Entering the House and praying inside it

Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: On the day of the Conquest of Makkah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered riding the she-camel of Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him), until he made it kneel in the courtyard of the Ka'bah. Then he sent for the keys from Uthman bin Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him); he brought them and opened the Ka'bah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Usamah, Bilal and Uthman bin Talhah (may Allah be pleased with them) entered, and they shut the door for a while. Then they opened the door, and I hurried forward and found Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) at the door. I asked: Where did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pray? He said: Between the two front pillars. He said: I forgot to ask him how many rak'ahs he prayed.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Usamah bin Zayd, Sayyiduna Uthman bin Talhah and Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with them) entered the Ka'bah, closed the door and stayed inside. When they came out, I asked Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him): What did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) do? He said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) placed one pillar to his left, two to his right and three pillars behind him, and then prayed. In those days the Ka'bah stood on six pillars. [Sahih: Bukhari: 483, Muslim: 1329]
Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated it from Yahya bin Yahya, except that he said: He placed two pillars to his left.
Likewise Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), narrating from Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), said this in one place, and in another place he said: one pillar to his right and one pillar to his left.
Likewise Abdullah bin Yusuf (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated it from Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), and Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) through al-Qa'nabi (may Allah have mercy on him) from Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him); while Ibn Abi Uways (may Allah have mercy on him) and Yahya bin Bukayr (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated it from Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) as we have narrated it.
Likewise Abd al-Rahman bin Mahdi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): two pillars to his right and one pillar to his left; and this is what is correct.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that he asked Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him): Where did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pray inside the Ka'bah? Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) showed him where he (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed, and he did not ask how many rak'ahs he prayed. Whenever Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) entered the House, he would walk straight ahead, leaving the door behind him, and keep walking until there remained about three cubits between him and the wall; then he would pray, seeking out the very place where Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) had told him that he (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed.

Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: On the day of the Conquest, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came from the upper part of Makkah on his she-camel, with Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) riding behind him. With him (peace and blessings be upon him) was Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), and also Uthman bin Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him), one of the custodians of the House, until he made the camel kneel in the mosque and told him to bring the key of the House. He opened it, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Usamah, Bilal and Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them) entered and stayed inside for a long part of the day. Then he came out, and the people rushed forward. Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) was the first to enter, and he found Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) standing behind the door. He asked him: Where did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pray? He pointed to the place where he had prayed. Abdullah said: I forgot to ask him how many rak'ahs he prayed.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Makkah, he refused to enter the House as long as the idols were in it. He (peace and blessings be upon him) gave the order, and the idols were taken out. Among them were brought out images of Sayyiduna Ibrahim and Sayyiduna Isma'il (peace be upon them both), holding divining arrows in their hands. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah destroy them! By Allah, they know well that these two never sought omens with them." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the House, said the takbir in its corners, and did not pray in it. These are the words of the hadith of Abu Imran; the hadith of al-Qadi is brief: that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the House, said the takbir in its corners, then came down and did not pray.
The correct view is that of the one who said that he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, because he was an eyewitness, and the one who said that he did not pray was not a witness.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade keeping images in the house, and also forbade "anyone making them". In the year of the Conquest, while at al-Batha', the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) "to go to the Ka'bah and erase every image in it", and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not enter until all the images had been erased.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the House, he found images of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and Maryam (peace be upon her) in it, and he said: "They have heard that the angels do not enter a house in which there is an image, and this is Ibrahim (peace be upon him) depicted. What is the matter with him that he is seeking omens?"

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever enters the House has entered into good and come out of evil, and he comes out forgiven."
Only Abdullah bin al-Mu'ammal narrated it, and he is not strong.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: How strange is the Muslim man who, when he enters the Ka'bah, raises his gaze towards the ceiling! He should leave that out of reverence and veneration for Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the Ka'bah, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not move his gaze from the place of his prostration until he came out of it.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I said: All your wives have entered the House except me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go to your relatives; they will open the door for you too." She said: I went and said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) orders you to open the door for me. So he took the keys and went with her to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the door of the House has never been opened at night, neither in the Jahiliyyah nor in Islam. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): "When your people built the House, their funds ran short, so they left part of the House in the area of the low wall (the Hijr). Go there and pray two rak'ahs."