What is the correct form of the prayer transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), from the ablution to the closing salam?

The questioner : What is the correct form of the prayer transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), from the ablution to the closing salam?

The Shaykh : We seek help from Allah. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. This question requires a volume, because it asks from the ablution until the prayer is finished. So we begin first with the description of the ablution. The description of the ablution is that a person intends the ablution in his heart without verbalizing it with his tongue. Then he washes his hands three times. Then he rinses his mouth and inhales water into his nose and blows it out, three times. If he does it with three mouthfuls, that is better. If he cannot, then six mouthfuls are sufficient. Then he washes his face completely, from ear to ear in width, and from the hairline of the forehead to the bottom of the beard in length. Then he washes his hands from the tips of his fingers to his elbows, and the elbows are included in the washing. Then he wipes his head: he places his hands on his forehead and wipes from the front of his head to the back, then returns his hands to his forehead again. Then he wipes his ears, inserting his index fingers into the ear canals and wiping the outer part of his ears with his thumbs. Then he washes his feet from the tips of his toes to the ankles, which are the two prominent bones at the bottom of the lower leg, and they are included in the washing. This is the ablution. He says "In the name of Allah" at the beginning, and at the end he says: "I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. O Allah, make me among those who repent, and make me among those who purify themselves."
As for the prayer, he approaches it with tranquility, dignity, and reverence for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). He prepares for it in the best manner, as Allah the Exalted said: He uses the miswak to complete his purity. Then he faces the qiblah and says: "Allahu Akbar." This is the takbir of ihram, by which he enters the prayer, and the prayer is not established except with it. He says: "Allahu Akbar," then he begins the opening supplication. There are two types of opening supplication before him. The first is that he says: The second is that he says: He says this one once and that one once, because each of them is a recommended practice (sunnah). Then he says: "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate." He recites al-Fatihah completely, and pauses at every verse saying: Then he affirms his faith by saying: "Ameen." Then he recites a surah after al-Fatihah. In the Fajr prayer, it is from the long surahs of the final part of the Qur'an (al-Mufassal). In the Maghrib prayer, it is from the short surahs of al-Mufassal. In the rest, which are Zuhr, 'Asr, and 'Isha', it is from the medium surahs of al-Mufassal. The long surahs of al-Mufassal are from al-Qamar to 'Amma, meaning from Surat al-Naba' to Surat al-Naba'. The short surahs are from Surat al-Duha to the end of the Qur'an. The medium surahs are what is between them, from 'Amma to al-Duha. This is the most common practice in his prayers. There is no harm in reading from the long surahs of al-Mufassal in the Maghrib prayer; in fact, it is a recommended practice (sunnah) to do so sometimes. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he recited Surat al-Tur in Maghrib, and he recited Surat al-Mursalat in it. Then he bows, saying "Allahu Akbar" when he lowers himself into bowing. He straightens his back and keeps his head level with it, neither lowering it nor raising it. He places his hands on his knees with his fingers spread apart, and keeps his upper arms away from his sides. He says: "Subhan Rabbi al-'Azeem" (Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great), repeating it. He also says with it: "Subhanak Allahumma Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahumma ighfir li" (Glory be to You, O our Lord, and with Your praise, O Allah, forgive me). He also says: "Subbuhan Quddus, Rabb al-Mala'ikah wa al-Ruh" (The One who is free from all imperfections, the Holy One, Lord of the angels and the Spirit). Then he raises his head saying: "Sami' Allahu li man hamidah" (Allah hears those who praise Him). When he is fully standing, he says: "Rabbana wa laka al-hamd, mil' al-sama'at wa mil' al-ard wa mil' ma shi'ta min shay'in ba'd, Ahl al-thana' wa al-majd, Ahqqa ma qala al-'abd, wa kulluna laka 'abd, La mani'a li ma atayta, wa la mu'tiya li ma mana'ta, wa la yanfa'u dha al-jaddi minka al-jadd" (Our Lord, to You belongs all praise, filling the heavens and filling the earth and filling whatever You will of anything else. O Master of praise and glory, You are more worthy of what the servant has said, and we are all Your servants. None can withhold what You give, and none can give what You withhold, and the wealth of the wealthy does not benefit You). Then he lowers himself into prostration, saying "Allahu Akbar," and prostrates on seven bones: the forehead, followed by the nose, the two hands, the two knees, and the tips of the two feet. He raises his back and keeps his upper arms away from his sides, and faces the tips of his fingers toward the qiblah. He says: "Subhan Rabbi al-A'la" (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High), repeating it. He says: "Subhanak Allahumma Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahumma ighfir li" (Glory be to You, O our Lord, and with Your praise, O Allah, forgive me). He says: "Subbuhan Quddus, Rabb al-Mala'ikah wa al-Ruh" (The One who is free from all imperfections, the Holy One, Lord of the angels and the Spirit). He makes supplication and increases his supplication, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And he said (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): Then he raises himself from prostration, saying "Allahu Akbar," and sits between the two prostrations in the position of iftirash. Ifitarash is to extend his right leg outward from his hip and sit on the belly of his left leg. He places his hands on his knees and says: Then he prostrates the second prostration as he did the first. Then he stands for the second rak'ah and does in it what he did in the first, except that there is no opening supplication in it, because the opening supplication is only in the first rak'ah. Does he say "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan" or does he stick to the first seeking of refuge? There are two opinions among the scholars: if he does it, he has done well, and if he leaves it, he has done well. Then he recites al-Fatihah and a surah with it. It is recommended that this rak'ah be shorter than the first rak'ah in its recitation, bowing, and prostration. When he completes the second rak'ah, he sits for the tashahhud in the position of iftirash, as he sat between the two prostrations. He recites the tashahhud: "At-tahiyyat li-Allah, wa al-salawat wa al-tayyibat, as-salamu 'alayka ayyuha al-Nabiyyu wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh, as-salamu 'alayna wa 'ala 'ibadi Allahi al-salihin, ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluh" (The greetings, prayers, and good things are for Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger). If the prayer is two rak'ahs, like Fajr, he completes the tashahhud and recites: "Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad, wa 'ala Ali Muhammad, kama sallayta 'ala Ibrahim, wa 'ala Ali Ibrahim, innaka Hamidun Majid, Allahumma barik 'ala Muhammad, wa 'ala Ali Muhammad, kama barakta 'ala Ibrahim, wa 'ala Ali Ibrahim, innaka Hamidun Majid, A'udhu billahi min 'adhab Jahannam, wa min 'adhab al-qabr, wa min fitnat al-mahya wa al-mamat, wa min fitnat al-Masih al-Dajjal, Rabbana atina fi al-dunya hasanah, wa fi al-akhirah hasanah, wa qina 'adhab al-nar" (O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim, for You are Praiseworthy, Majestic. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim, for You are Praiseworthy, Majestic. I seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of Hellfire, and from the punishment of the grave, and from the trial of life and death, and from the trial of the false messiah. Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the Fire). Then he says the salam. If the prayer is three or four rak'ahs, he stands after the first tashahhud, meaning he stands when he says "I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger," and he performs two rak'ahs in which he restricts himself to al-Fatihah. Then he sits for the final tashahhud, but he sits in the position of tawruk, by extending his right leg and bringing out his left leg from the right side, from under the right lower leg. He recites the complete tashahhud, then he says the salam. At the salam in the obligatory prayer, he says: "Astaghfiru Allah, Astaghfiru Allah, Astaghfiru Allah, Allahumma Anta as-Salam, wa minka as-Salam, tabarakta ya Dha al-Jalali wa al-Ikram" (I seek forgiveness from Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah. O Allah, You are Peace, and from You is Peace. Blessed are You, O Owner of Majesty and Honor). And what came in the Sunnah of types of dhikr. This is the description of the prayer that was transmitted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O honorable Shaykh.