After completing his recitation, he (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) would pause for a moment21,
then raise his hands22
in the way described earlier under the "Opening
Takbeer", say takbeer23,
and make rukoo'.24
He also ordered "the one who prayed badly"
likewise, saying to him, Indeed, the prayer of one of
you is not complete until he makes an excellent ablution
as Allaah has commanded him to ... then he celebrates
Allaah's greatness, praises and glorifies Him, then
recites the Qur'aan as much as is easy for him from what
Allaah has taught him and allowed him, then says takbeer
and makes rukoo' [and places his hands on his knees]
until his joints are at ease and relaxed25
"He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would place his palms on
his knees"26,
and "would order them to do likewise"27,
as he ordered "the one who prayed badly" in the
afore-mentioned hadeeth.
"He would put his hands firmly on his knees [as
though he were grasping them]"28,
and "would space his fingers out"29,
ordering "the one who prayed badly" likewise, saying:
When you make rukoo', place your palms on your knees,
then space your fingers out, then remain (like that)
until every limb takes its (proper) place.30
"He used to spread himself (i.e., not be in a
compact position), and keep his elbows away from his
sides."31
"When he made rukoo', he would spread his back
and make it level"32,
"such that if water were poured on it, it (the water)
would stay there (i.e., not run off)."33
He also said to "the one who prayed badly", When you
make rukoo', put your palms on your knees, spread your
back (flat) and hold firm in your rukoo'.34
"He would neither let his head droop nor raise it
(i.e. higher than his back)"35,
but it would be in between.36
He
used to be at ease in his rukoo', and ordered "the one
who prayed badly" to be so, as has been mentioned in the
first section on rukoo'.
He used to say, Complete the rukoo' and
sujood, for by Him in whose Hand is my soul, I surely
see you behind my back37
when you make rukoo' and sujood.38
"He saw a man praying not completing his rukoo'
properly, and pecking in his sujood, so he said, Were
this man to die in this state, he would die on a faith
other than that of Muhammad, [pecking in his prayer as a
crow pecks at blood; he who does not make rukoo'
completely and pecks in his sujood is like the hungry
person who eats one or two dates, which are of no use to
him at all.39
Abu Hurairah (radi Allaahu 'anhu) said, "My close
friend (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) forbade me from
pecking in my prayer like a cockerel, from looking
around like a fox, and from squatting like a monkey."40
The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam) also used to say, The worst thief among men
is the one who steals from his prayer. They said, "O
Messenger of Allaah, how does he steal from his prayer?"
He said, He does not complete its rukoo' and
sujood.41
Once, "he was praying, when he glanced out of the
corner of his eye at a man not settling his backbone in
rukoo' and sujood. When he finished, he said, O
assembly of Muslims! Verily, the prayer is not valid of
the one who does not settle his spine in rukoo' and
sujood."42
He said in another hadeeth, The prayer of a
man does not count unless he straightens his back in
rukoo' and sujood.43
He
would say different types of remembrance of Allaah and
supplication, any one of the following at a time:
How Perfect is my Lord, the Supreme!,
three times.44
But sometimes, he would repeat it more than that.45
Once, in night prayer, he repeated it so much that his
rukoo' became nearly as long as his standing before
it, in which he had recited three of the Long Soorahs:
Baqarah, Nisaa' and aal- 'Imraan. This prayer was full
of supplication & seeking forgiveness, and the
hadeeth has already been mentioned under "Recitation
in Night Prayer."
How Perfect is my Lord, the Supreme, and
Praised be He, three times.46
Perfect, Blessed,47
Lord of the Angels and the Spirit.48
How Perfect You are O Allaah, and
Praises are for You. O Allaah, forgive me. He
would say it often in his rukoo' and sujood,
implementing (the order of) the Qur'aan.49
O Allaah! To You I have bowed; in You I
have believed; to You I have submitted; [You are my
Lord]; humbled for You are my hearing, my seeing, my
marrow, my bone (in one narration: my bones),
my sinews, [and whatever my feet carry50
(are humbled) for Allaah, Lord of the Worlds].51
O Allaah! to You I have bowed; in You I
have believed; to You I have submitted; in You I have
placed my trust; You are my Lord; my hearing, my
seeing, my blood, my flesh, my bones, and my sinews
are humbled for Allaah, Lord of the Worlds.52
How Perfect is He Who has all Power,
Kingdom, Magnificence and Supremity, which he used
to say in night prayer.
"He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to make his rukoo',
his standing after rukoo', his sujood, and his sitting
in between the two sajdahs, nearly equal in length."53
"He
used to forbid recitation of the Qur'aan in rukoo' and
sujood."54
Further, he used to say, Verily, I have indeed been
forbidden from reciting the Qur'aan in rukoo' or sujood.
In the rukoo', therefore, glorify the Supremity of the
Lord, Mighty and Sublime, in it; as for the sujood,
exert yourselves in supplication in it, for it is most
likely that you will be answered.55
Next, "he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would
straighten up his back out of rukoo', saying,
(Allaah listens to the one who praises
Him).56
He also ordered "the one who prayed badly" to do
that, when he said to him: No person's prayer is
complete until ... he has said takbeer ... then made
rukoo' ... then has said "Allaah listens to the one who
praises Him" until he is standing straight."57
When he raised his head, he would stand straight until
every vertebra returned to its place.58
Next, "he would say while standing:
(Our Lord, [and] to You be all Praise).59
He has commanded all worshippers, whether behind
an imaam or not, to do the above on rising from rukoo',
by saying Pray as you have seen me praying.60
He also used to say, The imaam is there to be
followed ... when he has said 'Allaah listens to the one
who praises Him' then say, '[O Allaah!] Our Lord, and to
You be all Praise'; Allaah will listen to you, for
indeed, Allaah, Blessed and Exalted, has said via the
tongue of His Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam):
Allaah listens to the one who praises Him.'61
He also gave a reason for this command in another
hadeeth, saying: for he whose saying coincides with
that of the angels will have his past sins
forgiven.62
He used to raise his hands when straightening
up63,
in the ways described under the Opening Takbeer.
While standing, he would say, as
previously-mentioned,
Our Lord, and to You be all Praise64;
or
Our Lord, to You be all Praise.65
Sometimes,
he would add at the beginning of either of
these:
O Allaah! ...66
He
used to order others to do this, saying, "When the
imaam says: Allaah listens to the one who praises
Him, then say: O Allaah! Our Lord, to You be
all Praise, for he whose saying coincides with
that of the angels will have his past sins
forgiven."67
Sometimes,
he would add either:
... Filling the heavens, filling the
earth, and filling whatever else You wish68,
or
... Filling the heavens, [filling] the
earth, whatever is between them, and filling whatever
else You wish.69
Sometimes,
he would add even further:
Lord of Glory & Majesty! None can
withhold what You grant, and none can grant what You
withhold; nor can the possessions of an owner benefit
him in front of You.70
Or,
sometimes, the addition would be:
Filling the heavens, filling the earth,
and filling whatever else You wish. Lord of Glory and
Majesty! - The truest thing a slave has said, and we
are all slaves to You. [O Allaah!] None can withhold
what You grant, [and none can grant what You
withhold,] nor can the possessions of an owner benefit
him in front of You.71
Sometimes,
he would say the following during night
prayer:
To my Lord be all Praise, to my Lord be
all Praise, repeating it until his standing was
about as long as his rukoo', which had been nearly as
long as his first standing, in which he had recited
soorah al-Baqarah.72
Our Lord, and to You be all Praise, so
much pure praise, inherently blessed, [externally
blessed, as our Lord loves and is pleased with].73
A
man praying behind him (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
said this after he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had
raised his head from rukoo' and said: Allaah
listens to the one who praises Him. When the
Messenger of Allaah had finished his prayer, he said,
Who was the one speaking just now? The man
said, "It was I, O Messenger of Allaah." So the
Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
said, I saw over thirty angels hurrying to be the
first one to write it down.74
He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to make this
standing about as long as his rukoo', as has been
mentioned; in fact, "he would stand (for so long)
sometimes that one would say, 'He has forgotten',
[because of his standing for so long.]"75
He used to instruct them to be at ease in it;
hence, he said to "the one who prayed badly", ...
Next, raise your head until you are standing straight
[and every bone has taken its proper place] - in
another narration, When you rise, make your spine
upright and raise your head, until the bones return to
their joints.76
He also reminded him: that no-one's prayer is
complete unless he does that, and used to say:
Allaah, Mighty and Sublime, does not look at the
prayer of the slave who does not make his backbone
upright in between his bowings and prostrations.77
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