Tahajjud

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasimthat al-Qasim ibn Muhammad had done the same as Ibn Umar.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir fromSaid ibn al-Jubayr that a man who has approval (as a relater ofhadith), told him that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "If a man prays in the night andsleep overcomes him during it, Allah writes for him the reward of hisprayer, and his sleep is sadaqa for him."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'nNadr, the mawla of Umaribn 'Ubaydullah, from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, thewife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Iwas sleeping in front of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, and my feet were in his qibla. When heprostrated, he nudged me and I pulled up my feet,and when he stood upI spread them out." She added, "There were no lamps in the house atthat time."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from hisfather from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "If you are drowsy in prayer, sleep until sleepleaves you, because if you pray while you are drowsy, you do not knowwhether you may intend to ask for forgiveness but (in fact) ask forharm."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ismail from Ibn Abi Hakimthat he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, heard a woman praying at night. He said, "Who isthat?" and someone said to him,"It is al-Hawla bint Tuwayt, she doesnot sleep in the night." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, disapproved of that and his disapproval showed inhis face. Then he said, "Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, does notbecome weary, but you become weary. Take on whatever is within yourcapability."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from hisfather that Umar ibn al-Khattab used to pray as much as Allah willedin the night until at the end of the night he would wake his familyfor the prayer. He used to say to them, "The prayer, the prayer." Thenhe would recite the ayat, "Enjoin prayer on your family and beconstant in it. We do not ask you for your provision. We provide foryou. And the end result is for taqwa." (Sura 20 ayat 132)

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibnal-Musayyab used to say, "Sleep is disapproved of before isha andconversation after it."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abdullahibn Umar used to say, "(Voluntary) prayer in both the day and night istwo at a time with a taslim after every 2 raka'ahs."

Malik said,"That is the custom among us."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, used to pray eleven rakas in the night, making themodd by a single one, and when he had finished he lay down on his rightside.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Said ibn Abi Said al-Maqburifrom Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf that he asked A'isha, thewife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, what theprayer of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, was like during Ramadan. She said, "The Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, did not go above eleven rakas inRamadan or at any other time. He prayed four - do not ask me abouttheir beauty or length. Then he prayed another four - do not ask meabout their beauty and length. Then he prayed three."

A'ishacontinued, "I said, 'Messenger of Allah, are you sleeping before youdo the witr?' He said, A'isha, my eyes sleep but my heart does notsleep.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from hisfather that A'isha, umm al-muminin said, "The Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray thirteen rakas inthe night and then would pray two rakas when he heard the adhan forthe subh prayer."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Makhrama ibn Sulayman fromKurayb, the mawla of Ibn Abbas, that Abdullah ibn Abbas told him thathe had spent a night at the house of Maimuna, the wife of the Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who was also Ibn Abbas'mother's sister. Ibn Abbas said, "I lay down with my head on thebreadth of the cushion, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, and his wife lay down with their heads on itslength. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, slept, until, halfway through the night or a little before orafter it, he awoke and sat up and wiped the sleep away from his facewith his hand. Then he recited the last ten ayats of sura Ali Imran(Sura3). Then he got up and went over to a water-skin which washanging up and did wudu from it, doing his wudu thoroughly, and thenhe stood in prayer."

Ibn Abbas continued, "I stood up and didthe same and then went and stood by his side. The Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, put his right hand on my headand took my right ear and tweaked it. He prayed two rakas, then tworakas, then two rakas, then two rakas, then two rakas, then two rakas,and then prayed an odd raka. Then he lay down until the muadhdhin cameto him, and then prayed two quick rakas, and went out and prayed subh."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr fromhis father that Abdullah ibn Qays ibn Makhrama told him that Zayd ibnKhalid al-Juhani said one night that he was going to observe theprayer of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace. He said, "I rested my head on his threshold. The Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, got up and prayed twolong, long, long rakas. Then he prayed two rakas which were slightlyless long than the two before them. Then he prayed two rakas whichwere slightly less long than the two before them. Then he prayed tworakas which were slightly less long than the two before them. Then heprayed two rakas which were slightly less long than the two beforethem. Then he prayed two rakas which were slightly less long than thetwo before them. Then he prayed an odd raka, making thirteen rakas inall."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi and Abdullah ibn Umarthat a man asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, about night prayers. The Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "Night prayers are two by two,and when you are afraid that dawn is approaching, pray one raka tomake what you have prayed odd."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Muhammadibn Yahya ibn Habban from Ibn Muhayriz that a man from the Kinanatribe called al-Mukhdaji heard a man in Syria known as Abu Muhammadsaying, "The witr is obligatory (fard)." Al-Mukhdaji said, "I went toUbada ibn as-Samit and presented myself to him as he was going to themosque, and told him what Abu Muhammad had said. Ubada said that AbuMuhammad had lied and that he had heard the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Allah the Majestic andMighty has written five prayers for mankind, and whoever does them anddoes not waste anything of them by making light of what is due tothem, there is a pact for him with Allah that He will admit him intothe Garden.Whoever does not do them, there is no pact for him withAllah. If He wishes, He punishes him, and if He wishes, He admits himinto the Garden.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Bakr ibn Umar that Saidibn Yasar said, ''I was travelling with Abdullah ibn Umar on the roadto Makka, and fearing that it was nearly dawn. I dismounted and prayedwitr. Abdullah said, 'Is there not a model for you in the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?' I said, 'Of course,by Allah!' He said, 'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, used to pray witr on his camel.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibnal-Musayyab said, "Abu Bakr as-Siddiq used to pray witr when he wishedto go to bed, and Umar ibn al-Khattab used to pray witr at the end ofthe night. As for me, I pray witr when I go to bed."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that a man askedAbdullah ibn Umar whether the witr was obligatory and Abdullah ibnUmar said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, prayed witr, and the muslims prayed witr." The man beganrepeating his question, and Abdullah ibn Umar kept saying, "TheMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayedwitr, and the muslims prayed witr."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that A'isha, thewife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used tosay, "If someone fears that he will sleep through till the morning,let him pray the witr before he sleeps, and if some one hopes to wakefor the last part of the night, let him delay his witr."