Establishing the Prayer and the Sunnah Regarding Them
كتاب إقامة الصلاة والسنة فيها
Chapter 42: What is disliked in the Prayer
“When anyone of you yawns, let him put his hand over his mouthandnot make a sound, because Satan laughs at him.”
Chapter 45: Who is preferred to stand closest to the Imam
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) likedtheMuhajirun and Ansar to stand closest to him, so that they couldlearnfrom him.”
Chapter 48: Whoever leads people (in Prayer), let him make it short
“A man came to the Prophet(ﷺ)and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I stay behind and do notperformthe morning prayer (in congregation) because of so-and-so, forhemakes it too long for us.’ I never saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)preaching with such anger as he did that day. He said; ‘O people!There are among you those who repel others. Whoever among you leadsothers in prayer, let him keep it short, for among them are those whoare weak and elderly, and those who have pressing needs.’”
“Iheard‘Uthman bin Abul-‘As say: “The last thing that the Prophet(ﷺ)enjoined on me when he appointed me governor of Ta’if wasthat hesaid: “O ‘Uthman! Be tolerable in prayer and estimate thepeople basedupon the weakest among them, for among them are theelderly, theyoung, the sick, those who live far from the mosque, andthose whohave pressing needs.”
Chapter 50: Straightening the rows
“The Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ) said: ‘Will you not form your rows as the angels formtheir rows before their Lord?’ We said: ‘How do the angels formtheir rows before their Lord?’ He said: ‘They complete the firstrow and they stand close of one another in the line (leaving no gapsbetween one another).’”
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said:‘Allah and His angels send blessings upon those who complete therows, and whoever fills a gap, Allah will raise him one degree instatus thereby.’”
Chapter 51: The virtue of the front rows
“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say:‘Allahand the angels send blessings upon the first row.’”
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Allah and the angelssend blessings upon the first row.’”
Chapter 52: The women’s rows
“The Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) said: ‘The best rows for men are the front rows and theworstrows are the back rows, and the best rows for women are the backrowsand the worst are the front rows.’”
Chapter 55: The virtue of the right side of the row
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said:‘Allah and His angels send blessings upon the right side of therows.’”
Chapter 56: The Prayer direction
“I said: ‘OMessenger of Allah (ﷺ), why do you not take the Maqam of Ibrahim asa place of prayer?’ Then the following was revealed: ‘And takeyou(people) the Maqam of Ibrahim as a place of prayer.’” [2:125]
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: ‘What is between the east and the west is the Qiblah (prayerdirection).’”**This refers to the Qiblah for the the inhabitants of Al-Madinah. (Makkah is to the exact south of Al-Madinah.)
Chapter 33: Departing after completing the Prayer
“I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) departing to his rightandto his left when he finished the prayer.”
“When the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)said the Salam, the women would stand up when he finished hisTaslim,and he would stay where he was for a little while beforestanding up.(i.e. to depart).”
Chapter 34: If the time for Prayer comes when food has been served
“The Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ) said: ‘If food is served and the Iqamah for prayer isgiven, then start with the food.”He said: "Ibn 'Umar ate dinner one night while he could hear the Iqamah."
Chapter 36: What suffices as a Sutrah (screen) for one performing Prayer
“The Messenger of Allah had a reedmat that he would spread out during the day, and make into acompartment at night, towards which he would perform prayer.”
Chapter 38: What severs the Prayer
“The Prophet (ﷺ) wasperformingprayer in the house of Umm Salamah, and ‘Abdullah or ‘UmarbinAbu Salamah passed in front of him; he gestured his hand, and hewentback. Then Zainab bint Umm Salamah passed in front of him, and hegestured his hand, but she kept going. When the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) finished his prayer, he said: ‘These (women) are morestubborn.’”
“Theprayeris severed by a black dog and a woman who has reached the ageofmenstruation.”
Chapter 41: Prohibition of bowing or prostrating before the Imam
“The Prophet (ﷺ) used toteachus not to bow or prostrate before the Imam; when he says theTakbirthen say the Takbir, and when he prostrates, you shouldprostrate.”
Chapter 42: What is disliked in the Prayer
It wasnarrated from Ka’b bin ‘Ujrah that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)saw a man who had interlocked his fingers during the prayer, sotheMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) separated his fingers.