The prayer was prescribed as two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs both in journey and at the place of residence. The prayer while travelling remained as it was (originally prescribed), but an addition was made in the prayer (observed) at the place of residence.

I told 'Umar b. al-Khattab that Allah had said:" You may shorten the prayer only if you fear that those who are unbelievers may afflict you" (Qur'an, iv. 101), whereas the people are now safe. He replied: I wondered about it in the same way as you wonder about it, so I asked the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) about it and he said: It is an act of charity which Allah has done to you, so accept His charity.

Allah has prescribed the prayer through the word of your Prophet (may peace be upon him) as four rak'ahs when resident, two when travelling, and one when danger is present.

I asked Ibn 'Abbas: How should I say prayer when I am in Mecca, and when I do not pray along with the Imam? He said: Two rak'ahs (of prayer) is the Sunnah of Abu'l-Qasim (may peace be upon him).

I accompanied Ibn 'Umar on the road to Mecca and he led us in two rak'ahs at the noon prayer, then he went forward and we too went along with him to a place where he alighted, and he sat and we sat along with him, and he cast a glance to the side where he said prayer and he saw people standing and asked: What are they doing? I said: They are engaged in glorifying Allah, offering Sunnah prayer. He said: If I had done so I would have perfected my prayer; O my nephew! I accompanied the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) on a journey, and he made no addittion to two rak'ahs, till Allah called him. I accompanied Abu Bakr and he made no addition to two rak'ahs till Allah caused him to die. I accompanied 'Umar and he made no addition to two rak'ahs till Allah caused him to die. I accompanied 'Uthman and he made no addition to two rak'ahs, till Allah caused him to die, and Allah has said:" There is a model pattern for you in the Messenger of Allah" (al-Qur'an, xxxiii. 21).

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said four rak'ahs in the noon prayer while at Medina, but he offered two rak'ahs in the afternoon prayer at Dhu'l-Hulaifa.

We went out from Medina to Mecca with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he prayed two rak'ahs at each time of prayer till we returned to Medina. I said: For how long did he stay in Mecca? He said: (For) ten (days).

I heard 'Abd al-Rahman as saying; 'Uthman led us four rak'ahs of prayer at Mina. It was reported to Abdullah b. Mas'ud and he recited:" Surely we are Allah's and to Him shall we return," and then said: I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) at Mina two rak'ahs of prayer. I prayed along with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq two rak'ahs of prayer at Mina. I prayed along with 'Umar b. Khattab two rak'ahs of prayer at Mina. I wish I had my share of the two rak'ahs acceptable (to God) for the four rak'ahs.

I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) two rak'ahs and most of them offered two rak'ahs only in Mina, while the people felt secure.

Pray in your dwellings; and then said: When it was a cold, rainy night, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to command the Mu'adhdhin to say" Pray in your dwellings."

When you have announced" I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," do not say:" Come to the prayer," but make this announcement:" Say prayer in your houses." He (the narrator) said that the people disapproved of it. Ibn 'Abbas said: Are you astonished at it? He (the Holy Prophet), who is better than I, did it. Jumu'a prayer is no doubt obligatory, but I do not like that I should (force you) to come out and walk in mud and slippery ground.

When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was in a state of hurry on a journey, he combined the sunset and 'Isha' prayers.

When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) set out on a journey before the sun declined (from the meridian), he delayed the noon prayer till the afternoon prayer, and then dismounted (his ride) and combined them (noon and afternoon prayers), but if the sun had declined before his setting out on a journey, he observed the noon prayer and then mounted (the ride).

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed the noon and afternoon prayers together, and the sunset and Isha' prayers together without being in a state of fear or in a state of journey.

We set out with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) on the Tabuk expedition, and he observed the noon and afternoon prayers together and the sunset and 'Isha' prayers together.

None of you should give a share to Satan out of your self. He should not deem that it is necessary for him to turn but to the right only (after prayer). I saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) turning to the left.

I asked Anas how I should turn-to the right or to the left-when I say my prayers. He said: I have very often seen the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) turning to the right.

When we prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) we cherished to be on his right side so that his face would turn towards us (at the end of the prayer), and he (the narrator) said: I heard him say: O my Lord! save me from Thy torment on the Day when Thoil, wouldst raise or gather Thy servants.

When the prayer commences then there is no prayer (valid), but the obligatory prayer. This hadith has been narrated by Warqa' with the same chain of transmitters.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) happened to pass by a person who was busy in praying while the (Fard of the) dawn prayer had commenced. He said something to him, which we do not know what it was. When we turned back we surrounded him and said: What is it that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to you? He replied: He (the Holy Prophet) had said to me that he perceived as if one of them was about to observe four (rak'ahs) of the dawn prayer. Qa'nabi reported that 'Abdullah b. Malik b. Buhaina narrated it on the authority of his father. (Abu'l-Husain Muslim said): His assertion that he has narrated this hadith on the authority of his father is not correct.

When any one of you enters the mosque, he should say:" O Allah! open for me the doors of Thy mercy" ; and when he steps out he should say: 'O Allah! I beg of Thee Thy Grace." (Imam Muslim said: I heard Yahya saying: I transcribed this hadith from the compilation of Sulaiman b. Bilal.)

When any one of you enters the mosque, he should observe two rak'ahs (of Nafl prayer) before sitting.

The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) owed me a debt; he paid me back and made an addition (of this). I entered the mosque and he (the Holy Prophet) said to me: Observe two rak'ahs of prayer.

I asked 'A'isha whether the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to observe the forenoon prayer. She said: No, but when he came back from the journey.

Four rak'ahs, but sometimes more as he pleased.

three fasts during every month, two rak'ahs of the forenoon prayer, and observing Witr prayer before going to bed.

The two rak'ahs at dawn are better than this world and what it contains.

"Say: We believed in Allah and what was revealed to us..." verse 136 from Surah Baqara, and in the second of the two: "I believe in Allah and I bear testimony that we are Muslims" (iii. 52).

A house will be built in Paradise, for anyone who prays in a day and a night twelve rak'ahs; and she added: I have never abandoned (observing them) since I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). Some of the other narrators said the same words: I have never abandoned (observing them) since I heard (from so and so).

I asked 'A'isha about the Messenger of Allah's (may peace be upon him) voluntary prayers, and she replied: Before the noon prayer, he used to pray four rak'ahs in my house; then would go out and lead the people in prayer; then come in and pray two rak'ahs. He would then lead the people in the sunset prayer; then come in and pray two rak'ahs. Then he would lead the people in the 'Isha' prayer, and enter my house and pray two rak'ahs. He would pray nine rak'ahs during the night, including Witr. At night he would pray for a long time standing and for a long time sitting, and when he recited the Holy Qur'an while standing, he would bow and prostrate himself from the standing position, and when he recited while sitting, he would bow and prostrate himself from the sitting position, and when it was dawn he would pray two rak'ahs.

I did not see the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) reciting (the Qur'an) in the night prayer in a sitting position, till he grew old and then he recited (it) in a sitting position, but when thirty or forty verses were left out of the Surah, he would then stand up, recite them and then bowed.

I asked 'A'isha whether the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed (Nafl) sitting. She said: Yes, when the people had made him old.

Never did I see the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observing supererogatory prayer sitting till one year before his death when he would observe Nafl prayer in a sitting position, and he would recite the Surah (of the Qur'an) in such a slow-measured tone (that duration of its recital) became more lengthy than the one longer than this.

It was narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said: The prayer observed by a person sitting is half of the prayer. I came to him (may peace be upon him) 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.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) 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).

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) 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.

When the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) 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.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to pray in the night and when he observed Witr, he said to me: O 'A'isha, get up and observe Witr.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed the Witr prayer every night and he completed Witr at the time of dawn.

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 (may peace be upon him). 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 (may peace be upon him)? 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 (may peace be upon him). She said: Don't you read the Qur'an? I said: Yes. Upon this she said: The character of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) 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 (may peace be upon him). 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 Apostle 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 (may peace be upon him). 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 Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) 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 Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) 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 (may peace be upon him) 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.

They well know that prayer at another time than this is more excellent, for Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: The prayer of those who are penitent is observed when your weaned camels feel the heat of the sun.

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.

He who prayed at night should make Witr the end of his prayer, for the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) ordered this.

Witr is a rak'ah at the end of the prayer.

Observe Witr prayer before it is morning. Abu Sa'id reported that they (the Prophet's Companions) asked the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) 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.