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How was the prayer of the prophets who came before?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Firstly: Prayer was obligatory upon the prophets before Islam, and this is what Allah stated in the Quran, such as the prayers of Ibrahim, Musa, Harun, Isa, and Zakariya. Likewise, prophetic traditions indicated the prayers of the prophets, such as the sighting of Musa praying in his grave.

Secondly: It appears that their prayer generally resembled our prayer, with the presence of bowing (ruku') and prostration (sujud), as in Allah's saying: (those who bow and prostrate) and (And prostrate and bow with those who bow). Some texts indicate the existence of Duha prayer and placing the right hand over the left, as clarified by the hadith: "This is my ablution and the ablution of the messengers before me." The prophets prayed behind Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, during the Isra and Mi'raj. What is important is to learn the prayer of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, because we are commanded to follow it.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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