Explanation of the Hadith of the Man Who Spoiled His Prayer

The Shaykh : A man entered the mosque while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting with his Companions. The man prayed a prayer in which he did not settle his movements, then he came and greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet said to him: He denied that he had prayed. The denial of the prayer here is a legal denial, not a factual denial, because the man did pray, but he did not pray in a way that is valid according to the Shari'ah due to the lack of settling his movements. He repeated this three times. The man said, "By Him who sent you with the truth, I do not know how to do anything other than this. Teach me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) repeated this to bring about this result, which is to make him eager for knowledge, so that he would receive the knowledge while being most eager for it, and it would become firmly established in his mind. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, "When you stand for prayer, perform the ablution thoroughly, then face the qiblah and say the takbir."