Sahih Muslim

A'raj reported that when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would start the prayer, he would pronounce takbir (Allah-o-Akbar) and then say:I turn my face (up to Thee), I am the first of the believers; and when he raised his head from ruku' he said: Allah listened to him who praised Him; O our Lord, praise be to Thee; and he said: He shaped (man) and how fine is his shape? And he (the narrator) said: When he pronounced salutation he said: O Allah, forgive me my earlier (sins), to the end of the hadith; and he did not say it between the Tashahhud and salutation (as mentioned above)

Hudhaifa reported:I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) one night and he started reciting al-Baqara. I thought that he would bow at the end of one hundred verses, but he proceeded on; I then thought that he would perhaps recite the whole (surah) in a rak'ah, but he proceeded and I thought he would perhaps bow on completing (this surah). He then started al-Nisa', and recited it; he then started Al-i-'Imran and recited leisurely. And when he recited the verses which referred to the Glory of Allah, he glorified (by saying Subhan Allah-Glory to my Lord the Great), and when he recited the verses which tell (how the Lord) is to be begged, he (the Holy Prophet) would then beg (from Him), and when he recited the verses dealing with protection from the Lord, he sought (His) protection and would then bow and say: Glory be to my Mighty Lord; his bowing lasted about the same length of time as his standing (and then on returning to the standing posture after ruku') he would say: Allah listened to him who praised Him, and he would then stand about the same length of time as he had spent in bowing. He would then prostrate himself and say: Glory be to my Lord most High, and his prostration lasted nearly the same length of time as his standing. In the hadith transmitted by Jarir the words are:" He (the Holy Prophet) would say:" Allah listened to him who praised Him, our Lord, to Thee i the praise

Abdullah reported:I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he lengthened it till I entertained an evil thought. It was said to him what that thought was. He said: I thought that I should sit down and forsake him

A hadith like this has been narrated by A'mash with the same chain of transmitters

Abdullah (b. Mas'ud) reported that a mention was made of a man who slept the whole night till morning. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked:That is a man in whose ears (or in whose ear) the devil urinated

Husain b. 'Ali narrated on the authority of (his father) 'Ali b. Abu Talib that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came one night to see him ('Ali) and Fatimah (the daughter of the Holy Prophet) and said:Don't you observe (Tahajjud) prayer? I ('Ali) said: Messenger of Allah, verily our souls are in the hands of Allah and when He wants to awaken us, He awakens us. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went back when I said this to him. He was striking his hand on his thigh while returning, and I heard him say: Verily the man disputes with many things

Abu Huraira transmitted it from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ):When any one of you goes to sleep, the devil ties three knots at the back of his neck, sealing every knot with:" You have a long night, so sleep." So if one awakes and mentions Allah, a knot will be loosened; if he performs ablution two knots are loosened; and if he prays (all) knots will be loosened, and in the morning he will be active and in good spirits; otherwise we will be in bad spirits and sluggish in the morning

Ibn 'Umar reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying:Observe some of your prayers in your houses and do not make them graves

Ibn 'Umar reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying:Pray in your houses, and do not make them graves

Jabir reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:When any one of you observes prayer in the mosque he should reserve a part of his prayer for his house, for Allah would make the prayer as a means of betterment in his house

Abu Musa reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying:The house in which remembrance of Allah is made and the house in which Allah is not remembered are like the living and the dead

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:Do not make your houses as graveyards. Satan runs away from the house in which Surah Baqara is recited

Zaid b. Thabit reported:The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made an apartment with the help of the leaves of date trees or of mats. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went out to pray in it. People followed him and came to pray with him. Then they again came one night and waited (for him), but the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) delayed in coming out to them. And when he did not come out, they cried aloud and threw pebbles at the door. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out in anger and said to them: By what you have been constantly doing, I was inclined to think that it (prayer) might not become obligatory for you. So you must observe prayer (optional) in your houses, for the prayer observed by a man in the house is better except an obligatory prayer

Zaid b. Thabit reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made an apartment in the mosque of mats, and he observed in it prayers for many nights till people began to gather around him, and the rest of the hadith is the same but with this addition:" Had this (Nafl) prayer become obligatory for you, you would not be able to observe it

A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had a mat and he used it for making an apartment during the night and observed prayer in it, and the people began to pray with him, and he spread it (the mat) during the day time. The people crowded round him one night. He (the Holy Prophet) then said:O people, perform such acts as you are capable of doing, for Allah does not grow weary but you will get tired. The acts most pleasing to Allah are those which are done continuously, even if they are small. And it was the habit of the members of Muhammad's (ﷺ) household that whenever they did an act they did it continuously

A'isha is reported to have said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked about the act most pleasing to Allah. He replied:That which is done continuously, even if it is small

Alqama reported:I asked 'A'isha, the mother of the believers, saying O mother of the believers, how did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) act? Did he choose a particular act for a particular day? She said: No. He act was continuous, and who amongst you is capable of doing what the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did?

A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:The acts most pleasing to Allah are those which are done continuously, even if they are small. and when 'A'isha did any act she did it continuously

Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered the mosque (and he found) a rope tied between the two pillars; so he said:What is this? They said: It is for Zainab. She prays and when she slackens or feels tired she holds it. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) said: Untie it. Let one pray as long as one feels fresh but when one slackens or becomes tired one must stop it. (And in the hadith transmitted by Zuhair it is:" He should sit down)

A hadith like this has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on the authority of Anas by another chain of transmitters

Urwa b. Zubair reported that 'A'isha, the wife of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), told him that (once) Haula' dint Tuwait b. Habib b. Asad b. 'Abd al-'Uzzi passed by her (at the time) when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was with her. I ('A'Isha) said:It Is Haula' bint Tuwait and they say that she does not sleep at night. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: (Oh) she does not sleep at night! Choose an act which you are capable of doing (continuously). By Allah, Allah would not grow weary, but you will grow weary

A'isha said:The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to me when a woman was sitting with me. He said: Who is she? I said: She is a woman who does not sleep but prays. He said: Do such acts which you are capable of doing. By Allah, Allah does not grow weary but you will grow weary. The religious act most pleasing to Him is one the doer of which does it continuously. (And in the hadith transmitted by Abu Usama [the words are]:" She was a woman from Banu Asad

A'isha reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying:When anyone amongst you dozes in prayer, he should sleep, till sleep is gone, for when one of you prays while dozing he does not know whether he may be asking pardon or vilifying himself

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:When any one of you gets up at night (for prayer) and his tongue falters in (the recitation) of the Qar'an, and he does not know what he is reciting, he should go to sleep

A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) heard a person reciting the Qur'an at night. Upon this he said:May Allah show mercy to him; he has reminded me of such and such a verse which I had missed in such and such a surah

A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) listened to the recitation of the Qur'an by a man in the mosque. Thereupon he said:May Allah have mercy upon him; be reminded me of the verse which I had been made to forget

Abdullah b. 'Umar reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:The example of a man who has memorised the Qur'an is like that of a hobbled camel. If he remained vigilant, he would be able to retain it (with him), and if he loosened the hobbled camel it would escape

This hadith has been narrated by Ibn 'Umar from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), but in the hadith transmited by Musa b. 'Uqba, this addition is made:" When one who had committed the Qur'an to memory (or who is familiar with it) gets up (for night prayer) and recites it night and day, it remains fresh in his mind, but if he does not get up (for prayer and thus does not recite it) he forgets it

Abdullah reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:What a wretched person is he amongst them who says: I have forgotten such and such a verse. (He should instead of using this expression say): I have been made to forget it. Try to remember the Qur'an for it is more apt to escape from men's minds than a hobbled camel

Abdullah is reported to have said:Keep refreshing your knowledge of the sacred books (or always renew your knowledge of these sacred books) and sometimes he would mention the Qur'an for it is more apt to escape from men's minds than animals which are hobbled, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: None of you should say: I forgot such and such a verse, but he has been made to forget

Ibn Mas'ud reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:Wretched is the man who says: I forgot such and such a sura, or I forget such and such a verse, but he has been made to forget

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying:Keep refreshing your knowledge of the Qur'an, for I swear by Him in Whose Hand is the life of Mahammad that it is more liable to escape than camels which are hobbled

Abu Huraira reported this directly from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ):God has not listened to anything as He listens to a Prophet reciting the Qur'an in a sweet voice

This hadith has been narrated by Ibn Shihab with the same chain of transmitters with words:" As He listens to a Prophet reciting the Qur'an in a sweet voice

Abu Huraira is reported to have heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:Allah does not listen to anything, (more approvingly) as He listens to a Prophet reciting loudly the Qur'an in a sweet voice

This hadith has been narrated with the same chain of transmitters by Ibn al-Had except this that Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying and he did not say:" He heard it

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:Allah has not heard anything (more pleasing) than listening to the Prophet reciting the Qur'an in a sweet loud voice

This hadith has been narrated by another chain of transmitters but with a slight modification of words

Buraida reported on the authority of his father that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had said:'Abdullah b. Qais or al-Ash'ari has been gifted with a sweet melodious voice out of the voices of the family of David

Abu Burda narrated on the authority of Abu Musa that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had said to Abu Musa:If you were to see me, as I was listening to your recitation (of the Qur'an) yester-night (you would have felt delighted). You are in fact endowed with a sweet voice like that of David himself

Mu'awiya b. Qurra reported 'Abdullah b. Mughaffal al-Muzani as saying:The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) recited on his ride Surat al Fath during a journey in the year of the Conquest (of Mecca), and he repeated (the words) in his recitation. Mu'awiya said: If I were not afraid that the people would crowd around me, I would have given a demonstration of (the Prophet's) recitation before you

Mu'awiya b. Qurra is reported to have heard 'Abdullah b. Mughaffal as saying:I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting Surah Fath on his camel on the day of the Conquest of Mecca. He (the narrator) said: Ibn Mughaffal recited it and repeated it. Mu'awiya said: Had there been (no crowed of) people, I would have given a practical demonstration of that which Ibn Mughaffal had mentioned from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)

This hadlth has been narrated by Khalid al-Harith with the same chain of transmitters (with these words):(The Holy Prophet) was reciting Surat al-Fath as he was travelling on his mount

Al-Bara' reported that a person was reciting Surat al-Kahf and there was a horse tied with two ropes at his side, a cloud overshadowed him, and as it began to come nearer and nearer his horse began to take fright from it. He went and mentioned that to the Prophet (ﷺ) in the morning, and he (the Holy Prophet) said:That was tranquillity which came down at the recitation of the Qur'an

Ibn Ishaq reported:I heard al-Bara' as saying that a man recited al-Kahf when an animal was there in the house and it began to take fright. And as he looked around, he found a cloud overshadowing it. He mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Upon this he said: O so and so, recite on (the surah) as- Sakina descends at the (recitation of the Qur'an) or on account (of the recitation) of the Qur'an

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of al-Bara' with a slight modification of words

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri told of Usaid b. Hudair saying that one night he recited the Qur'an in his enclosure, when the horse began to jump about. He again recited and (the horse) again jumped. He again recited and it jumped as before. Usaid said:I was afraid lest it should trample (his son) Yahya. I stood near it (the horse) and saw something like a canopy over my head with what seemed to be lamps in it, rising up in the sky till it disappeared. I went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on the next day and said: Messenger of Allah, I recited the Qur'an during the night in my enclosure and my horse began to jump. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: You should have kept on reciting, Ibn Hudair. He (Ibn Hudair) said: I recited. It jumped (as before). Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) again said: You should have kept on reciting, Ibn Hudair. He (Ibn Hudair) said: I recited and it again jumped (as before). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) again said: You should kave kept on reciting, Ibu Hudair. He (Ibn Hudair) said: (Messenger of Allah) I finished (the recitation) for Yahya was near (the horse) and I was afraid lest it should trample him. I saw something like a canopy with what seemed to be lamps in it rising up in the sky till it disappeared. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Those were the angels who listened to you; and if you had continued reciting, the people would have seen them in the morning and they would not have concealed themselves from them

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:A believer who recites the Qur'an is like an orange whose fragrance is sweet and whose taste is sweet; a believer who does not recite the Qur'an is like a date which has no fragrance but has a sweet taste; and the hypocrite who recites the Qur'an is like a basil whose fragrance is sweet, but whose taste is bitter; and a hypocrite who does not recite the Qur'an is like the colocynth which has no fragrance and has a bitter taste

This hadith has been narrated by Qatada with the same chain of transmitters but with one alteration that instead of the word:" hypocrite" (Munafiq), there it is" wicked" (fajir)

A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (as saying):One who is proficient in the Qur'an is associated with the noble, upright, recording angels; and he who falters in it, and finds it difficult for him, will have two rewards