Encyclopedia of Prophetic Hadiths

A man asked the Prophet (ﷺ) while he was on the pulpit: What do you say about the night prayer? He (ﷺ) said: "Two by two (i.e., in sets of two Rak‘ahs). When he fears that dawn is approaching, he should pray one (Rak‘ah), which will make what he has prayed Witr (odd)." And he (ﷺ) used to say: "Make the last of your prayers at night Witr,” for the Prophet (ﷺ) commanded it.

"Were people to know what is in the call and the first row and then they could do nothing but to draw lots for it, they would draw lots. Were they to know what is in performing the prayer early, they would race to it. Were they to know what is in the darkness and the morning, they would come to them even if they had to crawl."

"I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones: the forehead (and he pointed to his nose), the hands, the knees, and the extremities of the feet, and not to tuck up the clothes and hair."

Some men came to Sahl ibn Sa'd as-Sā‘idi. They were wondering what kind of wood the Pulpit was made of. So, they asked him about it, and he said: "By Allah, I know what it is made of. I saw it the first day it was set up, and the first day the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sat on it. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sent to so-and-so - a woman from the Ansār whose name was mentioned by Sahl - telling her: 'Tell your carpenter slave to make for me some pieces of wood that I can sit on when I speak to the people.' So, she told him, and he made it from Tamarisk wood from Al-Ghābah (a place near Madīnah). Then, he brought it, and it was sent to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), who commanded that it be set up here. Then, I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pray on it and say the takbīr while he was on it, and then he bowed while he was on it, and then he came down backwards and prostrated at the base of the Pulpit; and then he went back. When he finished, he turned to the people and said: 'O people, I only did this so that you can follow my example and learn my prayer.'"

"There is a prayer between every two Adhāns; there is a prayer between every two Adhāns." The third time, he said: "for whoever wills."

"The congregational prayer surpasses the prayer of any one of you alone by twenty-five times. And the angels of the night and the angels of the day gather at the Fajr prayer." Then Abu Hurayrah said: Recite, if you wish: {The recitation of dawn is ever witnessed [by the angels].} [Al-Isra: 78]

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach us Istikhārah (guidance-seeking prayer) in all matters, as he would teach us a Surah from the Qur’an. He would say: "When one of you intends to do something, let him perform two Rak‘ahs other than the obligatory prayer and then say: Allāhumma inni astakhīruka bi‘ilmika, wa astaqdiruka biqudratika, wa as’aluka min fadlik al-‘azhīm, fa ’innaka taqdiru wa la aqdiru, wa ta‘lamu wa la a‘lamu, wa anta ‘allāmu al-ghuyūb. Allāhumma in kunta ta‘lamu anna hādha al-’amra khayrun li fi dīni wa ma‘āshi wa ‘āqibati amri, (or he said) ‘ājili amri wa ājilihi, faqdurhu li wa yassirhu li, thumma bārik li fīh. Wa in kunta ta‘lamu anna hādha al-’amra sharrun li fi dīni wa ma‘āshi wa ‘āqibati amri, (or he said) wa ‘ājili amri wa ājilihi, fasrifhu ‘anni, wasrifni ‘anhu, waqdur li al-khayra haythu kāna, thumma ardini. (O Allah, I consult You for Your knowledge, and I seek strength from You for Your power, and I ask You of Your great bounty. Indeed, You are capable and I am not, and You know and I do not, and You are the All-Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know that this matter is good for me in my religion, my livelihood, and the outcome of my affairs, (or he said), my immediate and future affairs, then decree it for me, make it easy for me, and then bless it for me. And if You know this matter is evil concerning my religion, my livelihood or the outcome of my affairs, (or he said) my immediate and future affairs, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it, and decree for me what is good wherever it may be, and make me content).'' He said: ''And let him name his need.''

Ibn az-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say after every prayer after making taslīm: “Lā ilāha illa Allah wahdahu lā sharīka lahu, lahu al-mulk wa lahu al-hamd wa huwa ‘ala kolli shay‘in qadīr; lā hawla wa lā quwwata illa billāh, lā ilāha illa Allah, wa lā na‘budu illa iyyāh, lahu an-ni‘mah wa al-fadl, wa lahu ath-thanā’ al-hasan; lā ilāha illa Allah, mukhlisīn lahu ad-dīn wa law kariha al-kāfirūn (There is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. To Him belongs the dominion, and praise is due to Him, and He has power over all things. There is no power or strength except through Allah. There is no god but Allah, and we worship none but Him. To Him belongs the blessing, to Him belongs the grace, and to Him belongs all excellent praise. There is no god but Allah; we are sincerely devoted to Him, even if the disbelievers may dislike it)." And he said: "The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to celebrate Allah’s oneness with these words after every prayer."