Fath al-Rabbani

Zararah bin Aufi says: I asked Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: He would perform the Isha prayer, then after that he would pray two rak’ahs and go to sleep. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would wake up at night, he would have covered water for ablution and a miswak placed near him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) would use the miswak, perform ablution, and offer eight rak’ahs. In every rak’ah, he would recite Surah Al-Fatihah and as much additional recitation as Allah willed. He (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform all these rak’ahs consecutively, and after the eighth, he would sit, recite the tashahhud, then without saying salam, he would stand for the ninth rak’ah, and after praying one rak’ah, he would sit for tashahhud, recite the tashahhud and supplications, then say salam with a single salam, raising his voice enough to wake us. Then, while sitting, he (peace and blessings be upon him) would say the takbir of starting prayer and begin recitation, and while sitting, he would perform two rak’ahs. This was the eleven rak’ah prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When his body became heavier and he gained weight, he performed seven rak’ahs instead of nine, also performing them consecutively, and would sit for tashahhud after six rak’ahs as before. Then, while sitting, he would perform two rak’ahs. After that, this remained his prayer until Allah, the Exalted, caused him (peace and blessings be upon him) to pass away.