Fiqh-us-Sunnah - 2.105

Hadith 2.105.1

Different ways of praying salatul khauf

If the enemy is not in the direction of the qiblah, then the imam should lead a group in the performance of one rak'ah after which he should wait until they complete the second rak'ah by themselves, and then, they should go and face the enemy. And the second group should come and the imam would lead them in salah while he is performing his second rak'ah. He should again wait for them to complete another rak'ah by themselves before leading them in the salutations.
Saleh ibn Khawat relates from Saleh ibn Abu Khaithimah that a group lined up with the Prophet sallallahu alehi wasallam while another group faced the enemy. He prayed one rak'ah with the group that was with him and remained standing while they finished the salah and left and faced the enemy. The second group came and prayed the remaining rak'ah with him, then he stayed sitting until they had completed their prayers individually, after which he led them in making the taslim. This is related by the group, except for Ibn Majah.
Ibn 'Umar says: "The Messenger of Allah prayed one rak'ah with one group while the other group faced the enemy, [At that point, those who had prayed] took the place of their companions facing the enemy and the second group came and prayed one rak'ah with the Prophet and then he made the taslim. Then each group made (the remaining) one rak'ah."
This is related by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Ahmad. It is apparent that the second group completed their salah after the imam made the taslim without discontinuing their salah (i.e., for them, it was two continuous rak'at), and the first group did not complete their salah until the second group had completed their salah and went back to face the enemy. Ibn Mas'ud says: "Then, he made the taslim and they stood up to finish the second rak'ah individually and, then they made their taslim."
Abu Dawud, Ahmad, and an-Nasa'i record that he said: "The Prophet prayed the salatul Khauf with us, and he prayed two rak'at with some of his companions, and then the others came and took their places and he prayed two rak'at with them, and he made the taslim. So, the Prophet prayed four rak'at and the people prayed two rak'at each."
Ahmad, al-Bukhari, and Muslim record that he said: "We were with the Prophet during the campaign of Dhat al-Riqa and the salah was made, and he prayed two rak'at with one group and then they withdrew, and he led the other group in two rak'at. The Prophet prayed four rak'at and the people prayed two rak'at."
Jabir said: "I prayed salatul khauf (fear prayer) with the Prophet. He arranged us in two rows behind him. The enemy was between us and the qiblah. The Prophet sallallahu alehi wasallam made the takbir and we all made the takbir. He performed the ruku' and we all made the ruku'. Then, he raised his head from the ruku' and we all raised our heads from the ruku'. Next he went down for sajdah as well as the row closest to him, while the back row stood facing the enemy until the Prophet and the first row had completed their prostrations, after which the back row made sajdah and then stood [after completing their sajjud]. Following this, those in the back row moved to the front while those in the front row moved to the back. The Prophet performed the ruku' and we all made ruku'. Then, he raised his head and we raised our heads from ruku. Afterward, he made the sajdah and the row that was previously in the back during the first rak'ah prostrated with him while the [new] back row stood facing the enemy. When the Prophet and the [new] front row had completed their sujjud, the [new] back row made the sujjud. Finally, the Prophet made the taslim and we all made the taslim. This is related by Ahmad, Muslim, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and al-Baihaqi.
Abu Huraira reports: "I prayed salatul khauf with the Messenger of Allah during the year of the Battle of Najd.
He stood to pray 'asr and one group stood with him while the other group was faced the enemy with their backs toward the qiblah. When he made the takbir, all the people made the takbir- that is, those with him and those facing the enemy. Then, he performed one rak'ah and the group with him also performed their ruku' and sujjud with him while the others were still facing the enemy. Next, the group which was with the Prophet went to face the enemy while the other group came and prayed one rak'ah and the Prophet kept standing [in prayer] as he was.
Then, he performed the ruku' and the new group performed the ruku' with him and he performed the sajdah and they performed the sajdah with him. After this, the group which had gone to face the enemy came and prayed one rak'ah while the Prophet and those with him were sitting [in prayer]. Finally, the Prophet made taslim and both groups made the taslim with him. The Prophet prayed two rak'at and both groups prayed two rak'at." This is related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and an-Nasa' i .