It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the mosque, and another man also entered the mosque. He prayed, then came and greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with salam. He (peace and blessings be upon him) returned the greeting and said: "Go and pray, for you have not prayed." This went on until he (peace and blessings be upon him) had said so three times. The man said: By Allah, who has sent you with the truth, I cannot pray better than this, so show me and teach me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you stand for prayer, say the takbir, then recite whatever of the Qur'an you know well, then bow with calmness, after that raise your head until you stand straight, then prostrate with complete calmness, then raise your head from prostration and sit with calmness. Do the same throughout your whole prayer."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 3942
(a) It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came into the mosque and prayed, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting in a corner of the mosque. After the prayer he came and greeted him with salam; he returned the greeting and said: "Go back and pray again, for you have not prayed." He went back and prayed, then came and gave salam, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said the same words again. When he sent him back the third time, the man said: O Messenger of Allah! Teach me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) told him: "When you are about to stand for prayer, first perform ablution thoroughly, then face the qiblah and say the takbir, after that recite whatever of the Qur'an is easy for you, then bow with complete calmness, then raise your head from bowing and stand straight with calmness, then prostrate with the utmost calmness, then raise your head from prostration, sit up straight and sit with calmness, then perform the second prostration with complete calmness, then rise until you stand straight, then do the same throughout your whole prayer."
(b) In Sahih Muslim these words, said the second time, are not present: "Then prostrate until you are at rest in prostration, then rise until you stand straight." Abu Bakr al-Isma'ili also did not preserve them from Abdan, yet this addition is mahfuz (preserved) in this hadith through several routes from Abu Usamah.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 3943
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:صحيح
Hadith Takhrij«صحيح۔ أخرجه البخاري 6251، أخرجه مسلم 397»
Anas bin Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated this hadith from Ubaydullah bin Umar (may Allah have mercy on him), and at its end there is this addition: "When you pray in this way, your prayer will be complete; and if you fall short in any of this, you will only be falling short in your prayer." In it there is also: "When you stand for prayer, perform ablution thoroughly." He did not include what Abu Usamah included at the end of the hadith.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 3944
Sayyiduna Rifa'ah bin Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man entered the mosque and prayed, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) kept watching his prayer closely, while we were not aware of it. When he finished the prayer he greeted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with salam, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Go and pray again, your prayer has not been done." He went back and prayed again, then came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and greeted him, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Go and pray again, your prayer has not been done." When this had happened two or three times, the man said: By Allah, who has honoured you, O Messenger of Allah! I have tried my best; now teach me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you come intending to pray, perform ablution well, then face the qiblah and say the takbir, then recite, after that bow with calmness, then rise from bowing and stand straight, then prostrate with calmness, then rise from prostration and sit up straight with calmness. After that perform the second prostration with calmness, then raise your head from prostration, and then do the same until you finish your prayer."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 3945
Ali bin Yahya al-Zuraqi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father, who narrates from his uncle, and his uncle was a Companion (may Allah be pleased with him) who fought at Badr; he said: We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when suddenly a man entered the mosque. He prayed in a corner of the mosque, and he mentioned the complete hadith. In it there is this addition: "Then stand up and face the qiblah," and about the second prostration he said: "Then prostrate with the utmost calmness. When you do this, your prayer will be complete, and if you fall short in any of it, you are only falling short in your own prayer."
The narration that we have mentioned, with its wording, agrees with the established (thabit) hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) on this matter, even if some of these narrators add to its wording or leave some out; and there is no hadith in this chapter more authentic than the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). And Allah knows best.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 3946