Sunan ad-Darimi

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray eleven rak‘ahs between ‘Isha and Fajr. He would say salam after every two rak‘ahs and pray one rak‘ah as Witr. In this prayer of Tahajjud, before raising his head, he (peace be upon him) would make such a long prostration that any one of you could recite fifty verses (of the Qur’an) in that time. Then, when the muezzin finished the call to Fajr prayer, he (peace be upon him) would pray two light rak‘ahs and lie on his (right) side until the muezzin would come to him and he would go out with him.

Abu Salamah bin Abdur Rahman said: I asked Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so she said: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray thirteen rak‘ahs (units of prayer) at night. He would first pray eight rak‘ahs, then pray Witr, then pray two rak‘ahs sitting, and when he intended to bow (ruku‘), he would stand up and then bow. And he used to pray two rak‘ahs between the call to prayer (adhan) and the commencement (iqamah) of Fajr.

It is narrated from Sa’d bin Hisham that he divorced his wife and came to Madinah Munawwarah to sell his land and property so that (with its price) he could buy weapons and horses. He met a group of the Ansar, and they informed him that six of them had intended the same thing during the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but he (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped them and said: “Is my example (way) not sufficient for you?” Then (Sa’d) returned to Basra and stated that he met Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and asked him about Witr. He said: Shall I not tell you about the person who has the most knowledge regarding the Witr of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? I said: Please do. He said: She is Umm al-Mu’minin, Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), so go to her and ask her, then come back to me and tell me what she said. I went to Hakim bin Aflah and requested him to accompany me to Umm al-Mu’minin, Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Hakim said: I will not go to her; I had forbidden her from speaking between the two groups (i.e., in the conflict among the Companions), but she did not listen and went. However, I insisted with Hakim, made him swear, and finally he agreed, and we set out for Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). When we greeted her, she recognized Hakim’s voice and said: Who is this? He replied: This is Sa’d bin Hisham. She asked: Which Hisham? I said: Hisham bin ‘Amir. She said: He was such a good man; he was martyred on the day of Uhud. I said: Please tell us about the character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: Do you not read the Qur’an? I said: Certainly, I do. She said: His character was what is in the Qur’an. Then I intended to leave and resolved not to ask anyone anything until death, but I remembered the matter of standing (in prayer) and said: Please tell me about the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She replied: Do you not read «يا ايها المزمل»? I said: I do. She said: That was the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When the initial verses of this Surah were revealed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions stood (in prayer) until their feet swelled, and the last verse was withheld in the heavens for sixteen months. Then, when the last verse was revealed, the night prayer (Tahajjud) became voluntary instead of obligatory. Again, I intended to leave and not ask anyone anything until I met Allah, but then I remembered Witr, so I said: Please tell us about the Witr of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to rest, he would place the miswak near me. Then, when Allah willed, He would awaken him, and he would pray nine rak’ahs, and on the eighth rak’ah he would sit (for tashahhud), praise Allah, supplicate to his Lord, and then give salam once, which we could hear. Then, sitting, he would pray two rak’ahs. O son! These were eleven rak’ahs in total. Then, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) grew older and his body became heavier, he prayed seven rak’ahs, in which he would sit in the sixth rak’ah, praise Allah, supplicate to Him, and then give salam once. Then, sitting, he would pray two rak’ahs. Thus, O son! These were nine rak’ahs in total. And when sleep or illness overcame him (and he could not pray Tahajjud at night), he would pray twelve rak’ahs of voluntary prayer during the day. And when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) adopted a good deed, he loved to be consistent in it. And the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never stood in prayer for the entire night until morning, nor did he recite the entire Qur’an in one night, nor did he fast an entire month except for Ramadan. Hearing this, I went to Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and narrated the entire hadith to him. He said: She (Sayyidah Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her) has told you the truth. If I had gone to her, I would have heard this hadith directly from her. I said: If I had known that you do not go to her, I would never have narrated her words to you.