Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles

Wā’il ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Whenever the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) bowed, he would spread out his fingers, and whenever he prostrated, he would join them together.

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) praying while sitting cross-legged.

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say between the two prostrations: "Allahumma ighfir li warhamni wa ‘āfeni wahdeni warzuqni (O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, grant me safety, guide me, and provide for me)".

Mālik ibn al-Huwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I saw the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pray and when he was performing an odd-numbered Rak‘ah, he would not get up until he had been settled in the sitting position.

‘Āsim reported: I asked Anas about the Qunūt (invocation in the prayer). Anas said: "It should be recited before Rukū‘." I said: "So-and-so claims that you said it should be recited after rising from Rukū‘." He replied: "He is mistaken." Then Anas narrated to us that the Prophet invoked evil on the tribe of Banu Sulaym for one month after rising from Rukū‘. He then said: "The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sent 40 or 70 reciters (men well versed in the knowledge of the Qur'an) to some pagans, who killed them, even though there was a peace pact between them and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). I never saw the Prophet hating anyone as much as he hated those pagans."

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not say the Qunūt but he would pray for welfare of a people or doom of others.

Abu Mālik al-Ashja‘i Sa‘d ibn Tāriq (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I said to my father: "O father, you prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān, and ‘Ali here in Kufah for about five years. Did they use to recite the Qunūt in the Fajr prayer?" He said: "O son, this is an innovation in religion."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When any of you prostrates, he should not kneel down like a camel; rather, he should put down his hands before his knees.”

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to put his hands down before his knees, and he said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to do that.

‘Abdullāh ibn Az-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sat for supplication, he would put his right hand on his right thigh and his left hand on his left thigh, point with his index finger, place his thumb on his middle finger, and cover his knee with the palm of his left hand.

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach us the Tashahhud just as he used to teach us a Sūrah from the Qur’an. He used to say: "All blessed greetings and good prayers are due to Allah; peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings; peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allah. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger)." In another narration by Ibn Rumh: “As he used to teach us the Qur’an.”

Wā’il ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I prayed with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), and he used to make Taslīm (salutation of peace ending the prayer) to his right saying: "May Allah's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you," and to his left saying: "May Allah's peace and mercy be upon you."

Thawbān (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) finished his prayer, he would seek Allah’s forgiveness three times and say: "Allahumma anta as-salām wa minka as-salām, tabārakta yadha al-jalāl wa al-ikrām (O Allah, You are As-Salām (peace, perfection), and as-salām comes from You. Blessed are You, O Possessor of Glory and Honor)". Al-Walīd said: I said to Al-Awzā‘i: "How is the seeking of forgiveness?" He said: "You say: Astaghfirullāh, astaghfirullāh (I seek forgiveness from Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah)."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever glorifies Allah directly after each prayer thirty-three times, praises Allah thirty-three times, and proclaims the greatness of Allah thirty-three times, these are ninety-nine, and completes one hundred by saying: La ilāha illallāh wahdahu la sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamdu wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadīr (There is no god except Allah. He is One and has no partner with Him. To Him belongs sovereignty and to Him belongs praise, and He is Omnipotent over everything), his sins will be forgiven even if they are like the sea foam."

Abu ’Umāmah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever recites the Verse of the Kursi right after each obligatory prayer will have nothing preventing him from entering Paradise except that he dies."

‘Imrān ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I was suffering from hemorrhoids (piles); so I asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about the prayer and he said: "Pray while standing; if you cannot, then while sitting; and if you cannot, then while lying on your side."

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) visited a sick person and saw him pray on a pillow. He took the pillow and threw it away. The man took it, again with the intention to pray on it, and the Messenger of Allah once again threw it away. He then said: "Pray on the ground if you are able to; and if not, then use gestures and make your prostration lower than your bowing."

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: One night, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) performed Qiyām while reciting a single verse from the Qur'an (over and over again).

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) performed Hajj on an old saddle, covered by a sheet worth four dirhams or less. Then he said: "O Allah, grant me a Hajj in which no showing off is intended nor reputation sought."

Yūsuf ibn ‘Abdullāh ibn Salām (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) named me Yūsuf and seated me on his lap.