Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat): Details of Commencing Prayer

Dawud :: Book 3 : Hadith 862

Narrated Uqbah ibn Amr al-Ansari:

Salim al-Barrad said: We came to AbuMas'ud Uqbah ibn Amr al-Ansari and said to him: Tell us about the prayer of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him).

He stood up before us in the mosque and said the takbir. When he bowed, he placed his hands upon his knees and put his fingers below, and kept his elbows (arms) away from his sides, so everything returned properly to its place. Then he said: "Allah listens to him who praises Him"; then he stood up so that everything returned properly to its place; then he said the takbir and prostrated and put the palms of his hands on the ground; he kept his elbow (arms) away from his sides, so that everything returned to its proper place. Then he raised his head and sat so that everything returned to its place; he then repeated it in a similar way. Then he offered four rak'ahs of prayer like this rak'ah and completed his prayer.

Then he said: Thus we witnessed the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) offering his prayer.