What is the manner of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer?

Question:
A message reached us from one of the listening brothers, who says: Adam Samsum, it appears to be Adam Samsum from Brino, Sudan. Our brother’s message is also one of the lengthy ones; he says in it, after greetings and respect: Prayer is obligatory upon every person, and this is a settled matter. However, the right and the wrong have become mixed up for us in how it is performed, and that is from the perspective of the words of the scholars and shaykhs regarding the manner of performance. And so that a person may be informed of the correct way to perform it as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed it, I ask Your Eminence, the Shaykh, to please clarify the following:
First: The Messenger’s (peace and blessings be upon him) method in performing the prayer.
- The supplications that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) recites after completing the rak'ahs in every prayer and before the final tashahhud.
- What the Messenger recites after the taslim and the manner of the taslim.
- The supplication for the deceased, or anything related to the manner of the five daily prayers.
- I'tikaf, its time, and its manner.
I also ask that this be clear, distinct, and concise so that I can record it and understand it. May Allah reward you with good for us.

Answer:
We have written letters on this regarding the manner of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer, the great status of prayer, and performing prayer in congregation. I hope they reached you, O questioner! There is no harm in sending them to you.
As for knowing this through this program, we advise you, O questioner, and all the brothers to pay attention to the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and to review the authentic hadiths reported on this in the two Sahihs and elsewhere, and in works such as al-Muntaqa by al-Majd Ibn Taymiyyah, and Bulugh al-Maram by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him), and such as 'Umdat al-Hadith by the scholar and imam 'Abd al-Ghani ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab ibn 'Ali ibn Sirr al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on him), and such books that have compiled the noble hadith, like Riyad al-Salihin and Jami' al-Usul.
The summary is that he (peace and blessings be upon him), when he stood for prayer, would say takbir and raise his hands to the level of his shoulders, and sometimes he would raise them to the level of his ears (peace and blessings be upon him), saying "Allahu Akbar" at the beginning of the prayer, in the Dhuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, 'Isha, Fajr, and voluntary prayers. He would say: "Allahu Akbar." This is the first thing in the prayer. And in the hadith: .
Then he would proceed to the istiftah, which are supplications he recites before the recitation, and they might be dhikr. Among them is: , and this istiftah is all dhikr.
And among them is: , and this is the most authentic of what has been reported in this chapter, and it is all supplication.
And among them is: , and this is one of the most comprehensive types of istiftah.
There are other istiftahs that you will find in their place in the books of hadith, but these three are among the most concise and the most authentic.
Then after this, you say "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan," "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate," then you recite al-Fatihah, [al-Fatihah:2] to the end of it. Al-Fatihah is the greatest surah in the Noble Qur'an, and it is a pillar of the prayer, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . The imam recites it, the one praying alone recites it, and the ma'mum recites it, but it is more emphasized and more obligatory for the imam and the one praying alone. The scholars differed on its obligation for the ma'mum with three opinions:
The first is that it is obligatory upon the ma'mum absolutely, in both secret and loud prayers.
The second is that it is obligatory upon him in secret prayers but not in loud prayers.
The third is that it is not obligatory upon him, neither in secret nor in loud prayers, and the imam bears it for him.
The stronger opinion is that it is obligatory upon him in both secret and loud prayers due to the generality of the hadiths indicating this. But if he did not come until the imam was in ruku', then that rak'ah suffices for him; because he did not attend the time of standing, so he is excused. For it is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in Sahih al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) that Abu Bakrah al-Thaqafi came while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in ruku', so he entered and performed ruku', then entered the row. He performed ruku' alone, then entered the row, out of eagerness. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) finished, he said to him: meaning: Do not count the ruku' before the row, but be patient until you enter the row. And he did not order him to make up the rak'ah. So the scholars, and they are the four Imams, argued that this rak'ah suffices for him; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order him to repeat it, which indicates that al-Fatihah is dropped from the one who comes while the imam is in ruku'.
And likewise, if the ma'mum forgot or was ignorant, it is dropped from him, and he is not like the imam and the one praying alone. Al-Fatihah has a great status as mentioned, for it is the greatest surah in the Book of Allah .
So what is prescribed for the believer when reciting it is to contemplate it and to understand it in prayer and outside of it. And it is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: : "The prayer has been divided between me and my servant in two halves" -meaning: He called al-Fatihah "prayer"- فإذا قال: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ [الفاتحة:2]، قال الله: حمدني عبدي، وإذا قال: الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ [الفاتحة:3]، قال الله: أثنى علي عبدي، وإذا قال: مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ [الفاتحة:4]، قال الله: مجدني عبدي، فإذا قال: إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ [الفاتحة:5] قال الله سبحانه: هذا بيني وبين عبدي ولعبدي ما سأل When he says: "All praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds" [al-Fatihah:2], Allah says: My servant has praised Me. When he says: "The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy" [al-Fatihah:3], Allah says: My servant has praised Me. When he says: "Master of the Day of Judgment" [al-Fatihah:4], Allah says: My servant has glorified Me. When he says: "You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help" [al-Fatihah:5], Allah, the Exalted, says: This is between Me and My servant, and for My servant is what he has asked. -meaning: is the right of Allah, is the need of the servant, he seeks help from his Lord- فإذا قال: اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ۝ صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا الضَّالِّينَ [الفاتحة:6-7] قال الله سبحانه: هذا لعبدي ولعبدي ما سأل When he says: "Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned Your anger or of those who are astray" [al-Fatihah:6-7], Allah, the Exalted, says: This is for My servant, and for My servant is what he has asked. meaning: This is a request from my servant seeking guidance, and he has what he asked for.
And this is a promise from Allah that He will give him guidance. And this is the noblest of what is sought: guidance. It is necessary for you -O reader... O believer... O believing woman- it is necessary for each of you to contemplate this surah, pay attention to it, be humble in it, and turn to it when reciting it, and likewise when reciting the entire Qur'an, as Allah the Exalted said: [Sad:29].
And when he says: [al-Fatihah:7], he says: "Ameen." Whether he is in prayer or outside of it, the Sunnah is to say: "Ameen." The imam, the ma'mum, and the one praying alone, in prayer and outside of it. "Ameen" means: "Accept, O our Lord."
Then after that, the imam and the one praying alone recite a surah after al-Fatihah, or verses after al-Fatihah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. He would lengthen in the Fajr, like surah , like and , the glorifying surahs and similar surahs. The Dhuhr is likewise, close to the Fajr; he would lengthen in the first and second rak'ahs, and the second would be shorter than the first to some extent. And the 'Asr would be lighter than the Dhuhr; he would recite a surah or verses after al-Fatihah in the Dhuhr and 'Asr in the first and second rak'ahs, but the 'Asr would be lighter than the Dhuhr, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did. And in the third and fourth rak'ahs, he would recite only al-Fatihah. The third and fourth in the Dhuhr, 'Asr, and 'Isha: only al-Fatihah. And in the Maghrib, in the third rak'ah, he would recite only al-Fatihah. And sometimes the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would recite in the Dhuhr more than al-Fatihah in the third and fourth rak'ahs. So if he sometimes recited in the third and fourth rak'ahs more than al-Fatihah, some verses or some short surahs, that is good and recommended at times, following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For this is established from him in Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) .
Then he would bow, raising his hands as he raised them at the beginning, raising them to the level of his shoulders or to the level of his ears, sometimes one way and sometimes the other, following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he would straighten his back and head in his ruku', and place his hands on his knees, spreading his fingers and keeping his upper arms away from his sides, not sticking them to his sides, humble to his Lord, at ease, saying: "Subhan Rabbi al-'Azeem" (Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great), "Subhan Rabbi al-'Azeem," "Subhan Rabbi al-'Azeem." And if he increased beyond that and said it five, six, seven, or more times, that is good, but he should not lengthen it if he is an imam in a way that burdens the ma'mums.
And it is established from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) what indicates that he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lengthen in the ruku' and sujud. And it came from others besides Anas as well. And it came in some of Anas's hadiths that he used to count for him in the ruku' and sujud approximately ten tasbihs. So this indicates that the Sunnah is to be at ease and not to hasten in the ruku' and sujud. He would say: "Subhan Rabbi al-'Azeem" in the ruku', "Subhanak Allahumma Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahumma ghfir li" (Glory be to You, O our Lord, and with Your praise, O Allah, forgive me). 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: , agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Then he would rise from the ruku', raising his hands to the level of his shoulders or to the level of his ears, as he did when bowing and as he did when entering the prayer, saying: if he is an imam or praying alone. Then after this, he says: after standing upright, he says: , or without the "wa" (and), or , or . All of this came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Then he completes ; this is the best. If he limits himself to , that suffices, but completing it is more preferable and better. He should prolong this pillar and not hasten; for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to prolong it, to the point that the one saying it would think he had forgotten. And in some hadiths he added——: , all of this while standing after the bowing.
This is the perfection. When the imam and the one praying alone stand up after saying: "Allah hears the one who praises Him," he says: . If he limits himself to part of it, that suffices for him.
As for the one praying behind the imam, when he rises he says: . The one praying behind the imam, when he rises from the bowing, says: , or , or , or . He says this at times and that at times; all of it is good. For the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: , so say: . He did not order them to say: , but rather they say: .
Some scholars said that he says: , combining them like the imam. But this is a weak and weaker position. The correct view is that what is prescribed is to say: , and he does not need to say: . Rather, this is specific to the imam and the one praying alone.
Then he completes it after standing up, saying: . If his imam says the takbir before he has completed it, he says the takbir with his imam and leaves the rest. If the imam says the takbir before he has completed it, he says the takbir and bows with his imam. Yes.