The dawn prayer had commenced when the Messen- ger of Allah (ﷺ) saw a person observing prayer, whereas the Mu'adhdhin had pronounced the Iqama. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) remarked: Do you say four (rak'ahs) of Fard in the dawn prayer?

A person entered the mosque, while the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was leading the dawn prayer. He observed two rak'ahs in a corner of the mosque, and then joined the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in prayer. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had pronounced salutations (he had concluded the prayer), he said: O, so and so, which one out of these two prayers did you count (as your Fard prayer), the one that you observed alone or the prayer that you observed with us?

When any one of you enters the mosque, he should say:" O Allah! open for me the doors of Thy mercy" ; and when he steps out he should say: 'O Allah! I beg of Thee Thy Grace." (Imam Muslim said: I heard Yahya saying: I transcribed this hadith from the compilation of Sulaiman b. Bilal.)

A hadith like this has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) by Abu Usaid.

When any one of you enters the mosque, he should observe two rak'ahs (of Nafl prayer) before sitting.

I entered the mosque, when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had been sitting among people, and I also sat down among them. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: What prevented you from offering two rak'ahs (of Nafl prayer) before sitting down? I said: Messenger of Allah, I saw you sitting and people sitting (around you and I, therefore, sat in your company). He (the Holy Prophet) then said: When anyone among you enters the mosque, he should not sit till he has observed two rak'ahs.

The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) owed me a debt; he paid me back and made an addition (of this). I entered the mosque and he (the Holy Prophet) said to me: Observe two rak'ahs of prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) bought a camel from me. When he came back to Medina, he ordered me to come to the mosque and observed two rak'ahs of prayer.

I went with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on an expedition and my camel delayed me and I was exhausted. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) thus came earlier than I, whereas I came on the next day and went to the mosque and found him (the Holy Prophet) at the gate of the mosque. He said: It is now that you have come. I said. Yes. He said: Leave your camel and enter (the mosque) and observe two rak'ahs. He (the narrator) said: So I entered and observed (two rak'ahs) of prayer and then went back.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not come back from the journey but by day in the forenoon, and when he arrived, he went first to the mosque, and having prayed two rak'ahs in it he sat down in it.

I asked 'A'isha whether the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to observe the forenoon prayer. She said: No, but when he came back from the journey.

I aksed 'A'isha whether the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to observe the forenoon prayer. She said: No, except when he came back from a journey.

I have never seen the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observing the supererogatory prayer of the forenoon, but I observed it. And if the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) abandoned any act which he in fact loved to do, it was out of fear that if the people practised it constantly, it might become obligatory for them.

Four rak'ahs, but sometimes more as he pleased.

" As Allah pleased."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to observe four rak'ahs in the forenoon prayer and he sometimes observed more as Allah pleased.

A hadith like this has been narrated by Qatada with the same chain of transmitters.

No one has ever narrated to me that he saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observing the forenoon prayer, except Umm Hani. She, however, narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered her house on the day of the Conquest of Mecca and prayed eight rak'ahs (adding): I never saw a shorter prayer than it except that he performed the bowing and prostration completely. But (one of the narrators) Ibn Bashshar in his narration made no mention of the word:" Never".

I had been asking about, as I was desirous to find one among people who should inform me, whether the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observed the forenoon prayer, but I found none to narrate that to me except Umm Hani, daughter of Abu Talib (the real sister of Hadrat 'Ali), who told me that on the day of the Conquest the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came (to our house) after the dawn had (sufficiently) arisen. A cloth was brought and privacy was provided for him (the Holy Prophet). He took a bath and then stood up and observed eight rak'ahs. I do not know whether his Qiyam (standing posture) was longer, or bending or prostration or all of them were of equal duration. She (Umm Hani) further said: I never saw him saying this Nafl prayer prior to it or subsequently. (Al-Muradi narrated on the authority of Yunus that he made no mention of the words:" He informed me." )

I went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on the day of the Conquest of Mecca and found him taking a bath, and Fatimah, his daughter, had provided him privacy with the help of a cloth. I gave him salutation and he said: Who is she? I said: It is Umm Hani, daughter of Abu Talib. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Greeting for Umm Hani. When he had completed the bath, he stood up and observed eight rak'ahs wrapped up in one cloth. When he turned back (after the prayer), I said to him: Messenger of Allah, the son of my mother 'Ali b. Abu Talib is going to kill a person, Fulan b. Hubaira whom I have given protection. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: We too have given protection whom you have given protection, O Umm Hani. Umm Hani said: It was the forenoon (prayer).