ibn Umar · The Book of the Commencement of the Prayer

I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he said the opening Takbir of the prayer, raise his hands until they were level with his shoulders. When he said the Takbir before bowing he did likewise, and when he said: 'Sami Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears those who praise Him),' he did likewise, then he said: 'Rabbana wa lakal-hamd (Our Lord, to You be praise).' But he did not do that when he prostrated or when he raised his head…

"There are three things that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to do and the people have abandoned; he used to raise his hands extended when praying, and he would fall silent briefly, and say takbir when he prostrated and when he sat up."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered the Masjid, then a man entered and prayed, then he came and greeted the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) with Salam. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) returned his greeting and said: Go back and pray, for you have not prayed." So he went back and prayed as he has prayed before, then he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and greeted him with Salam, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to him: "Wa alaika as-salam…

"I said: 'I am going to watch how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prays.' So I watched him and he stood and said the takbir, and raised his hands until they were in the level with his ears, then he placed his right hand over his left hand, wrist and lower forearm. When he wanted to bow he raised his hands likewise. Then he prostrated and placed his hands in level with his ears. Then he sat up and placed…

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) taught me a surah, and when I was sitting in the masjid I heard a man reciting it in a way that was different from mine. I said to him: 'Who taught you this surah?' He said: 'The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).' I said: 'Stay with me until we go to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).' So we came to him and I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, this man recites a surah that you…

Zaid bin Thabit said: "Why do I see you reciting short surahs in Maghrib when I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting the longer of the two long surahs in it?" I said: "O Abu Abdullah, what is the longer of the two long surahs?" He said: "Al-A'raf."

Marwan appointed Abu Hurairah as governor of Al-Madinah. When he stood to offer an obligatory prayer, he would say the takbir, then he said the takbir when he bowed, and when he raised his head from bowing he said: "Sami' Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa lakal-hamd (Allah hears those who praise Him; our Lord, and to You be the praise)." Then he would say the takbir when he went down in prostration, then he said the takbir when he stood…