In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The Prescribed Method of Prayer (1) (In the Light of Ḥadīth)

When we would stand for prayer, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would straighten our rows and then begin the prayer by saying “Allāhu Akbar.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd)

Raising both hands up to the shoulders with the opening takbīr is sunnah:

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he stood for prayer, raise both his hands until they reached his shoulders.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)

If one has not memorized any part of the Noble Qur’an, the following supplication may be recited in place of the recitation:

Abū Awfā (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that a man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: “I am unable to recite anything from the Qur’an in prayer; teach me something that will suffice in its place.” He ﷺ said: “Recite: Subḥāna Allāh, al-ḥamdu liLlāh, lā ilāha illā Allāh, Allāhu akbar, lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā biLlāh.”
(Sunan al-Nasāʾī)

Responding to interrogative verses in different sūrahs during recitation is sunnah:

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited “Sabbihi isma rabbika al-aʿlā,” he would respond by saying, “Subḥāna rabbīya al-aʿlā.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd)

If a verse of prostration is encountered during recitation, the reciter and the listener should perform prostration:

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited the Qur’an and came to a verse of prostration, he would prostrate, and we would also prostrate with him.
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)

Prostration of recitation is not obligatory:

Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I recited Sūrat al-Najm before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he did not perform the prostration of recitation.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)

Among the many prescribed tasbīḥāt for rukūʿ and sujūd, the following two are reported:

Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say in rukūʿ three times, “Subḥāna rabbīya al-ʿaẓīm” (Glory be to my Lord, the Magnificent), and in sujūd three times, “Subḥāna rabbīya al-aʿlā” (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High).
(Sunan Ibn Mājah)

In rukūʿ, both hands should be placed firmly upon the knees and the arms spread:

Abū Ḥumayd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed rukūʿ, he would firmly grasp his knees with his hands.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī)

ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed rukūʿ, he would place both his hands upon his knees and spread his arms.
(Sunan Ibn Mājah)

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