"I said: 'O Prophet of Allah! I did not come to you until I had sworn more that this many times' - the number of fingers on his hands - 'that I would never come to you or follow your religion. I am a man who does not know anything except that which Allah and His Messenger teach me. I ask you by the face of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, with what has your Lord sent you to us? He said: 'With Islam.' I said: What are the signs of Islam? He said; To say: I submit my face to Allah and give up Shirk, and, to establish the Salah and to pay Zakah. Each Muslim is sacred and inviolable to his fellow Muslim; they support one another. Allah does not accept my deed from an idolater after he becomes a Muslim, until he departs from the idolaters and joins the Muslims."'

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'The most beloved fasting to Allah, the mighty and sublime, is the fast of Dawud, peace be upon him. He used to fast one day and not the next. And the most beloved prayer to Allah, the mighty and sublime, is the prayer of Dawud, peace be upon him. He used to sleep half the night, stand for one-third of it (in prayer), and sleep for one-sixth of it."'

“I said to Ubayy bin Ka’b: ‘Your brother Abdullah bin Mas’ud says: “Whoever stands (in voluntary prayer) the whole year, then he will have reached the Night of Al-Qadr.’” So he said: ‘May Allah forgive Abu Abdur-Rahman. He knows that is during the last ten (nights) of Ramadan, and that it is the night of the twenty-seventh. But he wanted the people to not rely upon that.’ Then he uttered an oath, that without exception it is on the night of the twenty-seventh.” He said: “I said to him: ‘Why is it that you say that O Abu Al-Mindhir?’ He said: “By the sign or indication which the Messenger of Allah informed us of: ‘That the sun rises on that day having no beams with it.’”

‘Umar reported God’s Messenger 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 and the noon prayer it will be recorded for him as though he had recited it during the night.” Muslim transmitted it.

Allah's Messenger (SAW) prayed during the month of Ramadan. Then they (the Sahabah) waited for him on the following night, but he did not come out and he said, "I feared that the Witr (prayer) might be prescribed for you." [Reported by Ibn Hibban].

I happened to pass by Moses as he was busy in saying prayer in his grave, and in the hadith transmitted on the authority of 'Isa there is an addition of these words:, I happened to pass on the occasion of the Night journey."

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "He who fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven; he who prays during the night in Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven; and he who passes Lailat al-qadr [Night of Decree] in prayer with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to leave off observing Saum (fasting) during a month until we thought that he would not observe Saum at all during it; and (sometimes) he would observe Saum till we began to think that he would not omit any day of that month. If one wished to see him performing Salat during the night, he could do that; and if one wished to see him sleeping at night, he could do that.

[Al- Bukhari].

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “When the dead is buried two black and blue angels, one called al-Munkar and the other an-Nakir, come to him and ask him what opinion he held about this man. If he is a believer he replies, ‘He is the servant and messenger of God. I testify that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is His servant and apostle.’ They say that they knew he would say so. A space of 4900 square cubits is then made for him in his grave, it is illuminated for him, and he is told to sleep. He will then express a desire to return to his family to tell them, but will be told to sleep like one newly married who is wakened only by the member of his family who is dearest to him, until God resurrects him from that resting-place of his. But if he is a hypocrite he will say, ‘I heard men expressing a belief and I held the same, but I really do not know.’ They will tell him they knew he would say so; then the earth will be told to press in upon him and it will do so. His ribs will be pressed together and he will remain there suffering punishment till God resurrects him from that resting-place of his.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

The sun eclipsed during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). As I went to 'A'isha who was busy in prayer. I said: What is the matter with the people that they are praying (a special prayer)? She ('A'isha) pointed towards the sky with her head. I said: Is it (an unusual) sign? She said: Yes. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) stood up for prayer for such a long time that I was about to faint. I caught hold of a waterskin lying by my side, and began to pour water over my head, or (began to sprinkle water) on my face. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) then finished and the sun had brightened. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) then addressed the people, (after) praising Allah and lauding Him, and then said: There was no such thing as I did not see earlier, but I saw it at this very place of mine. I ever saw Paradise and Hell. It was also revealed to me that you would be tried in the graves, as you would he tried something like the turmoil of the Dajjal. Asma' said: I do not know which word he actually used (qariban or mithl), and each one of you would be brought and it would be said: What is your knowledge about this man? If the person is a believer, (Asma' said: I do not know whether it was the word al-Mu'min or al-Mu'qin) he would say: He is Muhammad and he is the Messenger of Allah. He brought to us the clear signs and right guidance. So we responded and obeyed him. (He would repeat this three times), and it would be said to him: You should go to sleep. We already knew that you are a believer in him. So the pious man would go to sleep. So far as the hypocrite or sceptic is concerned (Asma' said: I do not know which word was that: al-Munafiq (hypocrite) or al-Murtad (doubtful) he would say: I do not know. I only uttered whatever I heard people say.

We waited for the Prophet (saws) to offer the night prayer. He delayed until people thought that he would not come out and some of us said that he had offered the prayer. At the moment when we were in this condition the Prophet (saws) came out. People said to him as they were already saying. He said: Observe this prayer when it is dark, for by it you have been made superior to all the peoples, no people having observed it before you.

“I asked 'A’isha (may Allah be well pleased with her) about the voluntary ritual prayers of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), and she said: ‘He used to spend a long night performing the ritual prayer while standing, and a long night while sitting, so if he recited the Qur’an while standing, he would bow and prostrate from a standing position, and if he recited while sitting, he would bow and prostrate from a sitting position.”

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) did not abandon at all observing two rak'ahs after the 'Asr in my house.

“There are three whose prayer do not rise more than a hand span above their heads: A man who leads people (in prayer) when they do not like him; a woman who has spent the night with her husband angry with her; and two brothers who have severed contact with one another.”

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'My Ummah will continue to adhere to the Fitrah so long as they do not delay the Maghrib until the stars have come out." (Hasan)Abu 'Abdullah bin Majah said: I heard Muhammed bin Yahya saying: 'The people in Baghdad were confused in narrating this Hadith. Abu Bakr Al-A'yan and I went to 'Awwam bin 'Abbad bin 'Awwam and he brought out to us the book of his father, and this Hadith was in it.'"

Ibn 'Abbas said, "I spent the night at the house of my aunt. Maymuna. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, got up to answer a call of nature and then washed his hands and face and slept. Then he got up and took the water-skin and loosened its strap and then did a medium sort of wudu' and no more but he did it adequately. Then he prayed. I stood up and went slowly, not wanting him to see that I was observing him. I did wudu'. Then he stood up to pray and I stood at his left. He took my hand and brought me around to his right. His complete night prayer consisted of twelve rak'ats. Then he lay down and went to sleep until he snored. When he slept, he would snore. Bilal gave the adhan for the morning prayer and he prayed without doing wudu'. One of his supplications was, 'O Allah, put light in my heart and light in my hearing and light on my right and light on my left and a light above me and a light behind me and a light in front of me and a light behind him and make my light great.'"

Allah's Messenger said: "There are three whose Salat would not rise up beyond their ears: The runaway slave until he returns, a woman who spends a night while her husband is angry with her, and a people's Imam whom they dislike."

"The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: 'If a woman has perfumed herself with incense, let her not attend 'Isha' prayer.'"

‘While he was among ten of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (saw) including Abu Qatadah: “I heard Abu Humaid As-Sa’idi say: ‘I am the most knowledgeable of you concerning the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (saw).’ They said: ‘Why? By Allah, you did not follow him more than we did, and you did not accompany him for longer.’ He said: ‘Yes I am.’ They said: ‘Show us.’ He said: ‘When the Messenger of Allah (saw) stood up for prayer, he would say the Takbir, then he would raise his hands parallel to his shoulders, and every part of his body would settle in place. Then he would recite, then he would raise his hands parallel to his shoulders and bow, placing his palms on his knees and supporting his weight on them. He neither lowered his head, nor raised it up, it was evenly balanced (between either extreme). Then he would say: “Sami’ Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears those who praise Him); and he would raise his hands parallel with his shoulders, until every bone returned to its place. Then he would prostrate himself on the ground, keeping his arms away from his sides. Then he would raise his head and tuck his left foot under him and sit on it, and he would spread his toes when he prostrated.* Then he would prostrate, then say the Takbir and sit on his left foot, until every bone returned to its place. Then he would stand up and do the same in the next Rak’ah. Then when he stood up after two Rak’ah, he would raise his hands level with his shoulders as he did at the beginning of the prayer. Then he would offer the rest of his prayer in like manner until, when he did the prostration after which the Taslim comes, he would push one of his feet back and sit with his weight on his left side, Mutawarrikan.’** They said: ‘You have spoken the truth; this is how the Messenger of Allah (saw) used to perform the prayer.’”
* Meaning that he would plant them in such a way that they were facing the Qiblah.
** Mutawarrikan: i.e., sitting with the left foot brought forward so that one's buttocks are in direct contact with the ground.

the Messenger of Allah used to encourage the people to pray Qiyam in Ramadan, without insisting on that. He said: "Whoever spends the nights of Ramadan in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, he will be forgiven his previous sins." '

‘A'isha said that whenever it was her turn for God's messenger to spend the night with her he would go out towards the end of the night to al-Baqi' and say, “Peace be upon you, household of a people who are believers. What you were being promised will come to you tomorrow, you receiving it after some delay, and if God will we shall join you. O God, grant forgiveness to the inhabitants of Baqi' al- Gharqad.” (This is the full name of the cemetery at Medina. Baqi' properly means a place with tree roots, and gharqad is the name of a thorny type of tree. The name was retained even when all signs of trees were removed.) Muslim transmitted it.

I went out one night to the mosque with ‘Umar b. al-Khattab and we saw the people in sections separate from one another, one man praying by himself, and another followed by a group; so ‘Umar said, “If I collected these people behind one reciter it would be better." He then made up his mind and collected them with Ubayy b. Ka‘b as imam. Afterwards I went out with him another night when the people were following the prayer of their reciter, and ‘Umar said, “This is a good innovation, but what you miss through sleeping is more excellent than what you are getting up for, meaning at the end of the night, for the people were getting up during the early part of the night. Bukhari transmitted it.

Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to me, "O Abdullah! Do not be like so-and-so. He used to get up at night for optional prayer but abandoned it later."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to me, "O 'Abdullah! Do not be like so-and-so; he used to get up at night for optional prayer but abandoned it later."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

“The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘Whoever prays twenty Rak’ah between Maghrib and ‘Isha’, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.’”

Ibn ‘Umar said that on a journey God’s Messenger would pray on his riding beast in whatever direction it turned, making a sign with his head* in prayer during the night, but not in the obligatory prayers; and he would observe a witr on his riding beast. *To indicate the bowing and the prostration. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: "Do not soak Az-Zahuw and ripe dates together, nor Al-Busr and raisins together. Soak each one of them on its own."

Tell us about the most interesting (or “amazing”) thing you have seen from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He said, she remained silent and then said: “On one night, the Messenger (ﷺ) said to me: “O Aishah, excuse me to worship my Lord on this night. I (Aishah) said: “By Allah, I love your companionship and I love what makes you happy. She said, he (the messenger ﷺ) stood and purified himself, then stood in prayer. She said, he began crying until his cheeks became wet, and (she said) he cried after that until his beard was wet, and (she said) he continued crying until the tears started to fall to the ground. At that moment, Bilāl (RA) came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to announce the Fajr prayer and he saw him crying. He said, “O Messenger of Allah, why are you crying? Indeed, Allah has forgiven your previous and future sins.” The Messenger replied, “Shall I not be a grateful servant? A verse has been revealed to me on this night, woe to the one who reads it and does not reflect upon it. He then read: “Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding” (3:190).” Reference: Sahih Ibn Hibban 620

"Whoever fasts it and spends its nights in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward." (Daif)

"The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: 'If one of you wants to attend 'Isha' prayer, let her not touch perfume.'"

The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: "If one of you wants to attend 'Isha' prayer, let her not touch perfume."

"The Messenger of Allah would struggle (to perform Salat more) during the last ten (nights) more than he would struggle in the rest of it."

‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The prayer dearest to God is David’s and the fasting dearest to God is David’s. He would sleep half the night, get up to pray for a third of it, then sleep the remaining sixth; and he would fast on alternate days." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "When anyone of you stands up for Salat at night and finds it difficult to recite the Qur'an accurately and he is unaware of what he is reciting, he should go back to sleep."

[Muslim].

“Uthman bin ‘Affan addressed the people and said: ‘O people! I heard a Hadith from the Messenger of Allah (saw) and nothing kept me from narrating it to you except for the fact that I did not want to lose you and your companionship. So it is up to you. I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying: “Whoever spends a night guarding the frontier in the cause of Allah, it will be like a thousand nights spent in fasting and prayer.”

Allah's Messenger (SAW) said, "The (voluntary) night prayers are two Rak'at, two Rak'at (in pairs), and if one fears that the dawn prayer is due, he should then offer one Rak'at which will make what he has prayed an odd number." [Agreed upon).

‘A’isha said that between the time when he finished the evening prayer and the dawn prayer the Prophet used to pray eleven rak'as, uttering the salutation at the end of every two and observing the witr,* with a single one, and during that he would make a prostration about as long as one of you would take to recite fifty verses before raising his head. When the mu’adhdhin finished making the call for the dawn prayer and he saw the dawn clearly, he stood up and prayed two short rak'as, then lay down on his right side till the mu’adhdhin came to him for the iqama, whereupon he would go out. *Cf. chap. 36 (Bukhari and Muslim.)

"Abdur-Rahman bin Abi Bakr died in Al-Hubshi" He said: "He was carried to Makkah to be buried there. So when Aishah arrived she went to the grave of Abdur-Rahman bin Abi Bakr and she said: "We were like two drinking companions of Jadhimah for such a long time that they would say: 'They will never part.' So when we were separated it was as if I and Malik - due to the length of unity - never spent a night together."

"Allah's Messenger would recite: By the sun and its brightness, or similar Surah for the latter Isha (prayer)."

We were like the companions of Jadhima (Jadhima was a legendary pre-Islamic king with his centre in al-Anbar. He had two boon- companions, 'Aqil and Malik, who are said to have been together for forty years. The verses are from a lament by Mutammim b. Nuwaira al-Yarbu'i over his brother Malik) for a long time, so that people said the two will never be separated. But when we separated it seemed, in spite of long association, as if Malik and I had not spent a single night together. She then said, “I swear by God that if I had been present with you, you would have been buried nowhere but where you died, and if I had been with you I would not have visited you.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

‘A’isha said that he, meaning God’s Messenger, would sleep in the early part of the night and keep awake in the latter part. If he then wished intercourse with his wife he satisfied his desire, and then went to sleep. If he was sexually defiled when the first call to prayer was made, he would get up and pour water on it, but if not, he performed the ablution for the prayer and then prayed two rak'as. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He asked Aishah about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) at night. She said: "He used to pray thirteen rak'ahs. He would pray eight rak'ahs then pray witr, then pray two rak'ahs sitting down. When he wanted to bow he would stand and bow, and he prayed two rak'ahs between the adhan and iqamah of subh prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to me: The fast most liked by Allah is the one observed by Dawud (David), and the prayer dearer to Allah is the one offered by Dawud (David): he would sleep half the night, and stand (in prayer) one-third of it, and sleep one-sixth of it. He would go without fasting one day, and fast the other day.

that Al-Buraq was brought to the Prophet (SAW) on the Night of Isra, saddled and reined, but he shied from him. So Jibra'il said to him: "is it from Muhammad that you do this? By your Lord! There is no one more honorable to your Lord than him." He said: "Then he started sweating profusely."

"The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: 'Whoever has the habit of praying at night but he sleeps and misses it, that is a charity that Allah (SWT) has given to him, and the reward of his prayer will be recorded for him.'"

Did any one of you see any vision last night?

I came. And in the narration transmitted on the authority of Haddib (the words are): I happened to pass by Moses on the occasion of the Night journey near the red mound (and found him) saying his prayer in his grave.

Ibn 'Abbas reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever fashions an image will have to breathe life into it and he will be punished since he will not be able to breathe life into it. Anyone who claims to have seen a vision in a dream will have to string two beads of barely together and he will be punished because he will not be able to string them together. Anyone who listens to people's conversation when they move away from him will have molten lead poured into his ears."

"I was with the Prophet on a journey, and he wanted to relieve himself. He said to me: 'Go to those two small date-palm trees and tell them: "The Messenger of Allah orders you to come together.'" So they came together and he concealed himself behind them, and relieved himself. Then he said to me: 'Go to them and tell them: "Go back, each one of you, to your places.'" So I said that to them and they went back."

“While we were sitting in the mosque, a man entered riding a camel; he made it kneel in the mosque, then he hobbled it and said to them: ‘Which of you is Muhammad?’ The Messenger of Allah (saw) was reclining among them, so they said: ‘This fair- skinned man who is reclining.’ The man said to him: ‘O son of ‘Abdul- Muttalib!’ The Prophet (saw) said: ‘I am listening to you.’ The man said: O Muhammad! I am asking you and will be stern in asking, so do not bear any ill-feelings towards me.’ He said: ‘Ask whatever you think.’ The man said: ‘I adjure you by your Lord and the Lord of those who came before you, has Allah sent you to all of mankind?’ The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘By Allah, yes.; He said: ‘I adjure you by Allah, has Allah commanded you to pray the five prayers each day and night?’ The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘By Allah, yes.’ He said: ‘I adjure you by Allah, has Allah commanded you to fast this month of each year?’ The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘By Allah, yes.’ He said: ‘I adjure you by Allah, has Allah commanded you to take this charity from our rich and distribute it among our poor?’ The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘By Allah, yes.’ The man said: ‘I believe in what you have brought, and I am the envoy of my people who are behind me. I am Dimam bin Tha’labah, the brother of Banu Sa’d bin Bakr.’”

Shariq al-Hawzani and I came to Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) and asked her: By which (prayer) the Messenger of Allah (saws) began when he woke up at night? She replied: You asked me about a thing which no one asked me before. When he woke up at night, he uttered: "Allah is Most Great" ten times, and uttered "Praise be to Allah" ten times, and said "Glory be to Allah and I begin with His praise" ten times, and said: "Glory be to the King, the Most Holy" ten times, and asked Allah's pardon ten times, and said: "There is no god but Allah" ten times, and then said: "O Allah! I seek refuge in Thee from the strait of the Day of resurrection," ten times. He then began the prayer.

I and my father set out in search of knowledge to a tribe of the Ansar before their death (i. e. before the Companions of the Holy Prophet left the world) and I was the first to meet Abu Yasar, a Companion of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and there was a young man with him who carried the record of letters with him and there was a mantle prepared by the tribe of Ma'afiri upon him. And his servant too had a Ma'afiri mantle over him. My father said to him: My uncle, I see the signs of anger or that of agony on your face. He said: Yes, such and such person, the son of so and so, of the tribe of Harami owed me a debt. I went to his family, extended salutations and said: Where is he? They said: He is not here. Then came out to me his son who was at the threshold of his youth. I said to him: Where is your father? He said: No sooner did he hear your sound than he hid himself behind my mother's bedstead. I said to him: Walk out to me, for I know where you are. He came out. I said to him: What prompted you to hide yourself from me? He said: By God, whatever I would say to you would not be a lie. By Allah, I fear that I should tell a lie to you and in case of making promise with you I should break it, as you are the Companion of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). The fact is that I was hard up in regard to money. I said: Do you adjure by Allah? He said: I adjure by Allah. I said: Do you adjure by Allah? He said: I adjure by Allah. I said: Do you adjure by Allah? He said: I adjure by Allah. Then he brought his promissory note and he wrote off (the debt) with his hand and said: Make payment when you find yourself solvent enough to pay me back; if you are not, then there is no liability upon you. These two eyes of mine saw, and he (Abu'I-Yasar) placed his fingers upon his eyes and these two ears of mine heard and my heart retained, and he pointed towards his heart that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: He who gives time to one who is financially hard up (in the payment of debt) or writes off his debt, Allah will provide him His shadow. I said to him: My uncle, if you get the cloak of your servant and you give him your two clothes, or take his two clothes of Ma'afir and give him your cloak, then there would be one dress for you and one for him. He wiped my head and said: O Allah, bless the son of my brother. O, son of my brother, these two very eyes of mine saw and these two ears of mine listened to and this heart of mine retained this, and he pointed towards the heart that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Feed them (the servants) and clothe them (the servants) what you wear, and if I give him the goods of the world, it is easy for me than this that he should take my virtues on the Day of Resurrection. We went on till we came to Jabir b. Abdullah in the mosque and he was busy in observing prayer in one cloth which he had joined at its opposite ends. I made my way through the people till I sat between him and the Qibla and I said: May Allah have mercy upon you. Do you observe prayer with one cloth on your body whereas your mantle is lying at your side? He pointed me with his hand towards my breast just like this and he separated his fingers and bent them in the shape of a bow. And (he said): I thought that a fool like you should come to me so that he should see me as I do and he should then also do like it. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came to us in this very mosque and he had in his hand the twig of the palm-tree and he saw mucus towards the Qibla of the mosque and he erased it with the help of the twig. He then came to us and said: Who amongst you likes that Allah should turn His face away from him? We were afraid. He then again said: Who amongst you likes that Allah should turn His face away from him? We were afraid. He again said: Who amongst you likes that Allah should turn His face away from him? We said: Allah's Messenger, none of us likes it. And he said: If one amongst you stands for prayer, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, is before him he should not spit in front of him, or on his right side, but should spit on his left side beneath his left foot and if he is impelled to do so all of a sudden (in spite of himself) he should then spit in his cloth and fold it in some part of it. (and he further said: ) Bring some sweet-smelling thing. A young man who belonged to our tribe stood up, went and brought scent in his palm. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) took that and applied it to the end of that twig and then touched the place where there had been mucus. Jabir said: This is why you should apply scent to your mosques. It is reported on the same authority: We set out along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on an expedition of Batn Buwat. He (the Holy Prophet) was in search of al-Majdi b. 'Amr al-Juhani. (We had so meagre equipment) that five. six or seven of us had one camel to ride and so we mounted it turn by turn. Once there wan. the turn of an Ansari to ride upon the camel. He made it kneel down to ride over it (and after having. mounted it), he tried to raise it up but it hesitated. So he said. May there be curse of Allah upon you! Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Who is there to curse his camel? He said: Allah's Messenger, it' is I. Thereupon he said: Get down from the camel and let us not have in our company the cursed one. Don't curse your own selves, nor your children. nor your belongings. There is the possibility that your curse may synchronies with the time when Allah is about to confer upon you what you demand and thus your prayer may be readily responded. It is reported on the same authority: We set out on an expedition along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) until it was evening, and we had been near a. water reservoir of Arabia. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Who would be the person who would go ahead and set right the reservoir and drink water himself and serve us with it? Jabir said: I stood up and said: Allah's Messenger, it is I who am ready to do that. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Who is the person to accompany Jabir? And then Jabbar b. Sakhr stood up. So we went to that well and poured in that tank a bucket or two of water and plastered it with clay and then began to fill it (with water) until it was filled to the brim. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) was the first who appeared before us, and he said: Do you (both) permit me to drink water out of it? We said: Yea, Allah's Messenger. He led his camel to drink water and it drank. He then pulled its rein and it stretched its legs and began to urinate. He then took it aside and made it kneel down at another place and then came to the tank and performed ablution. I then got up and performed ablution like the ablution of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and Jabbar b. Sakhr went in order to relieve himself and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) got up to observe prayer and there was a mantle over me. I tried to invert its ends but it was too short (to cover my body easily). It had its borders. I then inverted it (the mantle) and drew its opposite ends and then tied them at my neck. I then came and stood upon the left side of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). He caught hold of me and made me go round behind him, until he made me stand on his right side. Then Jabbar b. Sakhr came. He performed ablution and then came and stood on the left side of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). Then Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) caught hold of our hands together, pushed us back and made us stand behind him. Then Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) began to look upon me with darting looks, but I did not perceive that. After that I became aware of it and he pointed with the gesture of his hand that I should wrap my loin-cloth. When Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had finished the prayer, he said: Jabir! I said: Allah's Messenger, at thy beck and call. He said: When the cloth around you is inadequate, then tie the opposite ends but when it is small, tie it over the lower body. Jabir reported: We set out on an expedition with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and the only means of sustenance for every person amongst us was only one date for a day and we used to chew it. And we struck the leaves with the help of our bow and ate them until the sides of our mouths were injured. It so happened one day that a person was overlooked and not given a date. We carried that person and bore witness to the fact that he had not been given that date so he was offered that and he got up and received that. Jabir reported: We set out on an expedition along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) until we got down at a spacious valley and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) went to relieve himself. I followed him with a bucket full of water and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) looked about and he found no privacy but two trees at the end of the valley and Allah's Messenger (may. peace be upon him) went to one of them and took hold of one of its twigs and said: Be thou under my control by the permission of Allah, and so it came under his control like the camel who has its nosestring in the hand of its rider, and then he came to the second tree and took hold of a twig and said: Be thou under my control with the permission of Allah, and it came under his control, and when he came in the middle of the two trees he joined together the two twigs and said: join with the permission of Allah. Jabir said: I was afraid lest Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) should be aware of my nearness and go still farther. And Muhammad b. Abbad has used the word" faitab'd" and I began to talk to myself. And as I saw, I suddenly found Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) before me and the two trees were separated and each one of them was standing at its place. I saw Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) standing for a short time, nodding his head towards right and left. Isma'il pointed towards the right and left with the help of his head (in order to demonstrate how the Holy Prophet had pointed). Then he (the Holy Prophet) came to me and said: Jabir did you see my place where I was standing? I said: Allah's Messenger, yes. He then said: Then you should go to those two trees and cut a twig from each of them and go to that place with them where I was standing and stand there where I was standing and place a twig on the right and a twig on the left. Jabir said: I set out and took hold of a stone and broke it and sharpened it and then I came to those trees and cut a twig from each one of them. I then came dragging them until I stood at the place where Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had been standing and placed a twig on the right and a twig on the left. Then I met him and said: Allah's Messenger, I have done that, but (kindly) explain to me the reason for it. Thereupon he said: I passed by two graves the occupants of which had been undergoing torment. I liked to make intercession for them so that the might be relieved of this torment y as long as these twigs remain fresh. Jabir said: We came back to the (camp of the) army and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Jabir, call people for per- forming wudu. I cried: Come and perform wudu, come and perform wudu, come and perform wudu. I said: Allah's Messenger, there is not even a drop of water in the army camp, and there. was a person who used to cool the water for Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) in the old water-skin which kept hanging by the twig. He asked me to go to such and such Ansari and ask him to see if there was any water in that skin. I went to him and cast a glance in it but did not find anything but a drop in the mouth of that water-skin and if I were to draw that, the water-skin's,. dried part would suck it up. I came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Allah's Messenger, I have not found anything in it but a drop of water in the mouth of the water-skin and now if I were to draw that, it would be absorbed. He said: Go and bring that to me. I brought that to him. He took hold of it -and began to utter something which I could not understand and then pressed it with his hand and gave that to me and said: Jabir, announce for the tub to be brought. So I announced that the tub of the army (be brought). It was brought accordingly and I placed it before him (the Holy Prophet). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) placed his hands in the tub like this: with his fingers stretched out, and then he placed his fingers at the bottom of the tub and said: Jabir, take it (that waters-skin) and pour water over me, by reciting Bismillah, and I poured water and I said: Bismillah, and found water sprouting out between the fingers of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). Then that tub gushed forth until it was filled up and the Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Jabir, make an announcement to the effect: He who needs water should take that. Jabir said: The people came and got water until they were all satiated. I said: Is there anyone left who wants to get it? And Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) then lifted up his hand from that tub and it was still full. Then the people made a complaint to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) about hunger and he said: May Allah provide you food! We came to the bank of the ocean and the ocean was tossing and it threw out a big animal and we lit fire and cooked it and took it until we had eaten to our heart's content. Jabir said: I and such and such five persons entered Its socket and nobody could see us until we had come out, and we took hold of one of its ribs and twisted it into a sort of arch, then we called the tallest of the persons of the army and the hugest of the camels of the army and it had the big saddle over it, and it could easily pass through it without the rider having need to bend down.

The first to speak on Divine decree in al-Basrah was Ma`bad al Juhani. I and Humaid b. `Abd al-Rahman al-Himyari proceeded to perform Hajj or `Umrah. We said : would that we meet any of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (saws) so that we could ask him about what they say with regard to divine decree. So Allah helped us to meet `Abd Allah b. `Umar who was entering the mosque. So I and my companion surrounded him, and I thought that my companion would entrust me the task of speaking to him. Then I said : Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman, there appeared on our side some people who recite the Qur'an and are engaged in the hair-splitting of knowledge. They conceive that there is no Divine decree and everything happens freely without predestination. He said : When you meet those people, tell them that I am free from them, and they are free from me. By Him by Whom swears ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar, if one of them has gold equivalent to Uhud and he spends it, Allah will not accept it from him until he believes in Divine decree. He then said : ‘Umar b. Khattab transmitted to me a tradition, saying : One day when we were with the Messenger of Allah (saws) a man with very white clothing and very black hair came up to us. No mark of travel was visible on him, and we did not recognize him. Sitting down beside the Messenger of Allah (saws), leaning his knees against his and placing his hands on his thighs, he said : tell me, Muhammad, about Islam. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said : Islam means that you should testify that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah’s Apostle, that you should observe prayer, pay Zakat, fast during Ramadan, and perform Hajj to the house (i.e., Ka`bah), If you have the means to go. He said : You have spoken the truth. We were surprised at his questioning him and then declaring that he spoke the truth. He said : Now tell me about faith. He replied : It means that you should believe in Allah, his angels, his Books, his Apostles and the last day, and that you should believe in the decreeing both of good and evil. He said : You have spoken the truth. He said : now tell me about doing good (ihsan). He replied: It means that you should worship Allah as though you are seeing him; if you are not seeing him, he is seeing you. He said: Now tell me about the hour. He replied : The one who is asked about it is no better informed than the one who is asking. He said : Then tell me about its signs. He replied : That a maidservant should beget her mistress, and that you should see barefooted, naked, poor men and shepherds exalting themselves in buildings. ‘Umar said : He then went away, and I waited for three days, then he said : Do you know who the questioner was, `Umar? I replied : Allah and his Apostle know best. He said : He was Gabriel who came to you to teach you your religion.

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (saw) stayed in Makkah for fifteen nights during the year of the Conquest, (during which time) he shortened his prayer.

"The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: 'If one of you (women) wants to attend 'Isha' (prayer). Let her not touch any perfume.'"

"Allah's Messenger cursed three people: A man who leads people (in Salat) while they dislike him, a woman who spends a night while her husband is angry with her, and a man who hears: 'Hayya Alal Falah (come to success)' then does not respond."

Anas told that on the night when the Prophet was taken up to heaven al-Buraq was brought to him bridled and saddled, but it proved refractory, so Gabriel said to it, "Is it to Muhammad you are doing this? No one more honourable in God's sight than he has mounted you." It then poured with sweat. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.

The Prophet (saws) went out at night and found AbuBakr praying in a low voice, and he passed Umar ibn al-Khattab who was raising his voice while praying.

When they both met the Prophet (saws) together, the Prophet (saws) said: I passed by you, AbuBakr, when you were praying in a low voice. He replied: I made Him hear with Whom I was holding intimate converse, Messenger of Allah. He (the Prophet) said to Umar: I passed by you when you were praying in a loud voice. He replied: Messenger of Allah, I was awakening the drowsy and driving away the Devil.

Al-Hasan added in his version: The Prophet (saws) said: Raise your voice a little, AbuBakr, and he said to Umar: Lower your voice a little.

"The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: 'Do not let the Bedouin make you change the name of this prayer of yours, for they delay the prayer until it is very dark because of their preoccupation with camels and milking them. Verily, it is 'Isha'.'"

I heard Rufai` Abul-`Aliyah narrate from Ibn ‘Abbas: A man told me - Shu’bah said: I think he said: one of the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) - The most admired of therm to me is Umar bin al Khattab (رضي الله عنه): The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade praying at two times: after `Asr until the sun sets and after Fajr until the sun rises.

when I was spending a night in the house of my maternal aunt Maimunah, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) got up at night, opened the mouth of the water skin and performed ablution. He then closed the mouth of the water-skin and stood for prayer. Then I got up and performed ablution as he did ; then I came and stood on his left side. He took my hand, turned me round behind his back and set me on his right side; and I prayed along with him.

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to perform eleven Rak'ah (of Tahajjud) prayers at night. He (PBUH) would prostrate so long as one of you might recite fifty Ayat (of the Qur'an). Thereafter, he would perform two Rak'ah before Fajr prayers and would lie down on his right side till the Mu'adhdhin would come and inform him about the time of (Fajr) prayer.

[Al-Bukhari].

Ask ’Ali (رضي الله عنه) about that, for he used to go out on campaign with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). So he asked him and he said: `For the traveller, three days and nights; for one who is not travelling, one day and night.` It was said to Muhammad: Did he attribute it to the Prophet (ﷺ)” He said: He thought that it was marfoo` [attributed to the Prophet (ﷺ)] but he was afraid to say so.

“I met Abu Salamah bin ‘Abdur-Rahman and said: ‘Tell me a Hadith that you heard from your father, in which mention is made of the month of Ramadan.’ He said: ‘Yes, my father narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah (saw) mentioned the month of Ramadan and said: “A month which Allah has enjoined upon you to fast, and in which I have established Qiyam (prayers at night) as Sunnah for you. So whoever fasts it and spends its nights in prayer out of faith and in hope of reward; he will emerge from his sins as on the day his mother bore him.”

a runaway slave till he returns, a woman with whom her husband is displeased throughout the night, and an imam whose people do not like him.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, and said this is a gharib tradition.

a man when he gets up at night and prays, a company when they draw up in rows in prayer, and a company when they draw up in ranks to fight the enemy." [Baghawi] transmitted it in Sharh as-sunna.

“When the Messenger of Allah (saw) prayed Tahajjud at night, he would say: “Allahumma lakal-hamd, Anta nurus-samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Wa lakal-hamd, Anta qayyamus-samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Wa lakal-hamd, Anta malikus- samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Wa lakal-hamd, Antal-haqq, wa wa`duka haqq, wa liqa’uka haqq, wa qawluka haqq, wal-jannatu haqq, wan-naru haqq, was-sa`atu haqq, wan-nabiyyuna haqq, wa Muhammadun haqq. Allahumma laka aslamtu, wa bika amantu, wa `alaika tawakkaltu wa ilaika anabtu, wa bika khasamtu, wa ilaika hakamtu, faghfirli ma qaddamtu wa ma akhkhartu, wa ma asrartu wa ma a`lantu. Antal-muqaddimu wa Antal-muakhkhiru. La ilaha illa anta wa la ilaha ghairuka, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa bika (O Allah, to you is praise, You are the Light of the heavens and the earth, and everyone therein. To You is praise, You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth, and everyone therein. To You is praise, You are the Sovereign of the heavens and the earth, and everyone therein. To You is praise, You are the Truth; Your promise is true, the meeting with You is true, Your saying is true, Paradise is true, the Fire is true, the Hour is true, the Prophets are true, and Muhammad (saws) is true. O Allah, to You have I submitted, in You I believe, in You have I put my trust, to You I turn in repentance, by Your help I argue, to You I refer my case, so forgive me for my past and future sins, what I have done in secret and what I have done openly. You are the One Who brings forward and puts back. None has the right to be worshipped but You, and there is none who has the right to be worshipped other than You. And there is no power and no strength except with You.”
Another chain that Ibn `Abbas narrated: “When the Messenger of Allah (saws) stood during the night for Tahajjud,” and he mentioned something similar.

'Aishah said: "The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) never entered upon me after 'Asr but he prayed them (the two Rak'ahs)."

"I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say on the Minbar: 'Do not let the Bedouin make you change the name of your prayer; verily, it is 'Isha'.'"

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Talhafrom Uthman ibn Abd ar-Rahman that his father related to him that he had heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab used to wash what was beneath his waist wrapper with water.

Yahya said that Malik was asked what a man should do if, when he did wudu, he forgot and washed his face before he had rinsed his mouth, or washed his forearms before he had washed his face. He said, "If someone washes his face before rinsing his mouth, he should rinse his mouth and not wash his face again. If someone washes his forearms before his face, however, he should wash his forearms again so that he has washed them after his face. This is if he is still near the place (of wudu)."

Yahya said that Malik was asked about what a man should do if he had forgotten to rinse his mouth and nose until he had prayed, and he said, "He does not have to repeat the prayer, but should rinse his mouth and nose if he wishes to do any more prayers after that."

37, 45, 47, 48, 50, 61, 67, 87, and 93. The name is most appropriately explained ay meaning that this is the section of the Qur’an which contains many shorter suras. 2. Al-Qur’an; 94. As this is included as one of the suras in al Mufassal, it suggests that this section begins earlier than the first number mentioned in the note referred to above. 3. Al-Qur'an; 78. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Anas reported God's messenger as saying, "God who is great and glorious has promised me that four hundred thousand of my people will enter paradise without being taken to account." Abu Bakr asked God's messenger to tell them more, and he replied that God did thus, taking up two handfuls and joining his hands together. Abu Bakr asked him to tell them more, and he did the same again. `Umar then said, "Let the matter alone, Abu Bakr," to which Abu Bakr replied, "What harm would it do you if God were to bring us all into paradise?" `Umar said, "If God who is great and glorious wishes to bring all His creatures into paradise simultaneously, He can do so," and the Prophet said, "`Umar has spoken the truth." It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

“I was with the Messenger of Allah (saw) on a journey. One morning I drew close to him when we were on the move and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an action that will gain me admittance to Paradise and keep me far away from Hell.’ He said: ‘You have asked for something great, but it is easy for the one for whom Allah makes it easy. Worship Allah and do not associate anything in worship with Him, establish prayer, pay charity, fast Ramadan, and perform Hajj to the House.’ Then he said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the means of goodness? Fasting is a shield, and charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire, and a man’s prayer in the middle of the night.’ Then he recited: “Their sides forsake their beds” until he reached: “As a reward for what they used to do.”[32:16-17] Then he said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the head of the matter, and its pillar and pinnacle? (It is) Jihad.’ Then he said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the basis of all that?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He took hold of his tongue then said: ‘Restrain this.’ I said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, will we be brought to account for what we say?’ He said: ‘May your mother not found you, O Mu’adh! Are people thrown onto their faces in Hell for anything other than the harvest of their tongues?’”

"A grandmother came to Abu Bakr to ask him about her inheritance. He said to her, 'There is noting for you in the Book of Allah and there is nothing for you in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah(S.A.W). So ,return until I ask the people. So he asked the people and Al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah said: 'I was present when the Messenger of Allah(S.A.W) gave her (case) a sixth.' So he said: 'Was anyone else with you?' Muhammad bin Maslamah stood to say the same as what Al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah said. So Abu Bakr implemented that for her." Then the other grandmother came to 'Umar bin Al-Khattab to ask him about her inheritance. He said: 'There is nothing in the Book of Allah for you, but there is that sixth. So if the two of you are together then it is for both of you, and whichever of you remains), then it is for her.'"

AbdulMuttalib ibn Rabi'ah ibn al-Harith said that his father, Rabi'ah ibn al-Harith, and Abbas ibn al-Muttalib said to AbdulMuttalib ibn Rabi'ah and al-Fadl ibn Abbas: Go to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and tell him: Messenger of Allah, we are now of age as you see, and we wish to marry. Messenger of Allah, you are the kindest of the people and the most skilled in matchmaking. Our fathers have nothing with which to pay our dower. So appoint us collector of sadaqah (zakat), Messenger of Allah, and we shall give you what the other collectors give you, and we shall have the benefit accruing from it. Ali came to us while we were in this condition.

He said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: No, I swear by Allah, he will not appoint any of you collector of sadaqah (zakat).

Rabi'ah said to him: This is your condition; you have gained your relationship with the Messenger of Allah (saws) by marriage, but we did not grudge you that. Ali then put his cloak on the earth and lay on it.

He then said: I am the father of Hasan, the chief. I swear by Allah, I shall not leave this place until your sons come with a reply (to the question) for which you have sent them to the Prophet (saws).

AbdulMuttalib said: So I and al-Fadl went towards the door of the apartment of the Prophet (saws). We found that the noon prayer in congregation had already started. So we prayed along with the people. I and al-Fadl then hastened towards the door of the apartment of the Prophet (saws). He was (staying) with Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh, that day. We stood until the Messenger of Allah (saws) came. He caught my ear and the ear of al-Fadl.

He then said: Reveal what you conceal in your hearts. He then entered and permitted me and al-Fadl (to enter). So we entered and for a little while we asked each other to talk. I then talked to him, or al-Fadl talked to him (the narrator, Abdullah was not sure).

He said: He spoke to him concerning the matter about which our fathers ordered us to ask him. The Messenger of Allah (saws) remained silent for a moment and raised his eyes towards the ceiling of the room. He took so long that we thought he would not give any reply to us. Meanwhile we saw that Zaynab was signalling to us with her hand from behind the veil, asking us not to be in a hurry, and that the Messenger of Allah (saws) was (thinking) about our matter.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then lowered his head and said to us: This sadaqah (zakat) is a dirt of the people. It is legal neither for Muhammad nor for the family of Muhammad. Call Nawfal ibn al-Harith to me. So Nawfal ibn al-Harith was called to him.

He said: Nawfal, marry AbdulMuttalib (to your daughter). So Nawfal married me (to his daughter).

The Prophet (saws) then said: Call Mahmiyyah ibn Jaz'i to me. He was a man of Banu Zubayd, whom the Messenger of Allah (saws) had appointed collector of the fifths.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to Mahmiyyah: Marry al-Fadl (to your daughter). So he married him to her. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Stand up and pay the dower from the fifth so-and-so on their behalf. Abdullah ibn al-Harith did not name it (i.e. the amount of the dower).

We used to prepare for the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) a Miswak (tooth-stick) and the water for making Wudu'. Whenever Allah wished to awaken him from sleep at night, he (PBUH) would brush his teeth with Miswak, make Wudu', and perform Salat.

[Muslim].

"There shall be upon dunes of musk- I think he said: On the Day of Judgment- a slave who fulfills Allah's right and the right of his patron (master), a man who leads a people (in prayer)) and they are pleased with him. And a man who calls for the five prayers during every day and night."

"Imran bin Husain said to me; 'The Messenger of Allah performed 'Umrah and Hajj together, and we performed 'Umrah and Hajj together with him, and whoever says anything different, that is his own personal opinion.

"My father got me married to a woman and he came to visit her and said: 'What do you think of your husband?' She said: 'What a wonderful man he is. He does not sleep at night and he does not break his fast during the day.' He got upset with me and said: 'I got you married to a woman from among the Muslims and you have neglected her.' I did not pay attention to what he said because of my energy and love of worship. News of that reached the Prophet and he said: 'But I stand (in prayer) and I sleep, I fast and I break my fast. So stand (in prayer) and sleep, fast and break your fast.' He said: 'Fast three days of every month.' I said: 'I am able to do more than that.' He said: 'O bserve the fast of Dawud, peace be upon him: fast one day and break your fast one day.' I said: 'I am able to do more than that.' He said: 'Read the Quran (once) every month.' Then it ended up being every fifteen days, and I still said: 'I am able to do more than that."' 'Ata said: "someone who heard him told me that Ibn 'Umar (said) that the Prophet said: 'Whoever fasts every day of his life, then he has not fasted."

“If anyone resorts to a diviner (arraf) and asks him about anything prayer will not be accepted from him for forty days.”* Muslim transmitted it. * Literally, Nights.

“The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘Whoever fasts Ramadan and spends its nights in prayer, out of faith and in hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.’”

Zaid b. Thabit said that God’s Messenger made an apartment of reed mats in the mosque and prayed in it for some nights until people gathered round him. One night when they missed his voice and thought he had gone to sleep, some of them began to clear their throats in order that he might come out to them, so he said, “What I have seen you doing has continued to be your practice, so that I have been afraid that it might be prescribed for you, and if it were prescribed for you you would not fulfil it. You people should therefore pray in your houses, for, with the exception of the prescribed prayer, the most excellent prayer a man observes is that which he observes in his house.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu 'Abd al-Rahman, how do you recite this word (alif) or (ya)? Would you read It as: min ma'in ghaira asin or au min ma'in ghaira ghaira yasin. (al-Qur'an, xlvii. 15)? 'Abdullah said: You (seem to) have memorised the whole of the Qur'an except this. He (again) said: I recite all the mufassal surahs in one rak'ah. Upon this 'Abdullah said: (You must have been reciting It) hastily like the recitation of poetry. Verily. there are people who recite the Qur'an, but it does not go down beyond their collar bones. It is (a fact with the Qur'an) that it is beneficial only when it settles in the heart and is rooted deeply in it. The best of (the acts) in prayer are bowing and prostration. I am quite aware of the occasions when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) combined together two surahs in every rak'ah. 'Abdullah then stood up and went out with 'Alqama following in his footstep. He said Ibn Numair had told him that the narration was like that:" A person belonging to Banu Bajila came to 'Abdullah," and he did not mention (the name of) Nahik b. Sinan.

I said to Ubayy b. Ka'b: Tell me about lailat al-qadr, O Abu al-Mundhir, for our companion (Ibn Mas'ud) was questioned about it, and he said: Anyone who gets up for prayer every night all the year round will hit upon it (i.e. lailat al-qadr). He replied: May Allah have mercy on Abu 'Abd al-Rahman. By Allah, he knew that it was in Ramadan, (Musaddad's version goes) but he disliked that the people should content themselves (with that night alone); or he liked that the people should not content themselves (with the night alone). According to the agreed version: By Allah, it is the twenty-seventh night of Ramadan, without any reservation. I said: How did you know that, Abu al-Mundhir? He replied: By the indication (or sign) of which the Messenger of Allah (saws) informed us. I asked Zirr: What is the sign ? He replied: The sun rises like a vessel of water in the morning following that night; it has no rays until it rises high up.

“Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to perform eleven cycles of ritual prayer during the night, making one of them odd-numbered [witr], and when he had finished, he would recline on his right side.”

I asked 'Aishah: When would the Messenger of Allah (saws) observe the witr prayer ? She replied: Any time he observed the witr, sometimes in the early hours of the night, sometimes at midnight and sometimes towards the end of it. But he used to observe the witr just before the dawn when he died.

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If a Muslim man persists in two actions, he will enter the Garden. They are easy, but those who do them are few.' He was asked, 'What are they, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?' He said, 'That you say "Allahu akbar" ten times, "al-hamdu lillah" ten times, and "Subhana'llah" ten times after every prayer. That is 150 on the tongue and 1500 in the balance.' I saw the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, counting them with his hand. Then he said, 'When you go to bed, you should say, "Subhana'llah", "al-hamdu lillah", and "Allahu akbar". That is 100 on the tongue and 1000 in the balance. Who among you can do 2500 bad actions morning and night?' He was asked, 'Messenger of Allah, how is it that they are not counted?' He said, 'Shaytan comes to one of you while he is praying and reminds him of something he has to do such-and-such and such-and-such, so he does not remember to do it.'"

The sun eclipsed during the lifetime of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) ; so he felt perturbed and he, by mistake, took hold of the outer garment of a woman till he was given his own cloak. After this I satisfied my need and then came and entered the mosque. I saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) standing in prayer. I stood along with him. He prolonged his qiyam till I wished to sit down. Then I cast a glance towards an old woman. So I said: She is older than I. I, therefore, kept standing. He (the Holy Prophet) then observed ruku', and prolonged his ruku'. He then raised his head. He then prolonged his qiyam to such an extent that if a person happened to come he would have thought that he had not observed the ruku'.

Our Lord (glorified and exalted be He) descends each night to the earth's sky when there remains the final third of the night, and He says: Who is saying a prayer to Me that I may answer it? Who is asking something of Me that I may give it him? Who is asking forgiveness of Me that I may forgive him? It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud). In a version by Muslim the Hadith ends with the words: And thus He continues till [the light of] dawn shines.