Hurayrah, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said:

“Come to prayer with tranquility. Pray whatever you catch, and make up whatever you miss.”

Abū Dāwūd said: Ibn Sīrīn likewise narrated from Abū Hurayrah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—the wording, “Let him make it up.” Abū Rāfi‘ likewise narrated this from Abū Hurayrah. Both “Complete it” and “Make it up” were reported from Abū Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him; the reports from him differed.

Since the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded tranquility when going to prayer and prohibited rushing—which means moving quickly in this context—because going to prayer is a means to performing it, then prayer itself has an even greater claim to tranquility being commanded within it and haste being prohibited. It follows, all the more certainly, that someone bowing or prostrating is commanded to remain tranquil and forbidden to hurry. This is especially so because he commanded tranquility after hearing the call to commence prayer, which obliges a person to go to it, and forbade him to occupy himself instead with voluntary prayer—even if proceeding tranquilly meant missing part of the prayer. He commanded him to remain tranquil and to pray whatever he had missed on his own after the imam’s salutation, giving this precedence over rushing to prayer. This indicates how emphatically rushing to prayer is forbidden; how much more so rushing within it!

This is clarified by what Abū Dāwūd narrated from Abū Thumāmah al-Hannāt, from Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“When one of you performs ablution thoroughly and then sets out for the mosque, he must not interlace his fingers, for he is in prayer.”

Thus, while a person is walking to prayer, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade him to do what