The Book of the Commencement of the Prayer

Amr ibn Mansur narrated to us: Ali ibn Ayyash narrated to us: Shu‘ayb narrated to us from Az-Zuhri, who said: Salim told me. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Mughirah also informed me: Uthman (Ibn Sa‘id) narrated to us from Shu‘ayb, from Muhammad (Az-Zuhri), who said: Salim ibn Abdullah ibn Umar informed me from Ibn Umar, who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raise his hands to shoulder level when beginning the prayer with the takbir. When he said the takbir to bow, he did the same. When he said, 'Allah hears whoever praises Him,' he did likewise, then said, 'Our Lord, to You is all praise.' He did not do this when prostrating or when raising his head from prostration.

Suwayd ibn Nasr informed us: Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak informed us from Yunus, from Az-Zuhri, who said: Salim informed me from Ibn Umar, who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raise his hands to shoulder level when he stood for prayer, then say the takbir. He did the same when saying the takbir to bow and when raising his head from bowing and saying, 'Allah hears whoever praises Him.' He did not do this during prostration.

Qutaybah narrated to us from Malik, from Ibn Shihab, from Salim, from Abdullah ibn Umar, that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ began the prayer, he raised his hands to shoulder level. When he bowed and when he raised his head from bowing, he raised them in the same way and said, 'Allah hears whoever praises Him; our Lord, to You is all praise.' He did not do this during prostration.

Qutaybah narrated to us: Abu Al-Ahwas narrated to us from Abu Ishaq, from Abd Al-Jabbar ibn Wa'il, from his father, who said: I prayed behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When he began the prayer, he said the takbir and raised his hands until they were level with his ears. Then he recited the Opening of the Book. When he finished, he said Amin, raising his voice with it.

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Ala informed us: Khalid narrated to us, from Shubah, from Qatadah, who said: I heard Nasr ibn Asim narrate from Malik ibn al-Huwairith, one of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he prayed, would raise his hands alongside his ears as he said the opening takbir, when he was about to bow, and when he raised his head from bowing.

Yaqub ibn Ibrahim informed us: Ibn Ulayyah narrated to us, from Ibn Abi Arubah, from Qatadah, from Nasr ibn Asim, from Malik ibn al-Huwairith, who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raise his hands when he began the prayer, when he bowed, and when he raised his head from bowing, until they were level with the tops of his ears.

Muhammad ibn Rafi informed us: Muhammad ibn Bishr narrated to us: Fitr ibn Khalifah narrated to us, from Abd al-Jabbar ibn Wail, from his father, who saw the Prophet ﷺ raise his hands when beginning the prayer, until his thumbs were nearly level with his earlobes.

Amr ibn Ali informed us: Yahya narrated to us: Ibn Abi Dhib narrated to us: Said ibn Saman said: Abu Hurairah came to the mosque of Banu Zuraiq and said, The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to do three things that people have since abandoned: he would extend his hands when praying, pause briefly, and say the takbir when prostrating and when raising his head.

Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna informed us: Yahya narrated to us: Ubaydullah ibn Umar narrated to us: Said ibn Abi Said narrated to me, from his father, from Abu Hurairah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered the mosque. A man then entered, prayed, and came to greet the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who returned his greeting and said, Go back and pray, for you have not prayed. He went back and prayed as he had prayed before, then came to the Prophet ﷺ and greeted him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him, And peace be upon you. Go back and pray, for you have not prayed. He did this three times. The man then said, By the One who sent you with the truth, I cannot pray any better than this, so teach me. He said, When you stand for prayer, say the takbir. Then recite whatever you can manage from the Quran. Then bow until you are at ease in your bowing; then rise until you are standing upright. Then prostrate until you are at ease in your prostration; then rise until you are at ease sitting. Do this throughout your entire prayer.

Muhammad ibn Wahb informed me: Muhammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Abu Abd al-Rahim, who said: Zayd, meaning Ibn Abi Unaysah, narrated to me, from Amr ibn Murrah, from Awn ibn Abdillah, from Abdullah ibn Umar, who said: A man stood behind the Prophet of Allah ﷺ and said, Allah is supremely great; abundant praise belongs to Allah; and glory be to Allah morning and evening. The Prophet of Allah ﷺ said, Who said those words? A man replied, I did, O Prophet of Allah. He said, Twelve angels hastened to carry them up.

Muhammad ibn Shuja al-Marwadhi informed us: Ismail narrated to us, from Hajjaj, from Abu al-Zubair, from Awn ibn Abdillah, from Ibn Umar, who said: While we were praying with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, a man among the people said, Allah is supremely great; abundant praise belongs to Allah; and glory be to Allah morning and evening. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, Who was the one who said such-and-such? A man among the people replied, I did, Messenger of Allah. He said, I admired those words, and mentioned words meaning that the gates of heaven had been opened for them. Ibn Umar said, I have not stopped saying them since I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say that.

Suwayd ibn Nasr informed us: Abdullah reported to us, from Musa ibn Umayr al-Anbari and Qays ibn Sulaym al-Anbari, who both said: Alqamah ibn Wail narrated to us, from his father, who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, while standing in prayer, holding his left hand with his right.

Amr ibn Ali informed us: Abd al-Rahman narrated to us: Hushaym narrated to us, from al-Hajjaj ibn Abi Zainab, who said: I heard Abu Uthman relate from Ibn Masud, who said: The Prophet ﷺ saw me with my left hand placed over my right during prayer. He took my right hand and placed it over my left.

Suwayd ibn Nasr informed us: Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak reported to us, from Zaidah, who said: Asim ibn Kulayb narrated to us: My father narrated to me that Wail ibn Hujr told him: I said, I will certainly watch how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prays. So I watched him. He stood, said the takbir, and raised his hands until they were level with his ears. Then he placed his right hand over his left hand, wrist, and forearm. When he was about to bow, he raised his hands in the same way, and placed his hands on his knees. Then, when he raised his head, he raised his hands in the same way. Then he prostrated and placed his palms level with his ears. Then he sat, resting on his left leg, and placed his left palm on his left thigh and knee. He placed the edge of his right elbow on his right thigh, joined two of his fingers, formed a circle, then raised his index finger. I saw him moving it and supplicating with it.

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim informed us: Jarir reported to us, from Hisham. Suwayd ibn Nasr also informed us: Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak reported to us—and this is his wording—from Hisham, from Ibn Sirin, from Abu Hurairah, that the Prophet ﷺ forbade a man to pray with his hands on his hips.

Humayd ibn Masadah narrated to us, from Sufyan ibn Habib, from Said ibn Ziyad, from Ziyad ibn Subaih, who said: I prayed beside Ibn Umar and placed my hand on my hip. He struck my hand with his. When I finished praying, I asked a man, Who is this? He replied, Abdullah ibn Umar. I said, Abu Abd al-Rahman, what did you object to in what I did? He said, This is the posture of one being crucified, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade us from doing it.

Amr ibn Ali informed us: Yahya narrated to us, from Sufyan ibn Said al-Thawri, from Maysarah, from al-Minhal ibn Amr, from Abu Ubaidah, that Abdullah saw a man praying with his feet aligned. He said, He has gone against the Sunnah. It would have been better had he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Ismail ibn Masud informed us: Khalid narrated to us, from Shubah, who said: Maysarah ibn Habib informed me: I heard al-Minhal ibn Amr relate from Abu Ubaidah, from Abdullah, that he saw a man praying with his feet aligned. He said, He has acted contrary to the Sunnah. I would prefer it if he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Mahmud ibn Ghailan informed us: Waki narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Umarah ibn al-Qaqa, from Abu Zurah ibn Amr ibn Jarir, from Abu Hurairah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would pause briefly after beginning the prayer.