No. 1602

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) used to pray eleven rak'ahs at night, observing the Witr with a single rak'ah, and when he had finished them, he lay down on his right side, till the Mu'adhdhin came to him and he (the Prophet) then observed two short rak'ahs (of Sunan of the dawn prayer).

No. 1603

'A'isha, the wife of the Prophet of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam), said that between the time when the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) finished the 'Isha' prayer which is called 'Atama by the people, he used to pray eleven rak'ahs, uttering the salutation at the end of every two rak'ahs, and observing the Witr with a single one. And when the Mu'adhdhin had finished the call (for the) dawn prayer and he saw the dawn clearly and the Mu'adhdhin had come to him, he stood up and prayed two short rak'ahs. Then he lay down on his right side till the Mu'adhdhin came to him for lqama. (This hadith has been narrated with the same chain of transmitters by Ibn Shihab, but in it no mention has been made of Iqama )

No. 1604

'A'isha reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) used to observe thirteen rak'ahs of the night prayer. Five out of them consisted of Witr, and he did not sit, but at the end (for salutation).

No. 1605

This hadith has been narrated by Hisham with the same chain of transmitters.

No. 1606

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) used to pray thirteen rak'ahs during the night including the two rak'ahs (Sunan) of the dawn prayer.

No. 1607

Abu Salama b. Abd al-Rahman asked 'A'isha about the (night) prayer of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) during the month of Ramadan. She said: The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) did not observe either in Ramadan or in other months more than eleven rak'ahs (of the night prayer). He (in the first instance) observed four rak'ahs. Ask not about their excellence and their length (i. e. these were matchless in perfection and length). He again observed four rak'ahs, and ask not about their excellence and their length. He would then observe three rak'ahs (of the Witr prayer). 'A'isha again said: I said: Messenger of Allaah, do you sleep before observing the Witr prayer? He said: O 'A'isha, my eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep.

No. 1608

Abu Salama asked 'A'isha about the prayer of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) She said: He observed thirteen rak'ahs (in the night prayer). He observed eight rak'ahs and would then observe Witr and then observe two rak'ahs sitting, and when he wanted to bow he stood up and then bowed down, and then observed two rak'ahs in between the Adhan and lqama of the dawn prayer.

No. 1609

Abu Salama reported that he asked 'A'isha about the prayer of the Messenger of Allaah (may peace he upon him) (during the night). The rest of the hadith is the same but with this exception that he (the Prophet) observed nine rak'ahs including Witr.

No. 1610

Abu Salama is reported to have said. I came to 'A'isha. I said: O mother, inform me about the prayer of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam). She said: His (night prayer) in Ramadan and (during other months) was thirteen rak'ahs at night including two rak'ahs of fajr.

No. 1611

It is reported on the authority of 'A'isha that the prayer of Allaah's Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) in the night consisted of ten rak'ahs. He observed a Witr and two rak'ahs (of Sunan) of the dawn prayer, and thus the total comes to thirteen rak'ahs.

No. 1612

'A'isha thus reported about the (night prayer) of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam): He used to sleep in the early part of the night, and woke up in the latter part. If he then wished intercourse with his wife, he satisfied his desire, and then went to sleep; and when the first call to prayer was made he jumped up (by Allaah, she, i. e. 'A'isha, did not say" he stood up" ), and poured water over him (by Allaah she, i. e. 'A'isha, did not say that he took a bath but I know what she meant) and if he did not have an intercourse, he performed ablution, just as a man performs ablution for prayer and then observed two rak'ahs.

No. 1613

'A'isha observed that the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) used to observe prayer in the night and the last of his (night) prayer was Witr.

No. 1614

Masruq is reported to have asked 'A'isha about the action (most pleasing to) the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam). She said: He (the Prophet) loved (that action) which one keeps on doing regularly. I said (to 'A'isha): When did he pray (at night)? She replied: When he heard the cock crow, he got up and observed prayer.

No. 1615

'A'isha reported: Never did the earlier part of the dawn find the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) but sleeping in my house or near me.

No. 1616

'A'isha reported: When the Prophet of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) had prayed the two rak'ahs (Sunan) of the dawn prayer, he would talk to me if I was awake, otherwise he would lie down.

No. 1617

A hadith like this has been narrated by 'A'isha by another chain of transmitters.

No. 1618

'A'isha reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) used to pray in the night and when he observed Witr, he said to me: O 'A'isha, get up and observe Witr.

No. 1619

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) used to offer prayer at night while she lay in front of him, and when the Witr prayer was yet to be observed, he would awaken her and she observed Witr.

No. 1620

'A'isha reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) observed the Witr prayer every night and he completed Witr at the time of dawn.

No. 1621

Masruq reported on the authority of 'A'isha that she said that the Messenger Of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) used to observe the Witr prayer every night, maybe in the early part of night, at midnight and in the latter part, finishing his Witr at dawn.

No. 1622

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) used to observe Witr every night, and he would (at times) complete his Witr at the end of the night.

No. 1623

Sa'd b. Hisham b. 'Amir decided to participate in the expedition for the sake of Allaah, so he came to Medina and he decided to dispose of his property there and buy arms and horses instead and fight against the Romans to the end of his life. When he came to Medina, he met the people of Medina. They dissuaded him to do such a thing, and informed him that a group of six men had decided to do so during the lifetime of the Prophet of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) and the Prophet of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade them to do it, and said: Is there not for you a model pattern in me? And when they narrated this to him (Sa'd b. Hisham), he returned to his wife, though he had divorced her and made (people) witness to his reconciliation. He then came to Ibn 'Abbas and asked him about the Witr of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam). Ibn 'Abbas said: Should I not lead you to one who knows best amongst the people of the world about the Witr of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam)? He said: Who is it? He (Ibn 'Abbas) said: It is 'A'isha. So go to her and ask her (about Witr) and then come to me and inform me about her answer that she would give you. So I came to Hakim b. Aflah and requested him to take me to her. He said: I would not go to her, for I forbade her to speak anything (about the conflict) between the two groupS, but she refused (to accept my advice) and went (to participate in that corflict). I (requested) him (Hakim) with an oath to lead me to her. So we went to 'A'isha and we begged permission to meet her. She granted us permission and we went in. She said: Are you Hakim? (She recognised him.) He replied: Yes. She said: Who is there with you? He said: He is Sa'd b. Hisham. She said: Which Hisham? He said: He is Hisham b. 'Amir. She blessed him ('Amir) with mercy from Allaah and spoke good of him (Qatada said that he died as a martyr in Uhud). I said: Mother of the Faithful, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam). She said: Don't you read the Qur'an? I said: Yes. Upon this she said: The character of the Prophet of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) was the Qur'an. He said: I felt inclined to get up and not ask anything (further) till death. But then I changed my mind and said: Inform me about the observance (of the night prayer) of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam). She said: Did you not recite:" O thou wrapped up"? He said: Yes. She said: Allaah, the Exalted and the Glorious, made the observance of the night prayer at the beginning of this Surah obligatory. So the Prophet of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam and his Companions around him observed this (night prayer) for one year. Allaah held back the concluding portion of this Surah for twelve months in the Heaven till (at the end of this period) Allaah revealed the concluding verses of this Surah which lightened (the burden of this prayer), and the night prayer became a supererogatory prayer after being an obligatory one. I said: Mother of the Faithful, inform me about the Witr of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam). She said: I used to prepare tooth stick for him and water for his ablution, and Allaah would rouse him to the extent He wished during the night. He would use the tooth stick, and perform ablution, and would offer nine rak'ahs, and would not sit but in the eighth one and would remember Allaah, and praise Him and supplicate Him, then he would get up without uttering the salutation and pray the ninth rak'ah. He would then sit, remember, praise Him and supplicate Him and then utter a salutation loud enough for us to hear. He would then pray two rak'ahs sitting after uttering the salutation, and that made eleven rak'ahs. O my son, but when the Prophet of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) grew old and put on flesh, he observed Witr of seven, doing in the two rak'ahs as he had done formerly, and that made nine. O my son, and when the Prophet of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) observed prayer, he liked to keep on observing it, and when sleep or pain overpowered him and made it impossible (for him) to observe prayer in the night, he prayed twelve rak'ahs daring the day. I am not aware of Allaah's Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) having recited the whole Qur'an during one single night, or praying through the night till morning, or fasting a complete month, except Ramadan. He (the narrator) said: I then went to Ibn 'Abbas and narrated to him the hadith (transmitted from her), and he said: She says the truth If I went to her and got into her presence, I would have listened to it orally from her. He said: If I were to know that you do not go to her. I would not have transmitted this hadith to you narrated by her.

No. 1624

Zurara b. Aufa said that Sa'd b. Hisham divorced his wife, and then proceeded to Medina to sell his property, and the rest of the hadith is the same.

No. 1625

Sa'd b. Hisham reported: I went to 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas and asked him about the Witr prayer, and the rest of the hadith is the same as recorded in this event. She (Hadrat 'A'isha) said: Who is that Hisham? I said: Son of 'Amir. She said: What a fine man 'Amir was! He died as a martyr in the Battle of Uhud.

No. 1626

Zurara b. Aufa reported that Sa'd b. Hisham was his neighbour and he informed him that he had divorced his wife and he narrated the hadith like the one transmitted by Sa'd. She ('A'isha) said: Who is Hisham? He said: The son of 'Amir. She said: What a fine man he was; he participated in the Battle of Uhud along with the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam). Hakim b. Aflah said: If I ever knew that you do not go to 'A'isha, I would not have informed you about her hadith (So that you would have gone to her and heard it from her orally).

No. 1627

'A'isha reported that when the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) missed the night prayer due to pain or any other reason, he observed twelve rak'ahs during the daytime.

No. 1628

'A'isha reported that when the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) decided upon doing any act, he continued to do it, and when he slept at night or fell sick he observed twelve rak'ahs during the daytime. I am not aware of Allaah's Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) observing prayer during the whole of the night till morning, or observing fast for a whole month continuously except that of Ramadan.

No. 1629

'Umar b. Khattab reported Allaah's Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying: Should anyone fall asleep and fail to recite his portion of the Qur'an, or a part of it, if he recites it between the dawn prayer and the noon prayer, it will be recorded for him as though he had recited it during the night.