ḤADĪTH OF THE DAY

“ Muḥ ammad Ibn-'Amr Ibn-'A ṭ ā' said, "I heard Abū- Ḥumayd as-Sā'idī while he was with ten of the companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, one of them being Ab ū -Qatādah Ibn-Rib'ī , say, 'I am the most knowledgeable of you concerning the prayer of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him.'[1] They said, 'You neither knew him longer than us nor did you go to him more often than we did.' He replied, 'I surely did.' They said,'Then prove it'. He said, 'When the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, stood for prayer, he stood straight and raised his hands to shoulders' level. Before bowing, he raised his hands to shoulders' level then said, 'God is the greatest', and bowed down aligning his back with his head, neither lowering nor raising his head, and placed his hands on his knees. Thereafter he said, 'God listens to whoever praises Him', raised his hands and straightened up until each vertebra returned to its place. He then said, 'God is the greatest' and prostrated on the ground, spread his elbows and pointed his toes in the direction of prayer.[2] He then folded his left leg and sat on it. He sat up straight so that each vertebra returned to its place and thereafter prostrated [again] saying, 'God is the greatest'. He again sat on his folded left leg and sat up straight so that each vertebra returned to its place and then stood up. Thereafter he did the same [steps] in the second unit of prayer. He stood up from the two prostrations [having completed two units of prayer] testifying to God's greatness and raised his hands to shoulders' level, just as he did when he started the prayer. Thereafter he did the same until [he reached] the last unit of prayer [when] he unfolded his left leg [slightly] and sat on his left thigh [3], leaning on his hip. Footnotes: [1] i.e. how the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, used to pray. [2] (Qiblah) the direction Muslims face during prayer wherever they are in the world; towards the Ka’bah in Makkah. [3] This is in the last sitting of the final unit of the prayer. ”

Sunan at-Tirmithiy كتاب الجهاد باب ما جاء فى الرهان والسبق

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ وَزِيرٍ الْوَاسِطِىُّ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ الأَزْرَقُ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ عَنْ نَافِعٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَجْرَى الْمُضَمَّرَ مِنَ الْخَيْلِ مِنَ الْحَفْيَاءِ إِلَى ثَنِيَّةِ الْوَدَاعِ وَبَيْنَهُمَا سِتَّةُ أَمْيَالٍ وَمَا لَمْ يُضَمَّرْ مِنَ الْخَيْلِ مِنْ ثَنِيَّةِ الْوَدَاعِ إِلَى مَسْجِدِ بَنِى زُرَيْقٍ وَبَيْنَهُمَا مِيلٌ وَكُنْتُ فِيمَنْ أَجْرَى فَوَثَبَ بِى فَرَسِى جِدَارًا. قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى وَفِى الْبَابِ عَنْ أَبِى هُرَيْرَةَ وَجَابِرٍ وَعَائِشَةَ وَأَنَسٍ. وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ صَحِيحٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ مِنْ حَدِيثِ الثَّوْرِىِّ.
ʻAbdullāh Ibn-ʻUmar once narrated, “Those horses conditioned for racing (1) were made to race by the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, from al-Ḥafyā’ to Thaniyyat al-Wadā‘ (2): a distance of six miles. While those which did not undergo any conditioning were made to race from Thaniyyat al-Wadā‘ to the mosque of Banū-Zurayq: a distance of one mile. I was among those racing when my horse jumped over a wall.”
(1): This process involves feeding horses in abundance until they gain weight and become stronger. Thereafter, their food is decreased and they are placed in a room in which they are covered with a cloth, making them sweat profusely. This makes them leaner and stronger and increases their strength for racing. (2): Areas located outside Madīnah.