Praying inside the Kaaba

(a) It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went inside the Ka'bah, and with him were Bilal, Usamah and Uthman bin Talhah (may Allah be pleased with them). I asked Bilal: What did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) do inside the Ka'bah? He said: He placed one pillar to his left, one to his right and the remaining three pillars behind him, then he prayed. In those days there were six pillars inside the Ka'bah.
(b) In the narration of Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him), two pillars were on his left.
(c) Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) also said the same, in one of two places.
(d) Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Isma'il, from Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), that two pillars were on his right.
Ibn Bukayr also narrated it from Malik in the same way, and that is the correct version.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the Ka'bah, and Sayyiduna Bilal bin Rabah, Sayyiduna Usamah bin Zayd and Sayyiduna Uthman bin Talhah al-Hajabi (may Allah be pleased with them) also entered with him. They closed the door, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) remained inside for some time. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: When they came out, I asked Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him): What did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) do inside the Ka'bah? He said that he (peace and blessings be upon him) placed one pillar to his left, two pillars to his right and three pillars behind him, and prayed. In those days the Ka'bah stood on six pillars.

This hadith was narrated by Abdur Rahman bin Mahdi (may Allah have mercy on him) from Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), and he said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) left two pillars to his right and one to his left, and three pillars were behind him (peace and blessings be upon him); then he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, and between him (peace and blessings be upon him) and the qiblah wall there was a distance of three cubits.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: In the year of the Conquest (of Makkah), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came riding on the she-camel named al-Qaswa' with Sayyiduna Usamah (may Allah be pleased with him) seated behind him. Sayyiduna Bilal and Uthman bin Talhah (may Allah be pleased with them both) were also with him (peace and blessings be upon him), until the mount was made to kneel by the House of Allah. Then he said to Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him): "Bring the key." He brought the key and opened the door for him (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Usamah, Bilal and Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them) entered. Then they closed the door and spent a long part of the day there. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) came out, and the people hurried to enter; I got ahead of all of them, and there I found Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) standing behind the door. I asked him: Where did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) pray? He said: Between the two front pillars; and in those days the House of Allah had six pillars, in two rows. He (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed between the pillars of the front row, and the door of the House of Allah was behind his (peace and blessings be upon him) back. He (peace and blessings be upon him) turned his blessed face toward the place that comes directly in front of a person when he enters the House of Allah, and prayed between himself and the wall.
Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I forgot to ask Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) how much the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, and at the place where he (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed there was red marble.

Musa bin Uqbah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Nafi' (may Allah have mercy on him) informed me that when Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) entered the House of Allah, he would leave the door behind his back and keep walking until there remained about three cubits of space between him and the wall in front of him. Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) sought the place about which Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) had told him that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed there. There is no harm inside the House of Allah; a person may pray in whichever part of it he wishes.

Salim (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him), Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) and Uthman bin Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) entered the House of Allah and closed the door. When they opened it, I was the first to enter. I met Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him: Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) pray? He said: Yes, he did; he prayed between the two Yemeni pillars.

Sayf (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I heard Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) say: Someone came to Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) at his house and he was told: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has entered the Ka'bah." He said: When I came, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had already left, but I found Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) standing at the door, so I said: O Bilal! Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) pray inside the Ka'bah? He said: Yes, he did. I asked: Where did he pray? He said: He prayed two rak'ahs between the two pillars, then he came out and prayed two rak'ahs facing the Ka'bah.
(b) It is reported from Abu Nu'aym (may Allah have mercy on him) that he prayed two rak'ahs inside the Ka'bah. The narrations of Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, Ubaydullah bin Umar, Fulayh bin Sulayman and Ibn Awn (may Allah have mercy on them), which they reported from Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), all agree that Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) forgot to ask how many rak'ahs he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, while in this hadith the number is specified: that he prayed two rak'ahs.
(c) It is possible that he reported the minimum amount of his (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer and remained silent about whatever he prayed beyond two rak'ahs, because he had not asked Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) (about it).

Abdur Rahman bin Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I asked Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): What did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) do when he entered the Ka'bah? He said: "He (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed two rak'ahs."

Simak al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I heard Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed inside the Ka'bah; soon a man will come and forbid you from that, so do not obey him. He meant Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both).

Ibn Jurayj (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I said to Ata (may Allah have mercy on him): Did you hear Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) saying that you have only been commanded to perform tawaf of the Ka'bah and not to enter it? He said: He did not forbid entering it, but I heard him saying: Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) informed me that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the House of Allah, he supplicated in all its corners and did not pray inside it until he came out; then, when he came out, he prayed two rak'ahs facing the front of the House and said: "This is the qiblah." I said: What are its sides; are its corners meant? He said: In every side of the House facing it.
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The one who says that he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed is a witness to it, and the one who says that he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not pray did not witness it, so we take the statement of Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), and that is the established proof in our view.
Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: We have also received a similar narration through Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him).
And it is also reported from Shaybah bin Uthman bin Talhah and Uthman bin Talhah al-Hajabi (may Allah be pleased with them both).

It is reported from Uthman bin Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed inside the Ka'bah.
Hammad bin Salamah alone narrated it, and there is a break (irsal) in it between Urwah and Uthman.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the Ka'bah, then came out, and Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) was with him. I asked Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him): "Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) pray?" He said: "No." Then, when he entered on the next day, I asked Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him): "Did he (peace and blessings be upon him) pray?" He said: "Yes, he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed two rak'ahs; he faced the palm-trunk pillar and kept the second pillar on his right."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the House of Allah and prayed two rak'ahs between the two pillars, then he came out. Then he prayed two rak'ahs between the door and the (Black) Stone and said: "This is the qiblah." Then he entered a second time and stood supplicating, then he came out and did not pray.
If these two narrations are established as authentic, they indicate that he (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the House of Allah twice, praying once and not praying once. However, the authenticity of these two hadiths is open to question. What is established from Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), who affirms (the prayer), takes precedence over what is established from Sayyiduna Usamah (may Allah be pleased with him), who negates it, and others are with Bilal (in affirming it).

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been given five things which were not given to anyone before me. Earlier prophets were sent specifically to one nation, and I have been sent to all people, red and black. The spoils of war have been made lawful for me, whereas they were not made lawful for anyone before me. The earth has been made for me a pure place for prayer and a means of purification; whichever person of my Ummah the time of prayer reaches, wherever he may be, let him pray there. I have been helped with awe, so that my awe falls upon the enemies from a distance of a month's journey. And I have been given the complete intercession."