After
completing his recitation, he (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) would pause for a moment21,
then raise his hands22
in the way described earlier under the
"Opening Takbeer", say takbeer23,
and make rukoo'.24
He also ordered "the one who prayed badly"
likewise, saying to him, Indeed, the
prayer of one of you is not complete
until he makes an excellent ablution
as Allaah has commanded him to ... then
he celebrates Allaah's greatness, praises
and glorifies Him, then recites the Qur'aan
as much as is easy for him from what
Allaah has taught him and allowed him,
then says takbeer and makes rukoo' [and
places his hands on his knees] until
his joints are at ease and relaxed25
"He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would place
his palms on his knees"26,
and "would order them to do likewise"27,
as he ordered "the one who prayed badly"
in the afore-mentioned hadeeth.
"He
would put his hands firmly on his knees
[as though he were grasping them]"28,
and "would space his fingers out"29,
ordering "the one who prayed badly" likewise,
saying: When you make rukoo', place
your palms on your knees, then space
your fingers out, then remain (like that)
until every limb takes its (proper) place.30
"He
used to spread himself (i.e., not be
in a compact position), and keep his
elbows away from his sides."31
"When
he made rukoo', he would spread his back
and make it level"32,
"such that if water were poured on it,
it (the water) would stay there (i.e.,
not run off)."33
He also said to "the one who prayed badly",
When you make rukoo', put your palms
on your knees, spread your back (flat)
and hold firm in your rukoo'.34
"He
would neither let his head droop nor
raise it (i.e. higher than his back)"35,
but it would be in between.36
He
used to be at ease in his rukoo', and ordered
"the one who prayed badly" to be so, as
has been mentioned in the first section
on rukoo'.
He used to say, Complete the rukoo'
and sujood, for by Him in whose Hand
is my soul, I surely see you behind my
back37
when you make rukoo' and sujood.38
"He
saw a man praying not completing his
rukoo' properly, and pecking in his sujood,
so he said, Were this man to die in
this state, he would die on a faith other
than that of Muhammad, [pecking in his
prayer as a crow pecks at blood; he who
does not make rukoo' completely and pecks
in his sujood is like the hungry person
who eats one or two dates, which are
of no use to him at all.39
Abu Hurairah (radi Allaahu 'anhu) said,
"My close friend (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam) forbade me from pecking in
my prayer like a cockerel, from looking
around like a fox, and from squatting
like a monkey."40
The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) also used to say,
The worst thief among men is the one
who steals from his prayer. They
said, "O Messenger of Allaah, how does
he steal from his prayer?" He said, He
does not complete its rukoo' and sujood.41
Once, "he was praying, when he glanced
out of the corner of his eye at a man
not settling his backbone in rukoo' and
sujood. When he finished, he said, O
assembly of Muslims! Verily, the prayer
is not valid of the one who does not
settle his spine in rukoo' and sujood."42
He said in another hadeeth, The prayer
of a man does not count unless he straightens
his back in rukoo' and sujood.43
He
would say different types of remembrance
of Allaah and supplication, any one of
the following at a time:
-
How Perfect is my Lord, the Supreme!,
three times.44
But sometimes, he would repeat it more
than that.45
Once, in night prayer, he repeated
it so much that his rukoo' became nearly
as long as his standing before it,
in which he had recited three of the
Long Soorahs: Baqarah, Nisaa' and aal-
'Imraan. This prayer was full of supplication
& seeking forgiveness, and the
hadeeth has already been mentioned
under "Recitation in Night Prayer."
-
How Perfect is my Lord, the Supreme,
and Praised be He, three times.46
-
Perfect, Blessed,47
Lord of the Angels and the Spirit.48
-
How Perfect You are O Allaah, and
Praises are for You. O Allaah, forgive
me. He would say it often in his
rukoo' and sujood, implementing (the
order of) the Qur'aan.49
-
O Allaah! To You I have bowed; in
You I have believed; to You I have
submitted; [You are my Lord]; humbled
for You are my hearing, my seeing,
my marrow, my bone (in one narration:
my bones), my sinews, [and whatever
my feet carry50
(are humbled) for Allaah, Lord of the
Worlds].51
-
O Allaah! to You I have bowed; in
You I have believed; to You I have
submitted; in You I have placed my
trust; You are my Lord; my hearing,
my seeing, my blood, my flesh, my bones,
and my sinews are humbled for Allaah,
Lord of the Worlds.52
-
How Perfect is He Who has all Power,
Kingdom, Magnificence and Supremity,
which he used to say in night prayer.
"He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to
make his rukoo', his standing after rukoo',
his sujood, and his sitting in between
the two sajdahs, nearly equal in length."53
"He
used to forbid recitation of the Qur'aan
in rukoo' and sujood."54
Further, he used to say, Verily, I have
indeed been forbidden from reciting the
Qur'aan in rukoo' or sujood. In the rukoo',
therefore, glorify the Supremity of the
Lord, Mighty and Sublime, in it; as for
the sujood, exert yourselves in supplication
in it, for it is most likely that you will
be answered.55
Next,
"he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would
straighten up his back out of rukoo', saying,
(Allaah listens to the one who praises
Him).56
He also ordered "the one who prayed badly"
to do that, when he said to him: No person's
prayer is complete until ... he has said
takbeer ... then made rukoo' ... then
has said "Allaah listens to the one who
praises Him" until he is standing straight."57
When he raised his head, he would stand
straight until every vertebra returned
to its place.58
Next, "he would say while standing:
(Our Lord, [and] to You be all Praise).59
He has commanded all worshippers, whether
behind an imaam or not, to do the above
on rising from rukoo', by saying Pray
as you have seen me praying.60
He also used to say, The imaam is
there to be followed ... when he has
said 'Allaah listens to the one who praises
Him' then say, '[O Allaah!] Our Lord,
and to You be all Praise'; Allaah will
listen to you, for indeed, Allaah, Blessed
and Exalted, has said via the tongue
of His Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam): Allaah listens to the one who
praises Him.'61
He also gave a reason for this command
in another hadeeth, saying: for he
whose saying coincides with that of the
angels will have his past sins forgiven.62
He used to raise his hands when straightening
up63,
in the ways described under the Opening
Takbeer.
While standing, he would say, as previously-mentioned,
-
Our Lord, and to You be all Praise64;
or
-
Our Lord, to You be all Praise.65
Sometimes, he would add at the beginning
of either of these:
-
O Allaah! ...66
He used to order others to do this,
saying, "When the imaam says: Allaah
listens to the one who praises Him,
then say: O Allaah! Our Lord, to
You be all Praise, for he whose
saying coincides with that of the angels
will have his past sins forgiven."67
Sometimes, he would add either:
-
... Filling the heavens, filling
the earth, and filling whatever else
You wish68,
or
-
... Filling the heavens, [filling]
the earth, whatever is between them,
and filling whatever else You wish.69
Sometimes, he would add even further:
-
Lord of Glory & Majesty! None
can withhold what You grant, and none
can grant what You withhold; nor can
the possessions of an owner benefit
him in front of You.70
Or, sometimes, the addition would be:
-
Filling the heavens, filling the
earth, and filling whatever else You
wish. Lord of Glory and Majesty! -
The truest thing a slave has said,
and we are all slaves to You. [O Allaah!]
None can withhold what You grant, [and
none can grant what You withhold,]
nor can the possessions of an owner
benefit him in front of You.71
Sometimes, he would say the following
during night prayer:
-
To my Lord be all Praise, to my
Lord be all Praise, repeating it
until his standing was about as long
as his rukoo', which had been nearly
as long as his first standing, in which
he had recited soorah al-Baqarah.72
-
Our Lord, and to You be all Praise,
so much pure praise, inherently blessed,
[externally blessed, as our Lord loves
and is pleased with].73
A man praying behind him (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) said this after
he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
had raised his head from rukoo' and
said: Allaah listens to the one
who praises Him. When the Messenger
of Allaah had finished his prayer,
he said, Who was the one speaking
just now? The man said, "It was
I, O Messenger of Allaah." So the Messenger
of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
said, I saw over thirty angels hurrying
to be the first one to write it down.74
He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to
make this standing about as long as his
rukoo', as has been mentioned; in fact,
"he would stand (for so long) sometimes
that one would say, 'He has forgotten',
[because of his standing for so long.]"75
He used to instruct them to be at ease
in it; hence, he said to "the one who
prayed badly", ... Next, raise your
head until you are standing straight
[and every bone has taken its proper
place] - in another narration, When
you rise, make your spine upright and
raise your head, until the bones return
to their joints.76
He also reminded him: that no-one's prayer
is complete unless he does that, and
used to say: Allaah, Mighty and Sublime,
does not look at the prayer of the slave
who does not make his backbone upright
in between his bowings and prostrations.77
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