Fath al-Rabbani

Zurarah bin Aufi narrates from Sa’d bin Hisham that he went to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him questions regarding Witr. He replied: “Shall I not tell you who on the face of the earth has the most knowledge about the Witr of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?” Sa’d said: “Yes, please tell me.” Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Go to Umm al-Mu’minin, Sayyidah Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her), and ask her. Then come back and inform me of her answer.” Ibn Hisham says: Upon hearing this, I went to Hakim bin Aflah and wanted to take him with me to Umm al-Mu’minin’s house, but he said: “I will not go to her. I had forbidden her from speaking about anything regarding the two groups (the Battle of Jamal between Sayyiduna Ali and Sayyiduna Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with them), but she did not listen to me; rather, she herself got involved in politics.” Ibn Hisham says: But when I made him swear, he went with me. We went to her. She recognized Hakim and asked: “Are you Hakim?” He said: “Yes.” She asked: “Who is with you?” Hakim replied: “This is Sa’d bin Hisham.” She asked: “Hisham who?” Hakim said: “The son of Amir.” She prayed for mercy for Amir and said: “Amir was a very good man.” I (Hakim) said: “O Umm al-Mu’minin! Please inform me about the character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” She said: “Do you not read the Qur’an?” I said: “Yes.” She said: “The Qur’an is the character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” Hearing this, I was about to get up when I remembered about the night prayer (Qiyam al-Layl) of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: “O Umm al-Mu’minin! Please inform me about the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” She said: “Do you not read Surah al-Muzzammil?” I said: “Yes, I do.” She said: “Allah Almighty made the night prayer obligatory in the beginning of this Surah. After that, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions stood in prayer for such long periods for a year that their feet would swell. Then Allah Almighty kept the last part of this Surah suspended in the heavens for twelve months. Then Allah Almighty revealed the concession at the end of this Surah. The night prayer, which was previously obligatory upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), after that became voluntary for him.” After this, when I again intended to get up, I remembered to ask about the Witr prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: “O Umm al-Mu’minin! Please also inform me about the Witr prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” She said: “We used to prepare the miswak and water for ablution for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Whenever Allah willed, He would awaken him at any part of the night. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would use the miswak, then perform ablution, then pray eight rak’ahs continuously in such a way that he would sit in the eighth (for tashahhud), remember Allah, supplicate, and seek forgiveness, but would not say salam. Then he would stand and perform the ninth rak’ah. Then, sitting (in the final tashahhud), he would praise Allah, remember Him, and supplicate. Then he would say salam in such a moderate voice that we could hear it. After that, he would perform two rak’ahs while sitting. Son! In this way, there would be a total of eleven rak’ahs. But when his weight increased (and he became older), he would perform seven Witr and after salam, perform two rak’ahs while sitting. Son! In this way, they became nine rak’ahs. And it was the practice of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that whenever he performed a prayer at any time, he would continue to perform it at that time. And if, due to sleep, illness, or any other reason, he could not perform the night prayer, he would perform twelve rak’ahs during the day. To my knowledge, there is no incident where the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the entire Qur’an in one night or stood in prayer until morning. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) never fasted an entire month continuously except in Ramadan.” I went to Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and narrated to him the hadith of Umm al-Mu’minin (may Allah be pleased with her). He said: “She has stated absolutely correctly. If I had gone to her, I would have presented myself in her service so that she could narrate directly to me.”