Dought & clear - When was prayer madeobligatory? How did the Muslims pray before prayer was made obligatory?.

Is it true that prayer wasmade obligatory before the night of the
Isra'? Did the Messenger pray in the manner that we pray now, with the
samenumber of rak'ahs? When was prayer made obligatory at these
timesand in the manner that we pray now?
Praise be to Allah.
Al-Bukhaari (349) and Muslim (162) narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may
Allah be pleased with him) the famous hadeeth of the Isra' (Prophet's
Night Journey) in which it is reported that the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"Then Allah revealed what He revealed to me, and enjoined fifty
prayers on me every day and night. I came back down to Moosa
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and he said: What did your
Lord enjoin upon your ummah? I said: Fifty prayers. He said: Go backto
your Lord and ask Himto reduce it... I kept going back and forth
between my Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, and Moosa (peace be
upon him), until He said: 'O Muhammad, they are five prayers each day
and night, for every prayer there will be a tenfold (reward), and that
is fifty prayers."
The scholars are unanimously agreed that the five daily prayers were
not made obligatory until this night. See the answer to question no.
143111
See also Fath al-Baari by Ibn Rajab (2/104).
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
On the night of the Isra', one and a half years before the Hijrah,
Allah enjoined upon His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) the five daily prayers, and explained that there were
conditions and essential parts and other matters having to do with
them, bit by bit.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer (7/164).
Then Jibreel (peace be upon him) came down and taught the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) the times of the prayers:
Al-Bukhaari (522) and Muslim (611) narrated from Ibn Shihaab that
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azeez delayed the prayer one day. 'Urwah ibn
az-Zubayr entered upon him and told him that al-Mugheerah ibn Shu'bah
delayed the prayer one day when he was in Kufah, and Abu Mas'ood
al-Ansaari entered upon him and said: What is this, O Mugheerah? Do
you not know that Jibreel came down and prayed, and the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed, then he
prayed and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) prayed, then he prayed and the Messenger of Allah (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed, then he prayed and the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed,
then he prayed and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) prayed. Then he said: This is what has been
enjoined upon me. 'Umar said to 'Urwah: Think what you are narrating,
O 'Urwah! Is Jibreel the one who taught the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) the times of the prayers?
'Urwah said: That is what Basheer ibnAbi Mas'ood used to narrate from
his father.
An-Nasaa'i (526) narrated that Jaabir ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: Jibreel (peace be upon him) came to the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) when the sun had
passed its zenith and said: Get up, O Muhammad. That was when the sun
had passed the meridian. Then he waited until the(length of) a man's
shadow was equal to hisheight, then he came to him for 'Asr and said:
Getup, O Muhammad, and pray 'Asr. Then he waited until the sun set,
then he came to him andsaid: Get up and pray Maghrib. So he got up and
prayed it when the sun had set fully. Then he waited until the
twilight had disappeared, then he came and said: Get up and pray
'Isha', so he gotup and prayed it… In thishadeeth it says: He (i.e.,
Jibreel) said: The period between two of these two times is the time
to pray.
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh an-Nasaa'i.
'Abd ar-Razzaaq narrated in his Musannaf(1773) and Ibn Ishaaq narrated
in his Seerah – as it says in Fath al-Baari (2/286) – that this
happened on the morning after the night in which prayer was made
obligatory.
Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
(The scholars) did not differ concerning the fact that Jibreel (peace
be upon him) came down on the morning following the night of the
Isra', when the sun passed its zenith, and taught the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) the prayer and its timings.
End quote.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Jibreel's explanation of the timings of the prayercame on the morning
following the night of the Isra'. End quote.
Sharh al-'Umdah (4/148)
When the five daily prayers were first made obligatory, each prayer
was two rak'ahs, then after the Hijrah, that wasconfirmed in the case
of travel, and two rak'ahs were added for those who are not
travelling, except Maghrib, which remained as it was. Al-Bukhaari
(3935) and Muslim (685) narrated that 'Aa'ishah (may Allah be pleased
with her) said: Prayer was enjoined with two rak'ahs, then when the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) migrated, it was
enjoined with four rak'ahs, but prayer whilst travelling remained as
it had originally been.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and his
Companions used to pray before the five daily prayers were
madeobligatory.
It says in al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (27/52-53):
Prayer was originally enjoined in Makkah at the beginning of Islam,
because there are Makkan verses that wererevealed at the beginning of
the Prophet's mission that encourage praying. As for the five daily
prayers in the form that is well-known, they were made obligatory on
the night of the Isra' and Mi'raaj. End quote.
See also the answer to question no. 143111
Some of the scholars are of the view that prayer was made obligatory
at the beginning, two rak'ahs in the morning and two rak'ahs in the
afternoon.
Al-Haafiz (may Allah havemercy on him) said in al-Fath:
A number of scholars areof the view that before the Isra' there was no
obligatory prescribed prayer, but prayers wereoffered at night,
withoutany number of rak'ahs being specified. Al-Harbi was of the view
that prayer was made obligatory, two rak'ahs in the morning and two
rak'ahs in the afternoon.Ash-Shaafa'i narrated from some of the
scholars that prayer at night was obligatory, then it was abrogated by
the verse (interpretation of the meaning): "So, recite you of the
Quran as much as may be easy for you" [al-Muzammil 73:20]. So it
became obligatory to pray for part of the night. Then that was
abrogated by the five daily prayers. End quote.
He also said:
Before the Isra', the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) definitely used to pray, as did his companions, but there isa
scholarly difference of opinion as to whether any kind of prayer was
made obligatory before the five daily prayers or not. It was said that
what was obligatory at first was prayer before sunrise and prayer
before sunset. The evidence for that is the verse in which Allah, may
He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): "and glorify the
praises of your Lord before the rising of the sun, and before its
setting" [Ta-Ha 20:130], and similar verses. End quote.
See also Tafseer Ibn 'Atiyyah (1/204); at-Tahreer wa't-Tanweerby Ibn
'Ashoor (24/75).
And Allah knows best.