Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat): Detailed Injunctions about Witr

All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Universe" (1) is the epitome or basis of the Qur'an, the epitome or basis of the Book, and the seven oft-repeated verses.

I prayed ant then I came to him. He asked: What prevented you from answering me ? He replied: I was praying. He said: Has not Allah said: "O you who believe, respond to Allah and the Apostle when he calls you to that which gives you life ? (8:24) Let me teach you the greatest surah from the Qur'an or in the Qur'an (the narrator Khalid doubted) before I leave the mosque. I said: (I shall memorize) your saying. He said: It is: "Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Universe" which is the seven oft-repeated verses, and the mighty Qur'an.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was given seven repeated long surahs, while Moses was given six, When he threw the tablets, two of them were withdrawn and four remained.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Abu al-Mundhir, which verse of Allah's Book that you have is creates ? I replied: Allah and His Apostle know best. He said: Abu al-Mundhir, which verse of Allah's that you have is greatest ? I said: Allah, there is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal. Thereupon he struck me on the beast and said: May knowledge be pleasant for you, Abu al-Mundhir.

A man heard another man reciting "Say, He is Allah, One" He was repeating it. When the next morning came, he went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and mentioned to him. The man tool it (this surah) as a small one. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: By Him in Whose Hand is my life, it is equivalent to a third of the Qur'an.

I was driving the she-camel of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) during a journey. He said to me: Uqbah, should I not teach you two best surahs ever recited? He then taught me: "Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn," and "Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of men." He did not see me much pleased (by these two surahs).

When he alighted for prayer, he led the people in the morning prayer and recited them in prayer. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished his prayer, he turned to me and said: O Uqbah, how did you see.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: One who was devoted to the Qur'an will be told to recite, ascend and recite carefully as he recited carefully when he was in the world, for he will reach his abode when he comes to the last verse he recites.

Ya'la ibn Mumallak said that he asked Umm Salamah about the recitation and prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

She said: What have you to do with his prayer? He would pray, then sleep as long as he had prayed, till morning. She then described his recitation and did so with an exposition word by word.

On the day of the Conquest of Mecca I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) riding his she-camel reciting Surah al-Fath repeating each verse several times.

Ubaydullah ibn Yazid said: AbuLubabah passed by us and we followed him till he entered his house, and we also entered it.

There was a man in a rusty house and in shabby condition. I heard him say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: He is not one of us who does not chant the Qur'an.

I (the narrator AbdulJabbar) said to Ibn AbuMulaykah: AbuMuhammad, what do you think if a person does not have pleasant voice? He said: He should recite with pleasant voice as much as possible.

Ibn Sa'd said: My father (Sa'd ibn AbuWaqqas) heard me say: O Allah, I ask Thee for Paradise, its blessings, its pleasure and such-and-such, and such-and-such; I seek refuge in Thee from Hell, from its chains, from its collars, and from such-and-such, and from such-and-such. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: There will be people who will exaggerate in supplication. You should not be one of them. If you are granted Paradise, you will be granted all what is good therein; if you are protected from Hell, you will be protected from what is evil therein.

Earnest supplication should be made like this: he raised his hand and made his palms in the direction of his face.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) built a chamber in the mosque. He used to come out at night and pray there. They (the people) also prayed along with him. They would come (to prayer) every night. If on any night the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not come out, they would cough, raise their voices and throw pebbles and sand on his door. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out to time in anger and said: O People, you kept on doing this till I thought that it will be prescribed for you. Offer your prayers in your houses, for a man's prayer is better in his house except obligatory prayer.

The Prophet (ﷺ) was asked: Which of the actions is better ? He replied: Standing for long time (in prayer). He was again asked: Which alms is better ? He replied: The alms given by a man possessing small property acquired by his labour.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: When a man himself wakes at night and wakens his wife and they pray two rak'ahs together, they are recorded among the men and women who make much mention of Allah.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Beautify the Qur'an with your voices.

These modes of reading aimed at the same point, not different in respect of lawful and unlawful.

The Prophet (ﷺ) was present at the pool of Banu Ghifar, Gabriel came to him and said: "Allah has commanded you to make your community read (the Qur'an) in one harf. He (the Prophet) said: 'I beg Allah His pardon and forgiveness; my community has not strength to do so'. He then came for the second time and told him the same thing till he reached up to seven harfs. Finally, he said: 'Allah has commanded you to make your community read (the Qur'an) in seven harfs; in whichever mode they read, that will be correct.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Supplication (du'a') is itself the worship.

(He then recited:) "And your Lord said: Call on Me, I will answer you" (xI.60).

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) heard a person supplicating during prayer. He did not mention the greatness of Allah, nor did he invoke blessings on the Prophet (ﷺ).

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: He made haste.

He then called him and said either to him or to any other person: If any of you prays, he should mention the exaltation of his Lord in the beginning and praise Him; he should then invoke blessings on the Prophet (ﷺ); thereafter he should supplicate Allah for anything he wishes.