The Description of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) Prayer, from the Takbir to the Taslim

Question:
The listener Muhammad Saleh Ahmad from Jizan sent a question, saying: I hope you will clarify for us how the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed? So that the benefit may be widespread, and because we see people adding words or actions, we ask for clarification. May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
The prayer of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the most just and the most complete prayer—(peace and blessings be upon him)—so he said: He used to pray a prayer in which there was tranquility, stillness, and humility, (peace and blessings be upon him):
He began it with the Takbir: Allahu Akbar. Then he would recite the opening supplication before the recitation. The most common form is his saying: . This is how it came in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) , in which he asked him about his silence after the Takbir. He said: He says this supplication in the obligatory prayer, and likewise in the voluntary prayers. And if he opens with the other hadith: , that is good. All of it is fine.
Then he says: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Then he recites Al-Hamd (Surat al-Fatihah), reciting it in a measured and tranquil manner, giving the letters their due. When he says: [al-Fatihah:7], he says: Ameen. In the loud prayers, he says it aloud, such as Maghrib, Isha, Fajr, and Jumu'ah. In the silent prayers, he says it between himself and his soul. Then he recites whatever is easy from the surahs or verses. He would lengthen the Fajr prayer, reciting from the long surahs of the final part of the Qur'an. Sometimes he would recite sixty verses or a hundred verses in the two rak'ahs. Sometimes he would recite (Qaf) and similar surahs like Al-Tur and Adh-Dhariyat in Fajr. Sometimes he would recite [al-Mu'minun:1] in the two rak'ahs. In Maghrib, sometimes he would recite the long surahs. He recited Al-Tur in Maghrib, and he recited Al-A'raf in the two rak'ahs at some times. He recited Al-Mursalat in Maghrib. The most common is that he would recite the short surahs, the short surahs of the final part of the Qur'an, such as: and and the like: . So the believer does as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did: sometimes he lengthens it, and sometimes he recites the short surahs in Maghrib.
In Isha, Zuhr, and Asr, he would recite the medium-length surahs. He would recite the medium-length surahs, such as: , such as: , and the like, in Isha, and in Zuhr, and in Asr. And Zuhr would be somewhat longer than Asr. This is his Sunnah, (peace and blessings be upon him).
In the bowing, he would be tranquil and not hasten. He would recite the tasbih: (Subhana Rabbiyal 'Azeem, Subhana Rabbiyal 'Azeem) five times, seven times. (Subhanak Allahumma Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahumma ighfir li) in the bowing. (Subhanak Allahumma Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahumma ighfir li). (Subbuhan Quddus Rabbal Mala'ikati war Ruh). He would be still, placing his hands on his knees, aligning his head with his back, upright and tranquil. Then he would raise his head saying: (Sami' Allahu liman hamidah) if he was an imam or praying alone. If he was a follower, he would raise his head and say: (Rabbana wa lakal hamd) or (Allahumma Rabbana lakal hamd). Then he would complete it: (Hamdan kathiran tayyiban mubarakan fihi, mil'as samaawat, wa mil'al ardh, wa mil'a ma baynahuma, wa mil'a ma shi'ta min shay'in ba'd). And sometimes he would add, (peace and blessings be upon him), after this: "Ahlath thana'i wal majd, ahaqqu ma qala al-'abd, wa kulluna laka 'abd, Allahumma la mani'a lima a'tayta, wa la mu'tiya lima mana'ta, wa la yanfa'u dhal jadda minkal jadd." Meaning: He would lengthen this pillar, being upright and tranquil.
Then he would prostrate, and be upright in prostration on his seven limbs: the tips of his feet, his knees, his palms, and his face. He would place his forehead and nose on the ground, and be upright. He would raise his belly from his thighs, separate his upper arms from his sides, and raise his forearms from the ground, relying on his palms. He would be tranquil and say: Subhana Rabbiyal A'la, Subhana Rabbiyal A'la. He would repeat it five times, or seven times, or ten times. And he would say: (Allahumma ighfir li warhamni wahdini wajburni warzuqni). (Allahumma ighfir li dhambi kullah, daqqahu wa jal, wa awwalahu wa aakhirahu, wa 'alaniyyatahu wa sirr). (Allahumma ya Muqallibal Qulub, thabbit qalbi 'ala dinik).
He would supplicate in prostration. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate in prostration, and he said, (peace and blessings be upon him): Meaning: It is fitting that your supplications be answered. And he said, (peace and blessings be upon him): .
So the Sunnah is to be tranquil in prostration, and to increase in supplication in prostration along with saying: Subhana Rabbiyal A'la, Subhana Rabbiyal A'la three times, five times, seven times. In the bowing: Subhana Rabbiyal 'Azeem. In the prostration: Subhana Rabbiyal A'la. Along with supplication, along with saying: (Subhanak Allahumma Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahumma ighfir li). (Subbuhan Quddus Rabbal Mala'ikati war Ruh). (Subhana Dhal Jibrut wal Mulkut wal Kibriya' wal 'Adhama). He does not hasten.
Then he sits between the two prostrations, and is tranquil, and is still, and does not hasten. He says: (Rabbighfir li, Rabbighfir li, Rabbighfir li, Allahumma ighfir li warhamni, wahdini wajburni warzuqni wa 'aafini).
Between the two prostrations, he is tranquil, and sits on his left foot, spreading it out and sitting on it, and erecting his right foot if he is able to do so. Then he prostrates the second time like the first, being tranquil in it, and saying in it what he said in the first. This is the prayer of the Prophet, (peace and blessings be upon him). And at the end of it, after the two rak'ahs, he sits for the tahiyyat, reciting the tahiyyat until he says: (Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa Allah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluh). Then he rises to the third. And if he prays upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that is better. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sometimes would rise, and sometimes he would pray upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and then rise to the third.
Then he recites in the third only Al-Hamd. This is how Abu Qatadah al-Ansari narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): in the third and fourth. And likewise in the third of Maghrib, and the third and fourth of Isha with Al-Fatihah. And if he recites in the third and fourth of Zuhr some extra verses at some times; there is no harm; due to the hadith of Abu Sa'id that came regarding that.

The presenter: In Zuhr specifically?

The Shaykh: Specifically. But the best and most common is that it is Al-Fatihah alone. But if he adds in the third and fourth of Zuhr some verses, or some surahs, at some times; there is no harm; because it came in Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Abu Sa'id what indicates that he sometimes would add in the third and fourth of Zuhr after Al-Fatihah, some thing, (peace and blessings be upon him).
Then he sits after the third in Maghrib, and after the fourth in Zuhr, Asr, and Isha, and after the second in Fajr. He recites the tahiyyat and prays upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and says: . And he increases in supplication as well. He increases in supplication: . And if he supplicates with other than that; praise be to Allah. He supplicates whatever is easy. .
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . And this is from his supplications, (peace and blessings be upon him), in the final tashahhud before he says the taslim, after the tahiyyat, and after the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and after his saying: .
After this, he strives in supplication with whatever is easy, then he says the taslim twice: (As-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah) to his right, (As-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah) to his left. This is the completion of the prayer. He opens it with the Takbir, and closes it with the Taslim. This is how he was, (peace and blessings be upon him). It is necessary for the believing man and woman to seek this, and to pray as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed; because he said: . May Allah send prayers and blessings upon him.

The presenter: May Allah send prayers upon him.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The presenter : May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.