Musnad Ahmad

Jasrah bint Dajajah says that once she was going for Umrah. When she reached the place of Rabdhah, she heard Hazrat Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) saying that once the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) led the people in the Isha prayer. After the prayer, the noble companions (may Allah be pleased with them) stepped back and began to offer voluntary prayers. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), seeing this, returned to his tent. When he saw that the people had left, he came back to his place and began to offer voluntary prayers. I came from behind and stood behind the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gestured to me with his right hand, so I went and stood on his right side. After a little while, Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) also came and stood behind us. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gestured to him with his left hand, so he went and stood on the left side. In this way, the three of us stood in prayer, and each of us was offering his own prayer and reciting as much of the Holy Qur’an as Allah willed. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) kept repeating a single verse in his standing position until the time for Fajr prayer arrived. When morning came, I gestured to Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) to ask the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) about the action of the night, but he replied with a gesture of his hand that he would not ask the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) anything until he himself mentioned it. So, gathering courage, I myself said, “May my parents be sacrificed for you! You kept reciting a single verse of the Holy Qur’an all night, even though you have the entire Qur’an. If any one of us had done this, we would have been angry with him. If people find out, they will even stop praying.” I said, “Should I not give this glad tidings to the people?” The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Why not?” So I turned my neck and started to go, and had only gone as far as a stone could be thrown, when Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “If you send him with this message to the people, they will become heedless of worship.” Upon this, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) called him back, and he returned. And that verse was: (إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِنْ تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ) “O Allah! If You punish them, they are Your servants, and if You forgive them, then surely You are the Mighty, the Wise.”