Assalaamu alaikum,

Alhamdulillah and here is continuation of our salaah lessons with Sheickh al-Albaani (Raheema hullah). He wrote:

Forbiddance of Reciting the Qur'aan in Sujood

He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to forbid recitation of the Qur'aan in rukoo' and sujood, and commanded striving in, and a lot of, supplication in this posture, as explained previously under "Rukoo'". He also used to say, The slave is closest to his Lord when he is prostrating, so increase supplication [in it].¹²⁷

Lengthening the Sajdah

He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would make his sujood about as long as his rukoo', and sometimes he would make it extremely long due to the circumstances, as one of his Companions said:

"The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) came out to us for one of the two later prayers, [Zuhr or 'Asr,] carrying Hasan or Husain. The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) then came to the front and put him down [next to his right foot], said takbeer for the prayer and commenced praying. During the prayer, he performed a very long prostration, so I raised my head [from among the people], and there was the child, on the back of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), who was in prostration. I then returned to my prostration. When the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had offered the prayer, the people said, 'O Messenger of Allaah! In the middle of [this] your prayer, you performed a prostration and lengthened it so much that we thought either something had happened, or that you were receiving revelation!' He said, Neither of those was the case: actually, my son made me his mount, so I did not want to hurry him until he had satisfied his wish "¹²⁸

In another hadeeth, "He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) was praying. When he performed sajdah, al-Hasan and al-Husain jumped onto his back. When the people tried to stop them, he gestured to them to leave the two alone. After offering his prayer, he placed them in his lap and said, Whoever loves me should love these two."¹²⁹

The Excellence of the Sajdah

He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to say, There is no one among my ummah whom I will not recognise on the Day of Resurrection. They said, "How will you recognise them, O Messenger of Allaah, among the multitude of created beings?" He said, Do you not see that were one of you to enter an enclosure in which there was a jet black¹³⁰ steed and a horse with a white forehead and legs¹³¹, would you not recognise the latter from the former? They said, "Of course." He said, Thus, my ummah on that day will surely have white faces¹³² because of sujood, and white arms and feet¹³³ because of ablution.¹³⁴

He would also say, When Allaah intends to have mercy on whomsoever he wishes of the people of the Fire, He will order the angels to bring out whoever used to worship Allaah; so they will bring them out, recognising them from the marks of sujood, for Allaah has prohibited the Fire from devouring the marks of sujood. Thus, they will be brought out from the Fire, for the Fire devours all of a son of Aadam except the marks of sujood.¹³⁵

Sajdah on the Ground, and on Mats ¹³⁶

He would often prostrate on the (bare) ground.¹³⁷

"His Companions would pray with him in the intense heat, so when one of them could not press his forehead against the ground, he would spread his robe and prostrate on that."¹³⁸

He also used to say, the whole earth has been made a place of worship (masjid) and a purification for me and my ummah; so wherever prayer becomes due on someone of my ummah, he has his place of worship (masjid) and his purification next to him. Those before me used to think that this was too much: indeed, they would only pray in their churches and synagogues.¹³⁹

Sometimes, he would prostrate in mud and water, and that happened to him once at dawn on the twenty-first night of Ramadaan, when it rained and the roof of the mosque, which was made of palm-branches, was washed away. So he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) prostrated in mud and water; Abu Sa'eed al- Khudri said, "So I saw, with my own eyes, the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), with traces of mud and water on his forehead and nose."¹⁴⁰

Also, "he would pray on a khumrah"¹⁴¹ sometimes, or "on a mat"¹⁴² sometimes, and "he prayed on it once when it had become blackened due to prolonged use."¹⁴³

Rising from Sajdah

Next, "he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would raise his head from prostration while saying takbeer"¹⁴⁴, and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" to do that, saying, The prayer of any person is not complete until ... he prostrates until his limbs are at rest, then he says, 'Allah is the Greatest' and raises his head until he is sitting straight.¹⁴⁵ Also, "he would raise his hands with this takbeer" sometimes.¹⁴⁶

To sit muftarishan between the Two Sajdahs

Next, "he would lay his left foot along the ground and sit on it [relaxed]"¹⁴⁷, and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" thus, saying to him, When you prostrate, prostrate firmly, then when you rise, sit on your left thigh.¹⁴⁸

"He would have his right foot upright"¹⁴⁹, and "point its toes towards the qiblah."¹⁵⁰ [See diagram - qss]

Iq'aa'Between the Two Sajdahs

"He would sometimes practise iq'aa' [resting on both his heels and (all) his toes]."¹⁵¹

The Obligation of Being at Ease between the Two Sajdahs

"He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would be relaxed until every bone returned to its (proper) position"¹⁵², and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" likewise, and said to him, The prayer of any of you is not complete until he does this.¹⁵³

Lengthening the Sitting between the Two Sajdahs

Also, "he would lengthen it until it was about almost as long as his sajdah"¹⁵⁴, and sometimes, "he would remain (in this position) until one would say: He has forgotten."¹⁵⁵

The Adhkaar between the Two Sajdahs

In this sitting, he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would say:

O Allaah! (in one version: O my Lord!) Forgive me; have mercy on me; [strengthen me;] [raise my rank;] guide me; [pardon me;] sustain me.¹⁵⁶
Or sometimes, he would say:
O my Lord! Forgive me, forgive me.¹⁵⁷

He would say the above two in night prayer also.¹⁵⁸

The Second Sajdah

Next, "he would say takbeer and prostrate for the second time."¹⁵⁹ He also ordered "the one who prayed badly" to do so, saying to him after he had ordered him to be at ease between sajdahs, then say 'Allaah is the Greatest' and prostrate until your joints are relaxed [and do that in all your prayer].¹⁶⁰ He would perform this sajdah exactly as he performed the first one. Also, "he would raise his hands with this takbeer" sometimes.¹⁶¹

Next, "he would raise his head while saying takbeer"¹⁶², and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" to do likewise, saying to him after ordering him to prostrate for the second time, "then raise your head and say takbeer"¹⁶³. He also said to him, "[then do that in all your bowings and prostrations,] for if you do that, your prayer will be complete, and if you fall short in any of this, you will be deficient in your prayer."¹⁶⁴ Also, "he would raise his hands"¹⁶⁵ sometimes with this takbeer.

The Sitting of Rest

Next, "he would sit straight [on his left foot, upright, until every bone returned to its position]."¹⁶⁶

Supporting Oneself with the Hands on Rising for the Next Rak'ah

Next, "he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would get up for the second rak'ah, supporting himself on the ground."¹⁶⁷ Also, "he would clench his fists¹⁶⁸ during prayer: supporting himself with his hands when getting up."¹⁶⁹