It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that a man entered the mosque and performed prayer, and the Prophet (ﷺ) was in a corner of the mosque. The man came and greeted him, and he said: “And also upon you. Go back and repeat your prayer, for you have not prayed.” So he went back and repeated his prayer, then he came and greeted the Prophet (ﷺ). He said: “And also upon you. Go back and repeat your prayer, for you have not prayed.” On the third occasion, the man said: “Teach me, O Messenger of Allah!” He said: “When you stand up to offer the prayer, perform ablution properly, then stand to face the prayer direction and say Allahu Akbar. Then recite whatever you can of Qur’an, and then bow until you can feel at ease bowing. Then stand up until you feel at ease standing, then prostrate until you feel at ease prostrating. Then raise your head until you are sitting up straight. Do that throughout your prayer.”

Muhammad bin ‘Amr bin ‘Ata’ said: ‘While he was among ten of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) including Abu Qatadah: “I heard Abu Humaid As-Sa’idi say: ‘I am the most knowledgeable of you concerning the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).’ They said: ‘Why? By Allah, you did not follow him more than we did, and you did not accompany him for longer.’ He said: ‘Yes I am.’ They said: ‘Show us.’ He said: ‘When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up for prayer, he would say the Takbir, then he would raise his hands parallel to his shoulders, and every part of his body would settle in place. Then he would recite, then he would raise his hands parallel to his shoulders and bow, placing his palms on his knees and supporting his weight on them. He neither lowered his head, nor raised it up, it was evenly balanced (between either extreme). Then he would say: “Sami’ Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears those who praise Him); and he would raise his hands parallel with his shoulders, until every bone returned to its place. Then he would prostrate himself on the ground, keeping his arms away from his sides. Then he would raise his head and tuck his left foot under him and sit on it, and he would spread his toes when he prostrated.* Then he would prostrate, then say the Takbir and sit on his left foot, until every bone returned to its place. Then he would stand up and do the same in the next Rak’ah. Then when he stood up after two Rak’ah, he would raise his hands level with his shoulders as he did at the beginning of the prayer. Then he would offer the rest of his prayer in like manner until, when he did the prostration after which the Taslim comes, he would push one of his feet back and sit with his weight on his left side, Mutawarrikan.’** They said: ‘You have spoken the truth; this is how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to perform the prayer.’”***

It was narrated that ‘Amrah said: “I asked ‘Aishah: ‘How did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) perform prayer?’ She said: ‘When the Prophet (ﷺ) performed ablution, he would put his hand in the vessel and say Bismillah, and he would perform ablution properly. Then he would stand and face the Qiblah. He would say the Takbir raising his hands parallel to his shoulders. Then he would bow, putting his hands on his knees and keeping his arms away from his sides. Then he would raise his head and straighten his back, and he would stand a little longer than your standing. Then he would prostrate, pointing his hands towards the Qiblah, keeping his arms away (from his sides) as much as possible, according to what I have seen. Then he would raise his head and sit on his left foot with his right foot held upright, and he disliked leaning towards his left side.’”