Sunan al-Shafi'i

Salih bin Khawwat narrates from that Companion (may Allah be pleased with him) who offered the prayer of fear with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) during the battle of Dhat al-Riqa’, that a group of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) stood behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while the other group faced the enemy. Those Companions who were with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed one rak‘ah; in the second rak‘ah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prolonged the standing. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) completed their second rak‘ah on their own and then formed ranks facing the enemy. Then the second group came, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) led them in the remaining rak‘ah. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prolonged the supplications of tashahhud until the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) completed their second rak‘ah and sat in tashahhud. Then all together they ended the prayer with salam.

Sayyiduna Salih bin Khawat bin Jubair (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from Yazid bin Roman a hadith from the Noble Prophet ﷺ similar to that of Malik.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Suhaib (may Allah be pleased with him) that I passed by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was praying. I greeted him with salam, and he replied with a gesture. The narrator of the hadith, Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), says: To my knowledge, Sayyiduna Suhaib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied with a gesture of his finger.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (ﷺ) sent me on an errand. When I returned, he (ﷺ) was departing. I greeted him with salam, and he (ﷺ) gestured with his hand (as he was in prayer). When he (ﷺ) finished the prayer, he called me and said: "You just greeted (with salam) and I was in prayer." He (ﷺ) was heading towards the east.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that before the migration to Abyssinia, we used to greet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with salam while he was in prayer, and he (peace be upon him) would reply to us while still in prayer. When we returned from Abyssinia, I came to the service of the Messenger (peace be upon him) to greet him with salam. I found him in prayer, greeted him with salam, but did not receive a reply. Various thoughts came to my mind, so I sat down until he (peace be upon him) completed the prayer. Then I came to him, and he (peace be upon him) said: "Allah issues new commands in His religion as He wills. Allah Almighty has now given the command that there should be no conversation during prayer."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the mosque and began to pray. The Ansar companions (may Allah be pleased with them) came and greeted him with salam. I asked Sayyiduna Suhaib (may Allah be pleased with him): How did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reply to their salam (while in prayer)? He replied: He (peace and blessings be upon him) would respond by gesture.

Sayyiduna Ata bin Abi Rabah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that (in the early days of Islam) when a person would come while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was leading the prayer and some rak‘ahs had already passed, the person would ask another worshipper (which rak‘ah is being performed). When he was informed, he would quickly perform the missed rak‘ahs and then join the Prophet ﷺ. Sayyiduna Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) came and joined the congregation without asking how many rak‘ahs had been performed. When the Prophet ﷺ finished the prayer with salam, Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and completed the remainder of his prayer. The Prophet ﷺ said: “O Companions! Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) has adopted a way for you, so you should do the same.” (That is, join the imam in whatever state you find him, and complete the remaining prayer afterwards, instead of each person completing his missed rak‘ahs first and then joining, which would result in some being in qiyam, some in ruku‘, and some in sujud—there should be order and discipline.) The narrator Sufyan says that, except for ‘Amr bin Dinar, the narrators have mentioned the name of Sayyiduna Mu‘adh (may Allah be pleased with him) instead of Sayyiduna Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him). (That is, the companion was not Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him), but rather Mu‘adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him).)

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you come to the congregational prayer, do not run; come walking calmly, and adopt tranquility and dignity. Whatever part of the prayer you catch with the congregation, perform it, and whatever you miss, complete it afterwards."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you hear the Iqamah, proceed to the prayer and maintain dignity. Whatever you catch with the Imam, perform it, and whatever you miss, complete it afterwards."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the Iqamah is called, do not come running, but come with dignity and calmness. Whatever rak‘ah you catch, perform it, and whatever you miss, complete it (afterwards). Indeed, when any of you sets out intending to pray, he is already considered to be in prayer."

Umm al-Mu'mineen Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that she said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform the two Sunnah rak'ahs of Fajr (after the adhan) so lightly that I would wonder in my heart whether he (peace be upon him) had even recited Surah al-Fatihah in those rak'ahs.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that after the Iqamah and before the opening Takbir, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) turned his face towards the companions and said: "Straighten your rows, and stand close together, for I see you from behind me."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would go to the house of Sayyidah Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her), she would spread a leather bedding for him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) would rest on it for a midday nap, and Sayyidah Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) would collect his (peace and blessings be upon him) sweat (and gather it in a bottle), which she would mix into her perfume. And she would spread a mat for him (peace and blessings be upon him) on which he would perform prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) was commanded to call the adhan in double phrases and the iqamah in single phrases.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Malik bin Huwairith (may Allah be pleased with him) that I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) along with people from my tribe. We were young men of similar age. We stayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for twenty nights (to learn religion). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was very kind and gentle. When he sensed that we were missing our families, he asked us about our families. We told him about our wives and children, so he said: "Return to your families, stay among them, teach them religion, and command them regarding the religion." He mentioned a few things (religious matters), some of which I remember and some I do not, and he said: "Pray as you have seen me praying. When the time for prayer comes, let one of you give the call to prayer (adhan), and let the eldest among you lead the congregation."