Sunan Abi Dawud

I was praying with the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ). A man in the company sneezed, and I said: May Allah have mercy on you! The people gave me disapproving looks, so I said: Woe is to me! What do you mean by looking at me? They began to strike their hand on their thighs; then I realised that they were urging me to be silent. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished his prayer – for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom-he did not beat, scold or revile me, but said: No talk to people in lawful in this prayer, for it consists only in glorifying Allah, declaring His greatness, and reciting the Qur'an or words to that effect said by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I said: Messenger of Allah, we were only recently pagans, but Allah has brought Islam to us, and among us there are men who have recourse to soothsayers (kahins). He replied: Do not have recourse to them. I said: Among us are there are men who take omens. He replied: That is something which they find, but let it not turn them away (from what they intended to do). I said: among us there are men who draw lines. He replied: There was a prophet who drew lines; so if the line of anyone tallies with this line, that might come true. I said: A slave-girl of mine used to tend goats before (the mountain) Uhud and al-Jawaniyyah. Once when I reached her (suddenly) I found that a wolf had taken away a goat of them. I am a human being; I feel grieved as others do. But I gave her a good knocking. This was unbearable for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I asked: Should I set her free ? He replied: Bring her to me. So I brought her to him. He asked (her): Where is Allah ? She said: In the heaven. He said: Who am I ? She replied: You are the Messenger of Allah. He said: Set her free, for she is believer.

what do you mean by looking at me with furtive glances. Then they glorified Allah. When the prophet (ﷺ) finished his prayer, he asked; who was the speaker? The Prophet told him; this Bedouin. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called me and said to me: Prayer is meant for the recitation of the Quran, and making mention of Allah. When you are in it (prayer), this should be your work therein. I never saw an instructor more lenient than the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)

When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited the verse "Nor of those who go astray" (Surah al-Fatihah, verse 7), he would say Amin; and raised his voice (while uttering this word).

Wail b, hujr said that he prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ),and he said Amin loudly and saluted at his right and left sides until I saw the whiteness of his cheek.

When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited the verse "Not of those with whom Thou art angry, nor of those who go astray," he would say Amin so loudly that those near him in the first row would hear it.

Abu Hurairah reported the prophet (ﷺ) as saying; when the imam recites “ not of those with whom thou art angry, nor of those who go astray” (surah al-fatihah,verse 7) say Amin, for if one’s words (utterance of amin) synchronise with those of the angles, he will be forgiven his past sins.

Abu Hurairah reported the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) as saying; When the Imam says Amin, say Amin, for if anyone’s utterance of Amin synchronnises with that of the angles, he will be forgiven his past sins. Ibn shihab (al Zuhrl) said; The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) used to say Amin (At the end of the Fatihah)

Messenger of Allah, do not say Amin before me.

AbuMisbah al-Muqra'i said: We used to sit in the company of AbuZuhayr an-Numayri. He was a companion of the Prophet (ﷺ), and he used to narrate good traditions. Once a man from among us made a supplication. He said: End it with the utterance of Amin, for Amin is like a seal on the book. AbuZuhayr said: I shall tell you about that. We went out with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) one night and came upon a man who made supplication with persistence. The Prophet (ﷺ) waited to hear him. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: He will have done something which guarantees (Paradise for him) if he puts a seal to it. One of the people asked: What should he use as a seal? He replied: Amin, for if he ends it with Amin, he will do something which guarantees (Paradise for him). Then the man who questioned the Prophet (ﷺ) came to the man who was supplicating, and said to him: So-and-so, end it with Amin and receive the good news. These are the words of Mahmud. Abu Dawud said: Al-Muqra'i is a clan of Himyar.

Abu Hurairah reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying; Glorifying Allah applies to men and clapping applies only to women.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went to Banu ‘Amr b. ‘Awf to effect reconciliation between them . in the meantime the time of prayer came and the Mu’adhdhin came to Abu Bakr and asked : Will you lead the people in prayer? I pronounce the Iqamah. He said ; Yes. So Abiu Bakr led the prayer , and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came back while the people were praying. He penetrated through the rows and stood in the first row. The people clapped but Abu Bakr did not pay any attention to it during prayer. When the people clapped increasingly, he paid attention. He saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made a sign to him (saying); Stay at your place. Abu BAkr raised his hands and praised Allah for the commandment the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had given him (to lead the people in prayer). Abu Bakr then stepped back and stood in the row. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stepped forward and led the prayer. When he finished the prayer, he said; Abu Bakr, what prevented you staying (at your place) when I already commented you to do so? Abu Bakr said ; it was not befitting for the son of Abu Quhafah (Abu Bakr) to lead the prayer in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said; What is the matter that I saw you clapping frequently during prayer? If anything happens to someone during prayer, he should say “Glory be to Allah,” for when he glorifies Allah. He pays attention to him. Clapping applies only to women. Abu Dawud said: This is operative in the obligatory prayer.

sahl b. Sa’d said; Fighting took place amongst the tribe of Banu ‘Amr b. ‘Awf. This (the news) reached the prophet (May peace be upon him). He came to them for their reconciliation after the noon prayer . he said to Bilal; If the time of the afternoon prayer comes, and I do not return to you, then ask Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. When the time of the afternoon prayer came, Bilal called the Adhan and pronounced the Iqamah and then asked Abu Bakr (to lead the prayer). He stepped forward. The narrator reported this tradition to the same effect. In the end he (the prophet) said; if anything happens to you during prayer, the men should say” Glory be to Allah,” and the women should clap.

Clapping by women means that one should strike her left hand with the two fingers of her right hand.

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to make a sign during prayer.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Saying Tasbih applies to men during prayer and clapping applies to women. Anyone who makes a sign during his prayer, a sign which is intelligible by implication, should repeat it (i.e. his prayer). (AbuDawud commented on the Hadith saying, this is a result of confusion.)

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: When one of you gets up to pray, he must not remove pebbles, for mercy is facing him.

Mu’aiqib reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying ; Do not remove pebbles while you are praying; if you do it out of sheer necessity, do it only once to smooth the pebbles.

Abu hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) forbade putting hands on the waist during prayer. Abu Dawud said; The word Ikhtisar means to put one’s hands on one’s waist.

Hilal ibn Yasaf said: I came to ar-Raqqah (a place in Syria). One of my companions said to me: Do you want to see any of the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ)? I said: A good opportunity. So we went to Wabisah. I said to my friend: Let us first see his mode of living. He had a cap with two ears stuck (to his head), and wearing a brown silken robe. He was resting on a staff during prayer. We asked him (about resting on the staff) after salutation; He said: Umm Qays daughter of Mihsan said to me that when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) became aged and the flesh grew increasingly on him, he took a prop at his place of prayer and rested on it.

Zaid b. Arqam said ; One of us used to speak to the man standing by his side during prayer. Then the Quranic verse “ And stand up with devotion to Allah”