, do you think I have not memorised it? I have performed sixty Hajj pilgrimages, and there is not a single Hajj among them for which I do not recognise the camel on which I performed it."

Sayyiduna Abd Khayr (may Allah have mercy on him) relates: I heard Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) recite "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High" [Surah al-A'la: 1], and after reciting it he said: 'Subhana rabbiya al-a'la' (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High).

Hujr bin Qays al-Madari (may Allah have mercy on him) relates: Once I spent the night at the house of Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), and I heard him reciting in his night prayer (tahajjud). When he reached this verse: "Have you seen what you emit? Is it you who create it, or are We the Creator?" [Surah al-Waqi'ah: 58-59], he said: 'Bal anta ya rabb' (Rather, You, O Allah, are the Creator), three times. Then he recited: "Have you seen what you sow? Is it you who make it grow, or are We the grower?" [Surah al-Waqi'ah: 63-64], then he said three times: 'Bal anta ya rabb' (Rather, it is You, O my Lord). Then he recited: "Have you seen the water that you drink? Is it you who brought it down from the clouds, or are We the ones who send it down?" [Surah al-Waqi'ah: 68-69]
He said three times: 'Bal anta ya rabb' (O my Lord, it is You indeed). Then he recited: "Have you seen the fire that you kindle? Is it you who produced its tree, or are We the producer?" [Surah al-Waqi'ah: 71-72]. He said three times: 'Bal anta ya rabb' (O Allah, it is You who does all this).