Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 1712
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو إِسْحَاقَ الشَّافِعِيُّ، إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْعَبَّاسِ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ دِينَارٍ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ عَمْرَو بْنَ أَوْسٍ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَمْرٍو يَقُولُ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " أَحَبُّ الصِّيَامِ إِلَى اللَّهِ صِيَامُ دَاوُدَ. كَانَ يَصُومُ يَوْمًا وَيُفْطِرُ يَوْمًا. وَأَحَبُّ الصَّلاَةِ إِلَى اللَّهِ صَلاَةُ دَاوُدَ. كَانَ يَنَامُ نِصْفَ اللَّيْلِ وَيُصَلِّي ثُلُثَهُ وَيَنَامُ سُدُسَهُ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Ishaq al-Shafi‘i, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn al-Abbas, narrated to us; Sufyan ibn Uyaynah narrated to us, from Amr ibn Dinar, who said: I heard Amr ibn Aws say: I heard Abdullah ibn Amr say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The fasting most beloved to Allah is the fasting of David: he would fast one day and not fast one day. The prayer most beloved to Allah is the prayer of David: he would sleep half the night, pray for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth of it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The sequence of half, one-third, and one-sixth of the night is retained as stated.