Abdullah bin Umar said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise his hands opposite his shoulders when he began prayer, then he uttered takbir (Allah is most great) in the same condition, and then he bowed. And when he raised his back (head) after bowing he raised them opposite his shoulders, and said: “Allah listens to him who praises Him. ” But he did not raise his hand when he prostrated himself; he rather raised them when he uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) before bowing until his prayer is finished.

Salim reported on the authority of his father (Ibn Umar): I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that when he began prayer, he used to raise his hands opposite his shoulders, and he did so when he bowed, and raised his head after bowing. Sufyan (a narrator) once said: “When he raised his head: ; and after he used to say: “When he raised his head after bowing. He would not raise (his hands) between the two prostrations. "

Abd al-Jabbar bin Wail (bin Hujr) said: I was a small boy and I did not understand the prayer of my father. So Wail bin Alqamah reported Wail bin Hujr as saying: I offered prayer along with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He used to raise his hands when he pronounced the takbir (Allah is most great), then pulled his garment around him, then placed his right hand on his left, and entered his hands in his garment. When he was about to bow he took his hands out of his garment, and then raised them. And when he raised his head after bowing, he raised his hands. He then prostrated himself and placed his face (forehead on the ground) between his hands. And when he raised his head after prostration, he also raised his hands until he finished his prayer. Muhammad (a narrator) said: I mentioned it to al-Hasan bin Abu al-Hasan who said: This is how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offered prayer; some did it and others abandoned it. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by Hammam from ibn Juhadah, but he did not mention the raising of hands after he raised his head at the end of the prostration.

Wail bin Hujr said: He saw that when the Prophet ﷺ stood up to pray he raised his hands till they were in front of his shoulders and placed his thumbs opposite his ears; then he uttered the Takbir (Allah is most great).

Narrated Wail ibn Hujr: I purposely looked at the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, how he offered it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up, faced the direction of the qiblah and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) and then raised his hands in front of his ears, then placed his right hand on his left (catching each other). When he was about to bow, he raised them in the same manner. He then placed his hands on his knees. When he raised his head after bowing, he raised them in the like manner. When he prostrated himself he placed his forehead between his hands. He then sat down and spread his left foot and placed his left hand on his left thigh, and kept his right elbow aloof from his right thigh. He closed his two fingers and made a circle (with the fingers). I (Asim ibn Kulayb) saw him (Bishr ibn al-Mufaddal) say in this manner. Bishr made the circle with the thumb and the middle finger and pointed with the forefinger.

Narrated Wail ibn Hujr: I witnessed the Prophet ﷺ raise his hands in front of his ears when he began to pray. I then came back and saw them (the people) raising their hands up to their chest when they began to pray. They wore long caps and blankets.

Abu Humaid al-Saeedi once told a company of ten of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ; Abu Qatadah was one of them: I am one among you who is more informed of the way the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed. They said: Why, By Allah, you did not follow him more than us, nor did you remain in his company longer than us? He said: Yes. They said: Then describe (how the Prophet prayed). He said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up to pray, he raised his hands so as to bring them opposite his shoulders, and uttered the takbir (Allah is the most great), until every bone rested in its place properly: then re recited (some verses from the Quran); then he uttered the takbir (Allah is most great), raising his hands so as to bring them opposite his shoulders; then he bowed; placing the palms of his hands on his knees and keeping himself straight, neither raising nor lowering his head; then raised his head saying: “Allah listens to him who praise Him”; then raised his hands so as to bring them exactly opposite to his shoulders; then uttered: “Allah is most great”; then lowered himself to the ground (in prostration), keeping his arms away from his sides; then raised his head, bent his left foot and sat on it, and opened the toes when he prostrated: then he uttered: “Allah is most great”; then raised his head, bent his left foot and sat on it so that every bone returned to its place properly; then he did the same in the second (rak’ah). At the end of the two Rak’ahs he stood up and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great), raising his hands so as to bring them opposite to his shoulders; then he bowed, placing the palms of his hands on his knees and keeping himself straight, neither raising or lowering his head: then raised his head saying: “Allah listens to him who praises Him”; then raised his hands so as to bring them exactly opposite his shoulders; then uttered: “Allah is most great”; then lowered himself to the ground (in prostration), keeping his arms away from his sides; then raised his head, bent his left foot and sat on it, and opened the toes when he prostrated himself; then he prostrated; then uttered: “Allah is most great”; then raised his head, bent his left foot and sat on it so that every bone returned to its place properly; then he did the same in the second (rak’ah). At the end of two rak’ahs he stood up and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great), raising his hands so as to bring them opposite to his shoulders in the way he had uttered the Takbir (Allah is most great) at the beginning of the prayer; then he did that in the remainder of his prayer; and after prostration which if followed by the taslim (salutation) he out his left foot and sat on his left hip. They said: You have spoken the truth. This is how he ﷺ used to pray.

Nafi said on the authority of Ibn Umar that when he began prayer, he uttered the takbir ( Allah is most great) and raised his hands; and when he bowed ( he raised his hands); and when he said: “Allah listens to him who praises Him, ” (he raised his hands); and when he stood up at the end of two rak’ahs, he raised his hands. He (Ibn Umar) traced that back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Abu Dawud said: What is correct is that the tradition reported by Ibn Umar does not go back to the Prophet (may peace beupon him). Abu Dawud said: The narrator Baqiyyah reported the first part of this tradition from Ubaid Allah and traced it back to the Prophet ﷺ; and the narrator al-Thaqafi reported it from Ubaid Allah as a statement of Ibn Umar himself (not from the Porphet). In this version he said: When he stood at the end of two rak’ahs he raised them up to his breasts. And this is the correct version. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted as a statement of Ibn Umar (and not of the Prophet) by al-Laith bin Saad, Malik, Ayyub, and Ibn Juraij; and this has been narrated as a statement of the Prophet ﷺ by Hammad bin Salamah alone on the authority of Ayyub. Ayyub and Malik did not mention his raising of hands when he stood after two prostrations, but al-Laith mentioned it in his version. Ibn Juraij said in this version: I asked Nafi: Did Ibn Umar raise (his hands) higher for the first time? He said: No, I said: Point out to me. He then pointed to the breasts or lower than that.

Ibn Umar said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood at the end of two rak’ahs, he uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) and raised his hands.

Narrated Ali ibn Abu Talib: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood for offering the obligatory prayer, he uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) and raised his hands opposite to his shoulders; and he did like that when he finished recitation (of the Quran) and was about to bow; and he did like that when he rose after bowing; and he did not raise his hands in his prayer while he was in his sitting position. When he stood up from his prostrations (at the end of two rak'ahs), he raised his hands likewise and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) and raised his hands so as to bring them up to his shoulders, as he uttered the takbir in the beginning of the prayer.

Malik bin al-Huwairith said: I saw the Prophet ﷺ raise his hands when he uttered the takbir (Allah is most great), when he bowed and when he raised his head after bowing until he brought them to the lobes of his ears.

Narrated Abdullah ibn Masud: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught us how to pray. He then uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) and raised his hands; when he bowed, he joined his hands and placed them between his knees. When this (report) reached Saad, he said: My brother said truly. We used to do this; then we were later on commanded to do this, that is, to place the hands on the knees.

Narrated Abu Hurairah: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ began his prayer, he raised his hands extensively.

Ali bin Abi Talib said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up for (offering) obligatory prayer, he uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) and raised his hands opposite to his shoulders, and he did so when he finished the recitation (of the Quran) and when he was about to bow; and he did like that when he raised (his head) after bowing. He did not raise his hands in prayer when he was sitting. When he stood at the end of two rak’ahs, he raised his hands in a similar way and uttered the takbir and supplicated in a more or less the same manner as narrated by Abd al-Aziz in his version. This version does not mention the words “All good is in Thy Hands and evil does not pertain to Thee. ” And this adds: He said when he finished the prayer: “O Allah, forgive me my former and latter sins, my open and secret sins; Thou art my deity; there is no God but Thee.

Narrated Wail ibn Hujr: I said that I should look at the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ how he prays. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up and faced the qiblah (i. e. the direction of Kabah) and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great); then he raised his hands till he brought them in front of his ears; then he caught hold of his left hand with his right hand (i. e. folded his hands). When he was about to bow, he raised them (his hands) in a like manner. Then he sat, stretched out his left foot (to sit on it), placed his left hand on his left thigh, and kept away the tip of his right elbow from his right thigh, joined two fingers, formed a ring, to do so. And the narrator Bishr made a ring with the thumb and the middle finger.