Mukhtasar Muslim

It is narrated from Zurara that Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Hisham bin ‘Amir intended to strive in the way of Allah, came to Madinah, and wanted to sell his land and gardens in Madinah so that he could buy weapons and horses with that money and fight the Christians until death. When he came to Madinah and met the people of Madinah, they forbade him (i.e., they told him that he should not completely abandon worldly affairs and human necessities), and informed him that during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), six men had intended to do this, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade them and said, “Is my way not better for you?” When the people said this to him, he took back his wife, whom he had divorced, in the presence of witnesses. Then he went to Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and asked him about the Witr prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said, “Shall I not tell you of a person who knows better than all the people of the earth about the Witr prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?” He asked, “Who is that?” Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said, “It is Umm al-Mu’minin ‘A’ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her), so go to her, ask her, and then come and inform me of her answer.” Then I (Sa’d bin Hisham) left him and went to Hakim bin Aflah and asked him to take me to Umm al-Mu’minin ‘A’ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her). He said, “I do not go to her because I forbade her from speaking about those two groups (i.e., the internal conflicts among the Companions), but she did not listen and went ahead.” (Sa’d bin Hisham) said, “I made Hakim swear an oath, so he agreed, and we both went to Umm al-Mu’minin ‘A’ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) and informed her, so she gave us permission, and we presented ourselves before her.” Then she said, “Is this Hakim?” He said, “Yes.” Thus, Umm al-Mu’minin ‘A’ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) recognized him (i.e., by his voice, etc., from behind the veil). Then she asked, “Who is with you?” Sayyiduna Hakim said, “Sa’d bin Hisham is with me.” She asked, “Which Hisham?” Hakim said, “The son of ‘Amir.” Then she prayed for mercy upon him, and Qatadah said that he was martyred in the Battle of Uhud. Then I said, “O Umm al-Mu’minin! Tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” She said, “Have you not read the Qur’an?” I (Sa’d) said, “Why not?” She said, “The character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the Qur’an.” She said, “Then I intended to leave and decided not to ask about anything else until death. Then I thought and said, ‘Tell me about the night rising (and prayer) of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).’” Umm al-Mu’minin ‘A’ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “Have you not read ‘O you who wraps himself [in a garment]’ (Surah al-Muzzammil)?” I said, “Why not?” She said, “At the beginning of this Surah, Allah made standing in prayer at night obligatory. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions continued to pray at night, and Allah withheld the conclusion (last verses) of this Surah in the heavens for twelve months, until Allah revealed the end of this Surah and granted ease (i.e., the obligation of Tahajjud was lifted and it remained Sunnah). Then after the obligation of night prayer (Tahajjud), it became a matter of happiness (i.e., it became voluntary).” Then I said, “O Umm al-Mu’minin! Tell me about the Witr prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as well.” She said, “We used to prepare the miswak and water for ablution for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah would awaken him at night whenever He wished. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would use the miswak and perform ablution, then pray nine rak‘ahs. He would not sit except after the eighth rak‘ah, and he would remember Allah, praise Him, and supplicate (i.e., recite the tashahhud), then he would not say salam but stand up and pray the ninth rak‘ah, then sit, remember Allah, praise Him, and supplicate, and then say salam in such a way that we could hear it (so that those sleeping would wake up). Then after salam, he would pray two rak‘ahs while sitting; thus, these were eleven rak‘ahs. O my son! Then when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) grew older and his body became heavier, he started praying seven rak‘ahs of Witr, and he would pray the rak‘ahs as he did before. Thus, these were nine rak‘ahs. O my son (i.e., seven Witr and Tahajjud and two rak‘ahs after Witr). And it was the habit of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that whenever he prayed any prayer, he would be consistent in it, and when sleep or pain overcame him so that he could not get up at night, he would pray twelve rak‘ahs during the day (i.e., he would not pray Witr; from this it is proven that there is no qada for Witr). And I do not know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ever recited the entire Qur’an in one night (from this, completing the Qur’an in one night is proven to be an innovation), nor do I know that he ever prayed the whole night until morning (i.e., without sleeping or resting at all), nor that he fasted an entire month except Ramadan.” Then I went to Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and narrated this entire hadith to him, so he said, “Indeed, Umm al-Mu’minin ‘A’ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) has spoken the truth.” And he said, “If I had been with her or had gone to her, I would have heard this hadith directly.” Sa’d said, “If I had known that you do not go to her, I would never have told you her words.”