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.

The most excellent prayer is that in which the duration of standing is longer.

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.

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?

He who observed prayer at night during Ramadan, because of faith and seeking his reward from Allah, his previous sins would be forgiven.

He who observed the fasts of Ramadan with faith and seeking reward (from Allah), all his previous sins would be forgiven, and he who observed prayer on Lailat-ul- Qadr with faith and seeking reward (from Allah), all his previous sins would be forgiven.

I saw what you were doing, but I desisted to come to you (and lead the prayer) for I feared that this prayer might become obligatory for you. (He the narrator) said: It was the month of Ramadan.

I heard from Ubayy b. Ka'b a statement made by 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud in which he said: He who gets up for prayer (every night) during the year will hit upon Lailat-ul-Qadr. Ubayy said: By Allah I there is no god but He, that (Lailat-ul-Qadr) is in Ramadhan (He swore without reservation: ) By Allah, I know the night; it is the night on which the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) commanded us to pray. It is that which precedes the morning of twenty-seventy and its indication is that the sun rises bright on that day without rays.

I spent a night with my maternal aunt (sister of my mother) Maimuna. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) got up during the night and relieved himself, then washed his face and hands and went to sleep. He then got up again, and came to the water skin and loosened its straps, then performed good ablution between the two extremes. He then stood up and observed prayer. I also stood up and stretched my body fearing that he might be under the impression that I was there to find out (what he did at night). So I also performed ablution and stood up to pray, but I stood on his left. He took hold of my hand and made me go around to his right side. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) completed thirteen rak`ahs of his night prayer. He then lay down and slept and snored (and it was his habit to snore while asleep). Then Bilal came and he informed him about the prayer. He (the Holy Prophet) then stood up for prayer and did not perform ablution, and his supplication included these words: "O Allah, place light in my heart, light in my sight, light in my hearing, light on my right hand, light on my left hand, light above me, light below me, light in front of me, light behind me, and enhance light for me." Kuraib (the narrator) said: There are seven (words more) which are in my heart (but I cannot recall them) and I met some of the descendants of Al-`Abbas and they narrated these words to me and mentioned in them: (Light) in my sinew, in my flesh, in my blood, in my hair, in my skin, and made a mention of two more things.

O Allah, to Thee be the praise Thou art the light of the heavens and the earth. To Thee be the praise; Thou art the Supporter of the heavens and the earth. To Thee be the praise; Thou art the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is therein. Thou art the Truth; Thy promise is True, the meeting with Thee is True. Paradise is true, Hell is true, the Hour is true. O Allah, I submit to Thee; affirm my faith in Thee; repose my trust in Thee, and I return to Thee for repentance; by Thy help I have disputed; and to Thee I have come for decision, so forgive me my earlier and later sins, the sins that I committed in secret and openly. Thou art my God. There is no god but Thee.

I turn my face in complete devotion to One Who is the Originator of the heaven and the earth and I am not of the polytheists. Verily my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds; There is no partner with Him and this is what I have been commanded (to profess and believe) and I am of the believers. O Allah, Thou art the King, there is no god but Thee, Thou art my Lord, and I am Thy bondman. I wronged myself and make a confession of my Sin. Forgive all my sins, for no one forgives the sins but Thee, and guide me in the best of conduct for none but Thee guideth anyone (in) good conduct. Remove sins from me, for none else but Thou can remove sins from me. Here I am at Thy service, and Grace is to Thee and the whole of good is in Thine hand, and one cannot get nearneststo Thee through evil. My (power as well as existence) is due to Thee (Thine grace) and I turn to Thee (for supplication). Thou art blessed and Thou art exalted. I seek forgiveness from Thee and turn to Thee in repentance: and when he would bow, he would say: O Allah, it is for Thee that I bowed. I affirm my faith in Thee and I submit to Thee, and submit humbly before Thee my hearing, my eyesight, my marrow, my bone, my sinew; and when he would raise his head, he would say: O Allah, our Lord, praise is due to Thee, (the praise) with which is filled the heavens and the earth, and with which is filled that (space) which exists between them, and filled with anything that Thou desireth afterward. And when he prostrated himself, he (the Holy Prophet) would say: O Allah, it is to Thee that I prostrate myself and it is in Thee that I affirm my faith, and I submit to Thee. My face is submitted before One Who created it, and shaped it, and opened his faculties of hearing and seeing. Blessed is Allah, the best of Creators; and he would then say between Tashahhud and the pronouncing of salutation: Forgive me of the earlier and later open and secret (sins) and that where I made transgression and that Thou knowest better than I. Thou art the First and the Last. There is no god, but Thee.