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.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to pray while sitting (when he grew old) and he recited in this position and when the recitation equal to thirty or forty verses was left, he would then stand up and recite (for this duration) in a standing position and then bowed himself and then prostrated himself and did the same in the second rak'ah.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to recite in sitting position (while observing the Tahajjud prayer) and when he intended to bow, he would stand up and recite (for the duration in which) a man (ordinarily) recites forty verses.

I asked 'A'isha how the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) did in the two rak'ahs as he (observed them) sitting. She said: He would recite (the Qur'an) in them, and when he intended to bow, he would stand up 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.

I said to 'A'isha and she made a mention of that (recorded above) about the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him).

When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) grew bulky and heavy he would observe (most of his Nafl) prayers sitting.

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.

He observed thirteen rak'ahs (in the night prayer). He observed eight rak'ahs and would then observe Witr and then observe two rak'ahs sitting, and when he wanted to bow he stood up and then bowed down, and then observed two rak'ahs in between the Adhan and lqama of the dawn prayer.

O mother, inform me about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). She said: His (night prayer) in Ramadan and (during other months) was thirteen rak'ahs at night including two rak'ahs of fajr.

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

He (the Holy Prophet) loved (that action) which one keeps on doing regularly. I said (to 'A'isha): When did he pray (at night)? She replied: When he heard the cock crow, he got up and observed prayer.

Never did the earlier part of the dawn find the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) but sleeping in my house or near me.

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.

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

Who is Hisham? He said: The son of 'Amir. She said: What a fine man he was; he participated in the Battle of Uhud along with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). Hakim b. Aflah said: If I ever knew that you do not go to 'A'isha, I would not have informed you about her hadith (So that you would have gone to her and heard it from her orally).

Should anyone fall asleep and fail to recite his portion of the Qur'an, or a part of it, if he recites it between the dawn prayer and the noon prayer, it will be recorded for him as though he had recited it during the night.

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.

The prayer of the penitent should be observed when the young weaned camels feel 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.

It consists of pairs of rak'ahs, but if one fears morning is near, he should make it an odd number by praying one rak'ah.

A man stood up and said. Messenger of Allah, how is the night prayer? The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: The night prayer consists of pair, but if you apprehend the rise of dawn, make it odd number by observing one rak'ah.

A person asked the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) as I stood between him (the Holy Prophet) and the inquirer and he said: Messenger of Allah, how is the night prayer? He (the Holy Prophet) said: It consists of pairs of rak'ahs, but if you apprehend morning, you should pray one rak'ah and make the end of your prayer as Witr. Then a person asked him (the Holy Prophet) at the end of the year and I was at that place near the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) ; but I do not know whether he was the same person or another person, but he (the Holy Prophet) gave him the same reply.

" Then a person asked him at the end of the year," and what follows subsequently.

Hasten to pray Witr before morning.

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.