"Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'Does the one who raises his head before the Imam not fear that Allah may turn his head into the head of a donkey?"'

"Abu Musa led us in prayer and when he was sitting, a man from among the people entered and said: 'Prayer is based on righteousness and is always mentioned alongside Zakah (in the Qur'an).' When Abu Musa had said the Salam, he turned to the people and said: 'Which of you spoke these words?' The people kept quiet. Then he said: 'O Hittan, perhaps you said it?' He said: 'No, but I was afraid that you would rebuke me for it.' He said:'The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) taught us our prayer and Sunnah prayers, and he said: The Imam is appointed to be followed, so when he says the Takbir, say the Takbir; when he says"Not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray," say Amin, and Allah will respond to you; when he rises up from bowing and says, 'Sami' Allalhu liman hamidah (Allah hears those who praise Him), say 'Rabbana lakal-hamd (Our Lord, toYou be praise),' and Allah will hear you; when he prostrates, prostrate, and when he sits up, sit up. The Imam should prostrate before youdo and sit up before you do.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'This makes up for that.'"

"A man from the Ansar came when the Iqamah for prayer hadbeen said. He entered the Masjid and prayed behind Muadh, and he(Muadh) made the prayer lengthy. The man went away and prayed in a comer of the Masjid, then he left. When Muadh finished praying, it was said to him that so-and-so had done such and such. Muadh said:'Tomorrow I will mention that to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).' So Muadh came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and told him about that. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent for him and asked him: 'What made you do what you did? He said: '0 Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I had been working with my camel to bring water all day, and when I came the Iqamah for prayer had already been said, so I entered the Masjid and joined him in the prayer, then he recited such and such a Surah and made it lengthy, soI went away and prayed in a comer of the Masjid.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Do you want to cause hardship to the people, 0 Muadh do you want to cause hardship to thepeople, 0 Muadh do you want to cause hardship to the people, 0 Muadh?"'

"When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) became seriously ill, Bilal came to tell him it was time to pray and he said: 'Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer."' She said: "I said: '0 Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), Abu Bakr is a tender-hearted man, and when he stands in your place he will not be able to make the people hear his voice; why don't you tell 'Umar (to do it)?' He said: 'Tell a Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer.' I said to Hafsah: 'Tell him.' So she told him. He said: 'You are (like) the female companions of Yosuf. Tell Abu Bakr lead the people in prayer."' She said: "So they told Abu Bakr. When he started to pray, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) began to feel better, so he got up and came with the help of two men, with his feet dragging along the ground. (When) he entered the Masjid, AbuBakr heard him coming and he wanted to step back, but the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gestured to him: 'Stay where you are.' Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came and sat on Abu Bakr's left, so the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was leading the people in prayer sitting, and Abu Bakr was standing and following the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and the people were following the prayer of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him."

"I entered upon Aisha and said: 'Will you not tell me about the sickness of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?' She said: 'When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), became seriously ill, he said: "Have the people prayed?" We said: "No, they are waiting for you, 0 Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)" He said: "Put some water in a tub for me." We did that and he performed Ghusl, then he tried to get up but he fainted. Then he came to us and said: "Have the people prayed?" We said: "No, they are waiting for you, 0 Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ)." He said: "Put some water ina tub for me." We did that and he performed Ghusl, then he tried to get up but he fainted. Then for the third time he said the same thing. She said: The people were in the Masjid, waiting for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to lead the prayer. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent word to Abu Bakr, telling him to lead the people in prayer, so the messenger came to him and said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is telling you to lead the people in prayer." Abu Bakr was a tenderhearted man, he said: "0 'Umar. lead the in prayer." But ('Umar) said: "You have more right to that." So Abu Bakr led them in prayer during those days. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) felt a little better, he came withthe help of two men, one of whom was Al-'Abbas, to pray Zuhr. When Abu Bakr saw him, he wanted to step back, but the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gestured to him not to step back. He told them (the two men) to seat him beside Abu Bakr, and Abu Bakr started to pray standing. The people were following the prayer of Abu Bakr and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was praying sitting."'"I ('Ubaidullah) entered upon Ibn Abbas and said 'Shall I not tell you what Aisha narrated to me about the sickness of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?' He said: 'Yes.' So I told him and he did not deny any of it, but he said: 'Did she tell you the name of the man who was with Al-'Abbas?' I said: 'No.' He said: 'Thatwas Ali, may Allah honor his face."'

"Praying in congregation is twenty-seven times better than praying alone."

"Praying in congregation is twenty-five portions better than one of you praying alone."

"By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! I nearly ordered that firewood be gathered to be lit, then I would have ordered that the Adhan be called for prayer, and ordered a man to lead the people in prayer, then I would have gone from behind to those men and burned their houses down over them. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! If any one of them knew that he would get a meaty bone or some meat in between two ribs, he would attend Isha'.''

"A blind man came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)and said: 'I do not have a guide to bring me to the prayer.' And he asked him to grant him a dispensation allowing him to pray in his house, and he gave him permission. Then when he turned away he said to him: 'Can you hear the call to prayer?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Then respond to it."'

"We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in Hunain and it rained. The caller of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)called out, telling us: 'Pray whereyou are."'

"I saw Ibn 'Umar sitting in Al-Balat when the people werepraying. I said: '0 Abu 'Abdur- Rahman, why are you not praying?' He said: 'I have already prayed, and I heard the Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ) say: "Do not repeat a prayer twice in one day."

(Another chain) with similar from Abu Rafi.

"A man came while the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was praying Subh, and he prayed two Rak'ahs then joined the prayer. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had finished praying he said: O so-and-so, which of them is your prayer - the one you prayed withus or the one you prayed on your own?"'

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to our house and I prayed with an orphan of ours behind him, and Umm Sulaim prayed behind us."

"We were with Anas and we prayed with one of the Amirs. They pushed us until we stood and prayed between two rows, and Anas started moving backward and said: 'We used to avoid this at the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)."

"When we prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) I liked to be to his right."

"When any one of you leads the people in prayer, let him make it short, for among them are the sick, the weak and the elderly. And when any one of you prays by himself, let him make it as long as he wishes."

It was narrated from Anas that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to make his prayer very brief but still complete when leading people.

"I stand in prayer, then I hear a child crying, so I make my prayer brief, because I do not want to cause hardship for his mother."

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) turned to face us when he stood up to pray, before he said Takbir, and said: 'Make your rows straight and fill the gaps, for I can see you from behind my back."'