Muslim

Ibn Abi Adi narrated from Sa'id (ibn Abi 'Arubah), who narrated from Qatadah, who narrated from Zurara that (Sa'd bin Hisham bin 'Amir, a close relative of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him) intended to fight (jihad) in the way of Allah. He came to Madinah Munawwarah and wanted to sell a property he owned there so that he could acquire weapons and horses and wage jihad against the Romans until death. When he arrived in Madinah, he met some people from among the people of Madinah, who stopped him from this intention and informed him that a group of six people had intended to do the same during the blessed life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had stopped them. He said: "Is there not an example for you in my way?" So when those people told him this, he returned to his wife, whom he had already divorced, and took witnesses for his return to her. Then he went to Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and asked him about the Witr (including Qiyam al-Layl) of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "Shall I not inform you of the person who knows the Witr of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) better than all the people on the face of the earth?" Sa'd said: "Who is that?" He said: "Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), go to her and ask, then come back to me and tell me her answer." (Sa'd said:) I set out towards her and first went to Hakim bin Aflah and asked him to come with me to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). He said: "I will not go to her because I had stopped her from saying anything about those two groups (who fought each other), but she did not accept anything except to continue in the same way regarding them." (Sa'd said:) I made him swear, so he came with me. We set out towards Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and sought permission to enter. She granted us permission and we entered her house (door). She said: "Is it Hakim?" She recognized him. He said: "Yes." She said: "Who is with you?" He said: "Sa'd bin Hisham." She asked: "Who is Hisham?" He said: "The son of 'Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) (bin Umayyah al-Ansari)." She prayed for mercy for him and spoke words of goodness. Qatadah said: He ('Amir, may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred in the Battle of Uhud. I said: "O Mother of the Believers! Tell me about the noble character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." She said: "Do you not recite the Qur'an?" I said: "Why not!" She said: "The character of the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the Qur'an itself (his life and conduct were a practical example of the Qur'an)." He said: "Upon this, I wished to get up (and leave) and never ask anyone anything until death, but suddenly it occurred to me, so I said: 'Tell me about the (night) standing of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).' She said: 'Do you not recite «يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ»?' I said: 'Why not!' She said: 'At the beginning of this Surah, Allah made standing at night obligatory, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions stood (in prayer) for a whole year, and Allah withheld the last verses of this Surah in the heavens for twelve months, until Allah revealed the command of lightening at the end of this Surah, so after standing at night was made obligatory, it became voluntary.' Sa'd said: 'I said: O Mother of the Believers! Tell me about the Witr 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 Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah would awaken him at night whenever He willed. He would use the miswak, perform ablution, and then pray nine rak'ahs, in which he would not sit except in the eighth rak'ah. Then he would remember Allah, praise Him, and supplicate, then stand up without saying salam, then stand and pray the ninth rak'ah, then sit, remember Allah, praise Him, and supplicate, then say salam, which we would hear. Then after salam, he would sit and pray two rak'ahs, so my son! These are eleven rak'ahs. Then when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) grew older and (his body) became heavier (his blessed body became heavy), he began to pray seven witr, and in the two rak'ahs he would do as he did before (praying them sitting), so my son! These are nine rak'ahs. And whenever the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed any prayer, he liked to remain constant upon it, and when sleep or illness overcame him and he could not stand at night, he would pray twelve rak'ahs during the day. I do not know that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ever recited the entire Qur'an in one night, nor did he ever pray until morning in any night, nor did he ever fast a whole month except in Ramadan.' (Sa'd said:) Then I went to Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and narrated to him her (Aisha's, may Allah be pleased with her) hadith, so he said: 'Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) has spoken the truth. If I were near her or used to go to her house, I would have gone to her so that she could narrate this hadith to me face to face.' (Sa'd said:) I said: 'If I had known that you do not visit her, I would not have narrated her hadith to you.' (This Sa'd was eventually martyred in the land of India.)

Zurara bin Aufa said that Sa'd bin Hisham divorced his wife, and then proceeded to Madinah to sell his property, and the rest of the hadith is the same.

Sa'd bin Hisham reported: I went to 'Abdullah bin '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.

Zurara bin Aufa reported that Sa'd bin Hisham was his neighbour and he informed him that he had divorced his wife and he narrated the hadith like the one transmitted by Sa'd. She ('A'isha) said: 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 (ﷺ) . Hakim bin 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).

'A'isha reported that when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) missed the night prayer due to pain or any other reason, he observed twelve rak'ahs during the daytime.

'A'isha reported that when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) decided upon doing any act, he continued to do it, and when he slept at night or fell sick he observed twelve rak'ahs during the daytime. I am not aware of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) observing prayer during the whole of the night till morning, or observing fast for a whole month continuously except that of Ramadan.

'Umar bin Khattab reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: 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.