The Description of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) Prayer

Question:
The questioner is from Algeria. Hussein from Algeria sent a set of questions. In his first question, he says: “Your Eminence! How was the prayer of the Chosen One (peace and blessings be upon him)? Please guide us in light of our question.”

Answer:
His prayer (peace and blessings be upon him) was light yet complete, as Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I have not prayed behind anyone whose prayer was more complete and lighter than the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).” His prayer was light yet complete; he would complete his bowing, prostration, and standing up after bowing and between the two prostrations, but he would not prolong it to the point of burdening people or causing them hardship. This is how the Sunnah is: that the believer prays with lightness and completeness, meaning both the imam and the one praying alone. As for the one praying behind an imam, he follows his imam. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he said: (peace and blessings be upon him). So lightness means that you emulate his prayer (peace and blessings be upon him), which was light yet complete. He would recite from the middle-length surahs in the Dhuhr prayer, and in the Asr prayer, he would recite less than that, lighter than the Dhuhr. In the Maghrib prayer, he would recite from the short surahs, sometimes from the long ones, and sometimes from the middle-length ones. The common practice in the Maghrib was to recite the short surahs. He would recite from the middle-length surahs in the Isha prayer, and from the long surahs in the Fajr prayer, such as Qaf, At-Tur, Adh-Dhariyat, and the like. He would bow with completeness and lightness, sometimes reciting seven tasbihat, sometimes ten: , and he would say in his bowing: .. .
And when he would stand up straight after bowing, he would be at rest until every vertebra returned to its place. He would stand up straight after bowing until one might say: “He has forgotten.” And so it was between the two prostrations; he would stand up straight between the two prostrations and say: , and he would not hasten until every vertebra returned to its place.
And in prostration, he would also be at rest and recite several tasbihat, ten tasbihat or seven tasbihat. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed behind some of the imams and said: He would count for him ten tasbihat in the bowing and prostration. So if one recites ten, or seven, or five, all of this is good. in the bowing, in the prostration, and between the two prostrations, but with being at rest until every vertebra returns to its place.
This is how he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray: light yet complete. It is the Sunnah for imams to emulate him, due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): And so it is for individuals; if a person prays alone due to illness or otherwise, he emulates the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And so it is for women; they pray as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray: light yet complete. I have heard the description of his prayer (peace and blessings be upon him); he would complete his bowing and prostration, and he would stand up straight between the two prostrations and after bowing, and he would not hasten. He would recite from the middle-length surahs in the Dhuhr and Asr, but the Asr was lighter. In the Maghrib, he would recite from the short surahs, and sometimes from the long ones, such as At-Tur and others, and sometimes he would recite Al-Mursalat (peace and blessings be upon him). So sometimes he would prolong the Maghrib prayer and sometimes shorten it (peace and blessings be upon him). In the Isha, he would recite from the middle-length surahs, such as: [Al-Ghashiyah:1], such as: [Al-Fajr:1], such as: [Al-A'la:1], such as: [Al-Buruj:1]. And in the Fajr, he would recite from the long surahs, such as Adh-Dhariyat and [Qaf:1], such as At-Tur, such as: [Al-Qamar:1], such as: [Al-Mulk:1], and the like. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, may the Shaykh be honored.