The Prophet's ﷺ Guidance in Prayer

Zad al-Ma'ad fi Hady Khayr al-Ibad (Provisions for the Hereafter from the Guidance of the Best of Creation) by Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (691–751 AH / 1292–1350 CE) is one of the most comprehensive and practically oriented books on prophetic guidance (hady nabawi) in the entire Islamic tradition. Written in the spirit of his great teacher Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim produced a work that describes in meticulous detail how the Prophet ﷺ conducted every dimension of his life — from the greatest acts of worship to the smallest daily habits — and presents this guidance as the perfection of human conduct that the Muslim community is invited to emulate.

The chapter on the Prophet's ﷺ guidance in prayer (salah) is among the most detailed in the work, reflecting the centrality of prayer in Islamic life and the extraordinary attention that hadith scholarship has given to the precise form of prophetic prayer. Ibn al-Qayyim, following his teacher's emphasis on textual fidelity over legal school conventions, presents the prayer as the Prophet ﷺ actually performed it according to the authenticated Sunnah, noting where different narrations provide different details.

The Prophet ﷺ began prayer by raising his hands to the level of his shoulders (or, in some narrations, to the level of his earlobes) while saying 'Allahu Akbar' — the opening takbir. He then placed his right hand over his left on his chest (as established by authenticated hadiths, though the exact placement has been a matter of scholarly debate between legal schools). He would then silently recite the opening supplication (dua al-istiftah), several versions of which are established in the Sunnah — most commonly: 'Subhanakallahumma wa bihamdik, wa tabarakasmuk, wa ta'ala jadduk, wa la ilaha ghayruk' (O Allah, You are transcendent and all praise is Yours; Your name is blessed, Your majesty is exalted, and there is no deity except You).

Ibn al-Qayyim describes the Prophet's ﷺ recitation of al-Fatihah with great attention — it was neither rushed nor excessively prolonged; he would pause after each verse, allowing the meaning to settle. In the first two rak'ahs he would recite a Surah or portion of the Quran after al-Fatihah — in Fajr, longer surahs; in Dhuhr and Asr, medium-length; in Maghrib, shorter. The variety in his recitation prevented monotony and demonstrated the richness of the Quranic text.

The ruku' (bowing) was performed with the back straight and parallel to the ground, hands gripping the knees, while saying 'Subhana rabbi al-adhim' (Transcendent is my Lord, the Great) — three times in ordinary prayer. The sujud (prostration) was performed with seven limbs touching the ground — forehead, nose, both palms, both knees, and toes of both feet — with the Prophet ﷺ commanding that the forehead and nose rest on the ground completely and that the arms be raised away from the sides, 'like a bird spreading its wings,' so that the armpits were visible from behind.

Every element of the prayer, in Ibn al-Qayyim's presentation, is not merely a ritual form but a physical expression of inner spiritual reality. The standing is the station of address before the King; the bowing is the station of submission to His greatness; the prostration is the highest station of all — the moment of closest proximity to Allah, as the Prophet ﷺ declared: 'The servant is closest to his Lord when in prostration — so make many supplications.' (Muslim.) To pray as the Prophet ﷺ prayed is to experience these spiritual realities, not merely to execute physical movements.