Sunan an-Nasa'i

His father told him: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite for us in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr prayer, and he would make us hear a verse sometimes. He would make the first rak'ah longer and the second shorter. And he used to do that in Subh too, make the first rak'ah longer and the second shorter. And he used to recite in the first two rak'ahs of 'Asr prayer, making the first rak'ah longer and the second shorter."

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite the Umm Al-Quran and two surahs in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and 'Asr, and in the last two with Umm Al-Quran, and he would make us hear a verse sometimes, and he used to make the first rak'ah lengthy."

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite the Umm Al-Quran and two surahs in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and 'Asr, and he would make us hear a verse sometimes, and he used to make the first rak'ah of zuhr lengthy, and he did likewise in Subh."

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to recite "By the heaven holding the big stars" and: "By the heaven, and At-Tariq (the night-comer, i.e. the bright star)" and similar surahs in Zuhr and 'Asr.

"The Prophet (ﷺ) used to recite "By the night as it envelops" in Zuhr and something similar in 'Asr, and he would recite something longer than that in subh."

"We entered upon Anas bin Malik and he said: 'Have you prayed?' We said: 'Yes.' He asid: 'O slave girl, bring me water for Wudhu! I have never prayed behind any Imam whose prayer more closely resembles the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) than this Imam of yours.'" Zaid said: "Umar bin Abdul Aziz used to complete the bowing and prostration (without rushing) and lighten the standing and sitting."

"I have never prayed behind anyone whose prayer more closely resembled that of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) than so-and-so." (The narrator) Sulaiman siad: "He used to make the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr lengthy and the last two shorter, and he would make 'Asr shorter; in Maghrib he would recite the short Mufassal surahs, in Isha' the medium-length Mufassal surahs and in Subh the long Mufassal surahs.

"I have never prayed behind anyone whose prayer more closely resembled that of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) than so-and-so. We prayed behind that person and he used to make the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr lengthy and the last two shorter, and he would make 'Asr shorter; in Maghrib he would recite the short Mufassal surahs. In Isha' he recited: 'By the sun and its brightness and similar surahs, and in subh he recited two lengthy surahs."

"A man from among the Ansar passed Mu'adh leading two camels, when he (Mu'adh) was praying maghrib, and he was starting to recite Al-Baqarah. So that man prayed then went away. News of that reached the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said: 'Do you want to cause hardship to the people, O Mu'adh; do you want to cause hardship to the people, O Mu'adh? Why don't you recite: 'Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High' and 'By the sun and its brightness' and the like?'"

" The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) led us in praying maghrib in his house and he recited Al-Mursalat, then after that, he never offered any prayer until he died."

She heard the Prophet (ﷺ) recite Al-Mursalat in Maghrib.

His father said: "I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) recite At-Tur in Maghrib."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited 'Ha- Mim Ad-Dukhan' in Maghrib.

He said to Marwan: "O Abu Abdul-Malik, do you recite: 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One' and 'Verily, We have granted you Al-Kawthar' in maghrib?" He said: "Yes." He (Zaid) said: "I swear by Allah, I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting the longer of the two long surahs in it: 'Alif-Lam-Mim-Sad.'"

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."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited Surat Al-A'raf in maghrib and split it between two rak'ahs.

"I watched the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)- twenty times- reciting in the two rak'ahs after maghrib 'Say: O you disbelievers' and 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One.'"

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent a man on a campaign, and he used to recite to his companions when leading them in prayer, and would conclude with 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One.' When they returned, they told the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about that. He said: "Ask them why he did that." So they asked him and he said: "Because it is a description of the Most Merciful, the Mighty and Sublime, and I love to recite it." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Tell him that Allah (SWT), the Mighty and Sublime, loves him."

"I heard Abu Hurairah say: 'I came back (from a journey) with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he heard a man reciting 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One, Allah-us-Samad (the Self-Sufficient Master). He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none equal or comparable unto Him.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'It is guaranteed.' We asked him: 'What, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Paradise.'"

A man heard another man reciting "Say: He is Allah, (the) One" and repeating it. When morning came he went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and told him about that. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, it is equal to one-third of the Quran."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Say: He is Allah, (the) One" is one-third of the Quran."

"Muadh stood up and prayed Isha', and made it lengthy. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Do you want to cause hardship to the people, O Mu'adh; do you want to cause hardship to the people O Mu'adh? Why didn't you recite 'Glorify the Name of your Lord Most High' or Ad-Duha or; 'When the heaven is cleft asunder?"

"Mu'adh bin Jabal led his companions in praying Isha' and he made it lengthy. A man left, and Mu'adh was told about that, and he said: 'He is a hypocrite.' When news of that reached the man, he went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and told him what Mu'adh had said. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him: 'Do you want to be a cause of hardship, O Mu'adh? When you lead the people in prayer, recite 'By the sun and its brightness' and 'Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High' and 'By the night as it envelops'and 'Read! In the Name of your Lord.'"

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite 'By the sun and its brightness' and similar surahs in Isha'.

"I prayed Al-'Atamah (Isha') with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he recited 'By the gif and the olive' in it.

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was on a journey and he recited: 'By the fig and the olive' in the first rak'ah of isha'. "

"I heard Jabir bin Samurah say: 'Umar said to Sa'eed': "The people are complaining about everything about you, even about your prayer." Sa'd said: "I take my time in the first two rak'ahs and I make the other two shorter. I do my best to follow the example of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in prayer." 'Umar said: 'That is what I thought about you.'"

"Some of the peole of Al-Khufah complained about Sa'd to 'Umar. They said: 'By Allah, he does not pray properly.' He said: 'I lead them in prayer as the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did, and I do not deviate from that. I take my time in the first two rak'ahs and make the other two shorter.' He (Umar) said: 'That is what I thought about you.'"

I know the similar surahs that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite, twenty surahs in ten rak'ahs." Then he took 'Alqamah's hand and went in, then 'Alqamah came out and we asked him and he told us what they were.

"I heard Abu Wa'il say: "A man said in the presence of Abdullah: 'I recited Al-Mufassal in one rak'ah.' He said: 'That is like reciting poetry. I know the similar surahs that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite together.' And he mentioned twenty surahs from Al-Mufassal, two by two in each rak'ah."

A man came to him and said: "Last night I recited Al-Mufassal in one rak'ah." He said: "That is like reciting poetry. But the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite similar surahs, twenty surahs from Al-Mufassal, those that start with Ha-Mim."

"I was with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on the day of the Conquest (of Makkah). He prayed in front of the Ka'bah. He took off his shoes and placed them to his left, and he started to recite Surat Al-Mu'minun. When he reached the passage that mentions Musa and 'Eisa, peace be upon them both, he started coughing, then he bowed."

He prayed beside the Prophet (ﷺ) one night. He recited, and when he came to a verse that mentioned punishment, he would pause and seek refuge with Allah; if he came to a verse that mentioned mercy, he would pause for mercy. In his bowing he would say: 'Subhana Rabbil-Azim (Glory be to my Lord Almighty)' and in his prostration he would say: 'Subhan Rabbil-A'la (Glory be to my Lord the Most High).'"

The Prophet (ﷺ) recited Surat Al-Baqarah, Al 'Imran and An-Nisa' in one rak'ah, and he did not reach any verse that spoke of mercy but he asked Allah for it, nor any verse that spoke of punishment but he asked Allah for protection therefrom.

"I heard Abu Dharr say: 'The Prophet (ﷺ) stayed up all night repeating one verse. The verse was: 'If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily, You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.'"

Concerning the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime: "And offer your salah (prayer) neither aloud nor in a low voice"- It was revealed when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was still (preaching) in secret in Makkah. When he led his companions in prayer, he would raise his voice" -(One of the narrators) Ibn Mani' said: He would recite the Quran out loud"- "And when the idolators heard his voice they would insult the Quran, and the One Who revealed it, and the one who brought it. So Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, said to His Prophet (ﷺ): And offer your salah (prayer) neither aloud that is, such that the idolators can hear your recitation and insult the Quran; nor in a low voice, so that your companions cannot hear; but follow a way between."

"The Prophet (ﷺ) used to raise his voice when reciting Quran, and when the idolaters heard his voice they would insult the Quran and the one who had brought it. So the Prophet (ﷺ) began to lower his voice such that his companions would not hear him. Then Allah (SWT), the Mighty and Sublime, revealed: 'And offer your salah (prayer) neither aloud nor in a low voice, but follow a way between.'"

"I used to listen to the Prophet (ﷺ) reciting Quran when I was on my roof."

"I asked Anas: 'How did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recite Quran?' He said: 'He used to elongate the sounds.'"

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Make your voices beautiful when you recite Quran.'"

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Make your voices beautiful when you recite Quran.'"

He heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: "Allah never listens to anything as He listens to a Prophet with a beautiful voice chanting the Quran aloud."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, never listens to anything as He listens to a Prophet chanting the Quran."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) heard the recitation of Abu Musa and said: He has been given a Mizmar among the Mazamir of the family of Dawud, peace be upon him."

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) heard the recitation of Abu Musa and said: 'This man has been given a Mizmar among the Mazamir of the family of Dawud, peace be upon him.'"

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) heard the recitation of Abu Musa and said: 'This man has been given a Mizmar among the Mazamir of the family of Dawud, peace be upon him.'"

He asked Umm Salamah about the recitation and prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and she said: "Why do you want to know about his prayer?" Then she described his recitation and as being so measured and clear that each letter could be distinguished.

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 up after two rak'ahs, after saying the Tashahhud, and he did that until he had finished the prayer. When he had finished his prayer and said the Salam, he turned to the people in the masjid and said: "By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, I am the one among you whose prayer most closely resembles that of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)."

"I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) raise his hands until they reached the highest part of his ears, when he said the takbir, when he bowed and when he raised his head from bowing."

His father said: "I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he started to pray, raise his hands until they were parallel to his shoulders, (and he did that) when he bowed and when he raised his head from bowing."