The Book of Prayer

"Keep your back straight till the bones return (to their positions)."

"The Salat (prayer) of one of you will not be complete until he performs Wudu' (ablution) properly as Allah commanded him, then he says Allahu Akbar and Alhamdu lillah and praises Him."

Alhamdu lillah, Allahu Akbar and La ilaha ill-Allah."

And Abu Dawud has "Then read the Ummul-Qur'an (i.e. Surah al-Fatiha) and what ever Allah wishes".

"and then (read) whatever you wish."

"I saw Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) when he uttered the Takbir, he placed his hands parallel to his shoulders; and when he bowed down, he rested his hands on his knees, then bent his back. When he raised his head up, he stood erect until the bones of his spine became straight. When he prostrated, he placed his arms such that they were neither spread out nor drawn in, and the tips of his toes were facing the Qiblah; when he sat up, at the end of two Rak'a, he sat on his left foot and put erect the right one; and when he sat up after the last Rak'a he put forward the left foot, put erect the other one and sat on his buttock."[Reported by al-Bukhari].

Whenever Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) stood for Salat (prayer), he used to say: "I have turned my face (as a monotheist) towards Him who created the heavens and the earth and I am not from the polytheists. My prayer and my devotion, my life and my death belong to Allah, the Lord of the universe, Who has nopartner. That is what I have been commanded, and I am a Muslim. O Allah, You are the King. There is nothing which deserves to be worshipped but You. You are my Rabb (Lord) and I am Your slave. I have wronged myself, but I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me all my sins, You alone can forgive sins; and guide me to the best qualities, You alone can guide to the best of them: and turn me from evil ones, You alone can turn from evil qualities. I come to serve and please You. All good is in Your Hands and evil does not pertain to You. I seek refuge in You and turn to You, You are the Blessed and the Exalted. I ask Your forgiveness and turn to You inrepentance."[Reported by Muslim].

"he used to say that in the night prayer..."

Narrated Abu Hurairah (RA) Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to keep silent - between the opening Takbir of the prayer and the recitation of the Qur'an - for a short while. Then, I asked him (about that) and he replied, "I say, 'O Allah! Keep me apart from my sins (faults) as you have kept apart the east and west. O Allah clean me from my sins as a white garment is cleaned from dirt. O Allah wash me of my sins withwater, snow and hail."[Agreed upon].

He (ﷺ) used to say, "How perfect You are O Allah, and Praise is for You, Blessed is Your Name and Exalted is Your Majesty and there is nothing which deserves to be worshipped besides You."[Reported by Muslim with a Munqati' (broken)chain. And in the version of ad-Daraqutni, it is Mawsul (unbroken chain), and it is Mawquf (saying of a companion ('Umar)].

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA) narrated a similar report Marfu' [reaching back to the Prophet (ﷺ)] collected by al-Khamsah.

He (ﷺ) used to say after the (opening) Takbir (for prayer), "I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing and the All-Knowing from the accursed devil, from his madness or evil suggestion (Hamz), from his puffing up (Nafkh), and from his witchcraft(Nafth)."

Narrated 'Aishah (RA) Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to begin the Salat (prayer) with Takbir (Allahu Akbar - Allah is the Most Great) and the recitation with Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil' alamin (praise is to Allah, the Rabb of the universe)." And when he bowed down, he neither kept his head up nor bent it down, but kept it between that (two positions). When he raised his head from the bowing position, he did not prostrate till he had stood erect; and when he raised his head after a prostration, he did not prostrate again till he had sat up. And at the end of every two Rak'ah he said the Tahiyyah, and he used to sit on his left foot and position he right one vertically, and he prohibited the devil's way of sitting on the buttocks. He forbade people to spread out their arms like a wild beast. And he used to finish the prayer with the Taslim (i.e. saying As-Salamu'alaikum).[Reported by Muslim and it has an 'illa (defect)].

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to raise his hands parallel to his shoulders when he started the prayer (by saying Allahu Akbar), when he uttered the Takbir to bow and when he raised his head from the Ruku' (bowing posture).[Agreed upon].

Abu Dawud reported a Hadith narrated by Abu Humaid (RA) to the effect that he [Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)] used to raise his hands and bring them parallel to his shoulders, and then utter the Takbir.

"He [the Prophet (ﷺ)] raised his hands parallel to the end of his ears."

I prayed with the Prophet (ﷺ) and he put his right hand on his left (and then placed them) on his chest.[Reported by Ibn Khuzaimah].

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "There is no Salat (prayer) for him who does not recite Ummul-Qur'an (Surat al-Fatiha)".(Agreed upon].

"The Salat (prayer) is not complete if one does not recite (Surat) Fatiha al-Kitab."

"Perhaps you recite behind your Imam?" We replied, "Yes." He[the Prophet (ﷺ)] said, "Do not do so except when it is (Surat) Fatiha al-Kitab, for the Salat (prayer) of the one who does not recite it, is not accepted."