It was narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had said: The prayer observed by a person sitting is half of the prayer. I came to him (ﷺ) and found him praying in a sitting position. I placed my hand on his head. He said: O 'Abdullah b. 'Amr, what is the matter with you? I said: Messenger of Allah, it has been narrated to me that you said: The prayer of a man in a sitting position is half of the prayer, whereas you are observing prayer sitting. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Yes, it is so, but I am not like anyone amongst you.
'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 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 Holy Prophet) then observed two short rak'ahs (of Sunan of the dawn prayer).
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 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).
Abu Salama b. Abd al-Rahman asked 'A'isha about the (night) prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) during the month of Ramadan. She said:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 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 Allah, do you sleep before observing the Witr prayer? He said: O 'A'isha, my eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep.
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 4, Hadith 1607
Hadith 739
Chapter 17: Night prayers and the number of rak`ah offered by the Prophet (saws) at night, and that Witr is one rak`ah, and a one-rak`ah prayer is correct - كتاب صلاة المسافرين وقصرها
'A'isha thus reported about the (night prayer) of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ):
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 Allah, she, i. e. 'A'isha, did not say" he stood up" ), and poured water over him (by Allah 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.
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 4, Hadith 1612
Hadith 740
Chapter 17: Night prayers and the number of rak`ah offered by the Prophet (saws) at night, and that Witr is one rak`ah, and a one-rak`ah prayer is correct - كتاب صلاة المسافرين وقصرها
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 4, Hadith 1613
Hadith 741
Chapter 17: Night prayers and the number of rak`ah offered by the Prophet (saws) at night, and that Witr is one rak`ah, and a one-rak`ah prayer is correct - كتاب صلاة المسافرين وقصرها
Masruq is reported to have asked 'A'isha about the action (most pleasing to) the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). She said:
He (the Holy 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.
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 4, Hadith 1614
Hadith 742
Chapter 17: Night prayers and the number of rak`ah offered by the Prophet (saws) at night, and that Witr is one rak`ah, and a one-rak`ah prayer is correct - كتاب صلاة المسافرين وقصرها
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ بِشْرٍ، عَنْ مِسْعَرٍ، عَنْ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ مَا أَلْفَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم السَّحَرُ الأَعْلَى فِي بَيْتِي - أَوْ عِنْدِي - إِلاَّ نَائِمًا .
'A'isha reported:
Never did the earlier part of the dawn find the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) but sleeping in my house or near me.
When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 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.
Sa'd b. Hisham b. 'Amir decided to participate in the expedition for the sake of Allah, 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 Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 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 Allah (ﷺ). 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 Allah (ﷺ)? 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 Allah 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 Allah (ﷺ). She said: Don't you read the Qur'an? I said: Yes. Upon this she said: The character of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 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 Allah (ﷺ). She said: Did you not recite:" O thou wrapped up"? He said: Yes. She said: Allah, the Exalted and the Glorious, made the observance of the night prayer at the beginning of this Surah obligatory.
So the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him and his Companions around him observed this (night prayer) for one year. Allah held back the concluding portion of this Surah for twelve months in the Heaven till (at the end of this period) Allah 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 Allah (ﷺ). She said: I used to prepare tooth stick for him and water for his ablution, and Allah 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 Allah, 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 Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 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 Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 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 Allah's Prophet (ﷺ) 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.
'Umar b. Khattab reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) 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.
Zaid b. Arqam, on seeing some people praying in the forenoon, said:
They well know that prayer at another time than this is more excellent, for Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: The prayer of those who are penitent is observed when your weaned camels feel the heat of the sun.
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 4, Hadith 1630
Hadith 749
Chapter 6: The Book of Prayer - Travellers - كتاب صلاة المسافرين وقصرها
وَحَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى، قَالَ قَرَأْتُ عَلَى مَالِكٍ عَنْ نَافِعٍ، وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ صَلاَةِ اللَّيْلِ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم
" صَلاَةُ اللَّيْلِ مَثْنَى مَثْنَى فَإِذَا خَشِيَ أَحَدُكُمُ الصُّبْحَ صَلَّى رَكْعَةً وَاحِدَةً تُوتِرُ لَهُ مَا قَدْ صَلَّى " .
Ibn 'Umar reported that a person asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about the night prayer. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
Prayer during the night should consist of pairs of rak'ahs, but if one of you fears morning is near, he should pray one rak'ah which will make his prayer an odd number for him.
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 4, Hadith 1643
Hadith 754
Chapter 6: The Book of Prayer - Travellers - كتاب صلاة المسافرين وقصرها
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الأَعْلَى بْنُ عَبْدِ الأَعْلَى، عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ، عَنْ أَبِي نَضْرَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ
" أَوْتِرُوا قَبْلَ أَنْ تُصْبِحُوا " .
Abu Sa'id (al Khudri) reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying:
Observe Witr prayer before it is morning. Abu Sa'id reported that they (the Prophet's Companions) asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about Witr (prayer). (In reply to their inquiry) he said: Observe Witr prayer before it is morning.
If anyone is afraid that he may not get up in the latter part of the night, he should observe Witr in the first part of it; and if anyone is eager to get up in the last part of it, he should observe Witr at the end of the night, for prayer at the end of the night is witnessed (by the angels) and that is preferable.
There is an hour during the night in which no Muslim individual will ask Allah for good in this world and the next without His giving it to him; and that applies to every night.
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
Our Lord, the Blessed and the Exalted, descends every night to the lowest heaven when one-third of the latter part of the night is left, and says: Who supplicates Me so that I may answer him? Who asks Me so that I may give to him? Who asks Me forgiveness so that I may forgive him?