'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray eleven rak'ahs at night, observing the Witr with a single rak'ah, and when he had finished them, he lay down on his right side, till the Mu'adhdhin came to him and he (the Holy Prophet) then observed two short rak'ahs (of Sunan of the dawn prayer).

'A'isha, the wife of the Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) , said that between the time when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished the 'Isha' prayer which is called 'Atama by the people, he used to pray eleven rak'ahs, uttering the salutation at the end of every two rak'ahs, and observing the Witr with a single one. And when the Mu'adhdhin had finished the call (for the) dawn prayer and he saw the dawn clearly and the Mu'adhdhin had come to him, he stood up and prayed two short rak'ahs. Then he lay down on his right side till the Mu'adhdhin came to him for lqama.

'A'isha reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to observe thirteen rak'ahs of the night prayer. Five out of them consisted of Witr, and he did not sit, but at the end (for salutation).

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray thirteen rak'ahs during the night including the two rak'ahs (Sunan) of the dawn prayer.

Abu Salama bin Abdul Rahman asked 'A'isha about the (night) prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) during the month of Ramadan. She said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not observe either in Ramadan or in other months more than eleven rak'ahs (of the night prayer). He (in the first instance) observed four rak'ahs. Ask not about their excellence and their length (i. e. these were matchless in perfection and length). He again observed four rak'ahs, and ask not about their excellence and their length. He would then observe three rak'ahs (of the Witr prayer). 'A'isha again said: I said: Messenger of Allah, do you sleep before observing the Witr prayer? He said: O 'A'isha, my eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep.

Abu Salama asked 'A'isha about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) She said: He observed thirteen rak'ahs (in the night prayer). He observed eight rak'ahs and would then observe Witr and then observe two rak'ahs sitting, and when he wanted to bow he stood up and then bowed down, and then observed two rak'ahs in between the Adhan and lqama of the dawn prayer.

Abu Salama reported that he asked 'A'isha about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) (may peace he upon him) (during the night). The rest of the hadith is the same but with this exception that he (the Holy Prophet) observed nine rak'ahs including Witr.

Abu Salama is reported to have said. I came to 'A'isha. I said: O mother, inform me about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) . She said: His (night prayer) in Ramadan and (during other months) was thirteen rak'ahs at night including two rak'ahs of Fajr.

It is reported on the authority of 'A'isha that the prayer of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in the night consisted of ten rak'ahs. He observed a Witr and two rak'ahs (of Sunan) of the dawn prayer, and thus the total comes to thirteen rak'ahs.

'A'isha thus reported about the (night prayer) of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) : He used to sleep in the early part of the night, and woke up in the latter part. If he then wished intercourse with his wife, he satisfied his desire, and then went to sleep; and when the first call to prayer was made he jumped up (by Allah, she, i. e. 'A'isha, did not say "he stood up" ), and poured water over him (by Allah she, i. e. 'A'isha, did not say that he took a bath but I know what she meant) and if he did not have an intercourse, he performed ablution, just as a man performs ablution for prayer and then observed two rak'ahs.

'A'isha observed that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to observe prayer in the night and the last of his (night) prayer was Witr.

Masruq is reported to have asked 'A'isha about the action (most pleasing to) the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) . She said: He (the Holy Prophet) loved (that action) which one keeps on doing regularly. I said (to 'A'isha): When did he pray (at night)? She replied: When he heard the cock crow, he got up and observed prayer.

'A'isha reported: Never did the earlier part of the dawn find the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) but sleeping in my house or near me.

'A'isha reported: When the Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) had prayed the two rak'ahs (Sunan) of the dawn prayer, he would talk to me if I was awake, otherwise he would lie down.

A hadith like this has been narrated by 'A'isha by another chain of transmitters.

'A'isha reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray in the night and when he observed Witr, he said to me: O 'A'isha, get up and observe Witr.

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to offer prayer at night while she lay in front of him, and when the Witr prayer was yet to be observed, he would awaken her and she observed Witr.

'A'isha reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observed the Witr prayer every night and he completed Witr at the time of dawn.

Masruq reported on the authority of 'A'isha that she said that the Messenger Of Allah (ﷺ) used to observe the Witr prayer every night, maybe in the early part of night, at midnight and in the latter part, finishing his Witr at dawn.

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to observe Witr every night, and he would (at times) complete his Witr at the end of the night.

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.)

'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.

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed one night in the mosque and people also prayed along with him. He then prayed on the following night and there were many persons. Then on the third or fourth night (many people) gathered there, but the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not come out to them (for leading the Tarawih prayer). When it was morning he said: I saw what you were doing, but I desisted to come to you (and lead the prayer) for I feared that this prayer might become obligatory for you. (He the narrator) said: It was the month of Ramadan.

'A'isha reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out during the night and observed prayer in the mosque and some of the people prayed along with him. When it was morning the people talked about this and so a large number of people gathered there. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went out for the second night, and they (the people) prayed along with him. When it was morning the people began to talk about it. So the mosque thronged with people on the third night. He (the Holy Prophet) came out and they prayed along with him. When it was the fourth night, the mosque was filled to its utmost capacity but the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not come out. Some persons among then cried:" Prayer." But the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not come to them till he came out for the morning prayer. When he had completed the morning prayer, he turned his face to the people and recited Tashahhud (I bear testimony that there is no god but Allah and I bear testimony that Muhammad is His Messenger) and then said: Your affair was not hidden from me in the night, but I was afraid that (my observing prayer continuously) might make the night prayer obligatory for you and you might be unable to perform it.

'A'isha reported that when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up at night to pray, he began his prayer with two short rak'ahs.

'Abdul Rahman bin ' Auf (RA) reported: I asked 'A'isha, the mother of the believers, (to tell me) the words with which the Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) commenced the prayer when he got up at night. She said: When he got up at night he would commence his prayer with these words: O Allah, Lord of Gabriel (ؑ), and Michael, and Israfil, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, Who knowest the unseen and the seen; Thou decidest amongst Thy servants concerning their differences. Guide me with Thy permission in the divergent views (which the people) hold about Truth, for it is Thou Who guidest whom Thou wilt to the Straight Path.

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had a mat and he used it for making an apartment during the night and observed prayer in it, and the people began to pray with him, and he spread it (the mat) during the day time. The people crowded round him one night. He (the Holy Prophet) then Eaid: O people, perform such acts as you are capable of doing, for Allah does not grow weary but you will get tired. The acts most pleasing to Allah are those which are done continuously, even if they are small. And it was the habit of the members of Muhammad's (ﷺ) household that whenever they did an act they did it continuously.

'A'isha is reported to have said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked about the act most pleasing to Allah. He replied: That which is done continuously, even if it is small.

Alqama reported: I asked 'A'isha, the mother of the believers, saying O mother of the believers, how did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) act? Did he choose a particular act for a particular day? She said: No. He act was continuous, and who amongst you is capable of doing what the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did?

'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: The acts most pleasing to Allah are those which are done continuously, even if they are small. and when 'A'isha did any act she did it continuously.

'Urwa bin Zubair reported that 'A'isha, the wife of the Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) , told him that (once) Haula' bint Tuwait bin Habib bin Asad bin 'Abdul 'Uzzi passed by her (at the time) when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was with her. I ('A'isha) said: It Is Haula' bint Tuwait and they say that she does not sleep at night. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: (Oh) she does not sleep at night! Choose an act which you are capable of doing (continuously). By Allah, Allah would not grow weary, but you will grow weary.

'A'isha said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to me when a woman was sitting with me. He said: Who is she? I said: She is a woman who does not sleep but prays. He said: Do such acts which you are capable of doing. By Allah, Allah does not grow weary but you will grow weary. The religious act most pleasing to Him is one the doer of which does it continuously. (And in the hadith transmitted by Abu Usama [the words are]:" She was a woman from Banu Asad." )

'A'isha reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying: When anyone amongst you dozes in prayer, he should sleep, till sleep is gone, for when one of you prays while dozing he does not know whether he may be asking pardon or vilifying himself.

'A'isha reported that the Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) heard a person reciting the Qur'an at night. Upon this he said: May Allah show mercy to him; he has reminded me of such and such a verse which I had missed in such and such a surah.

'A'isha reported that the Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) listened to the recitation of the Qur'an by a man in the mosque. Thereupon he said: May Allah have mercy upon him; be reminded me of the verse which I had been made to forget.

'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (as saying): One who is proficient in the Qur'an is associated with the noble, upright, recording angels; and he who falters in it, and finds it difficult for him, will have a double reward.

'A'isha reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent a man in charge of an expedition and he would recite for his Companions during their prayer, ending (recitation) with:" Say, He is God, One." When they returned mention was made of it to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) . He (the Holy Prophet) told them to ask him why he had done like that. So they asked him and he said: Verily, it is an attribute of the Compassionate One, and (for this reason) I love to recite it. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) thereupon said: Inform him that Allah loves him.

'A'isha reported that 'Umar misconstrued the fact that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had prohibited the observance of prayer at the time of the rising sun and at the time of its setting.

'A'isha said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not abandon observing two rak'ahs after 'Asr, but she reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Do not get used to observe prayer at the time of the rising sun and at the time of its setting and (exhorted the Muslims) to pray at their times.