Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I performed the night prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When he entered the prayer, he recited this supplication: "Allah is the Greatest, Owner of the Dominion, Power, Majesty, and Greatness." Then he recited Surah Al-Baqarah, after which he bowed (ruku‘), and his bowing was as long as his standing. In ruku‘, he kept saying: "Glory be to my Lord, the Magnificent." Then he raised his head, and his standing after ruku‘ was equal to his bowing. In this standing, he kept saying: "For my Lord is all praise, for my Lord is all praise." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prostrated, and his prostration was as long as his standing. In prostration, he kept saying: "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High, Glory be to my Lord, the Most High." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head and sat in the sitting position, and this sitting was equal to his prostration. In this sitting, he kept saying: "My Lord, forgive me, my Lord, forgive me." In this prayer, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited Surah Al-Baqarah, Surah Aal-e-Imran, Surah An-Nisa, and Surah Al-Ma'idah or Surah Al-An'am. Regarding the last two surahs, the narrator of the hadith, Imam Shu'bah, was in doubt.

(Second chain) Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: One night I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) so that I could pray with him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) began the recitation; his recitation was neither too slow nor too loud. He (peace and blessings be upon him) was reciting with pauses and making us listen. Then when he (peace and blessings be upon him) bowed (for ruku‘), his ruku‘ was equal in length to his standing (qiyam), ... , after this, a hadith similar to the first hadith was narrated. ‘Abd al-Malik bin ‘Umayr said: This was the night voluntary prayer (tahajjud).

(Third chain) I spent a night in prayer with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He recited seven long surahs in seven rak‘ahs. When he would raise his head from bowing (ruku‘), he would say: “Sami‘a Allahu liman hamidah,” and then recite: “Alhamdu lillahi dhi’l-malakuti wa’l-jabaruti wa’l-kibriya’i wa’l-‘azamah.” His bowing was equal in length to his standing, and his prostration was equal in length to his bowing. When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, finished, it felt as if my legs were broken.

Rabi’ah Jurashi says: I asked Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say when he stood for prayer at night and with what he used to begin the prayer. She said: He would say ten times: ALLAHU AKBAR, ten times: SUBHANALLAH, ten times: LA ILAHA ILLALLAH, and ten times: ASTAGHFIRULLAH, ten times: ALLAHUMMAGHFIR LI WAHDINI WARZUQNI, and ten times: ALLAHUMMA INNI A’UDHU BIKA MINAD-DAYYIQI YAWMAL-HISAB.

Abu Salamah bin Abdur Rahman says: I asked Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer at night, with which supplication would he begin the prayer?" She said: When he (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand, he would say Allahu Akbar and recite this supplication: "O Allah! Lord of Jibreel, Mika'il, and Israfil, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen, You judge between Your servants concerning that in which they differ. Guide me, by Your permission, to the truth concerning that in which they differ. Surely, You guide whom You will to a straight path." (O Allah! O Lord of Jibreel, Mika'il, and Israfil! Creator of the heavens and the earth! Knower of the unseen and the seen! You alone judge between Your servants regarding that in which they differ. Guide me, by Your command, to the truth concerning that in which there is disagreement. Surely, You guide whom You will to the straight path.)

Yahya says: Sayyiduna Abu Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer at night, he would say: "O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the accursed devil, from his madness, arrogance, and poetry." Furthermore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: "Seek refuge with Allah from the accursed devil's madness (hamz), arrogance (nafh), and poetry (nafth)." The people asked: "O Messenger of Allah! What is meant by his hamz, nafh, and nafth?" He replied: "Hamz refers to epilepsy that afflicts people, nafh refers to arrogance, and nafth refers to poetry."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer at night, he would recite this supplication: O Allah! All praise is for You, You are the Light of the heavens and the earth, and all praise is for You. You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth, and all praise is for You. You are the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them. You are the Truth, Your word is the truth, Your promise is the truth, meeting You is the truth, Paradise is the truth, Hell is the truth, and the Hour is the truth. O Allah! I have submitted to You, I have believed in You, I have placed my trust in You, I have turned to You, by Your help I have argued, and to You I have referred for judgment. So forgive me for what I have sent forth and what I have delayed, what I have done secretly and what I have done openly. You are the One, there is no deity except You. (O Allah! All praise is for You, You are the Creator of the heavens and the earth, all praise is for You alone, You are the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, You are the Truth, Your word is the truth, Your promise is the truth, meeting You is the truth, Paradise is the truth, Hell is the truth, and the Resurrection is the truth. O Allah, I have submitted to You, I have believed in You, I have placed my trust in You, I have turned to You, by Your help I have argued, and to You I have brought my case for judgment. So forgive me my sins, those I committed earlier and those I committed later, those I committed secretly and those I committed openly. There is no deity worthy of worship except You.)

It is narrated from a Companion (may Allah be pleased with him) that he saw the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) praying, and during the prayer he was supplicating: "O Allah! Forgive my sin, and expand my house for me, and bless for me in what You have provided me."

Abdullah bin Abi Qais says: I asked Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would sleep in a state of major ritual impurity (janabah)? Would he perform ghusl before sleeping? She said: He would sometimes perform ghusl and then sleep, and sometimes he would perform wudu and then sleep. I then asked her: How was the recitation of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at night? Would he recite in a loud voice or in a low voice? She said: He would do both; sometimes he would recite in a loud voice and sometimes in a low voice.

Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) became old and heavy, he would recite (the Qur'an) sitting as much as Allah willed, and when thirty or forty verses of the surah remained, he would stand up, recite them, and then perform sajdah (prostration).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: When any one of you stands for prayer at night, but (due to the dominance of sleep) the Qur'an becomes difficult on his tongue and he does not even understand what he is reciting, then he should lie down.