Mishkat al-Masabih
Mishkat al-Masabih 1257
وَعَن سعد بن هِشَام قَالَ انْطَلَقْتُ إِلَى عَائِشَةَ فَقُلْتُ يَا أُمَّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْبِئِينِي عَنْ خُلُقِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَتْ: أَلَسْتَ تَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ؟ قُلْتُ: بَلَى. قَالَتْ: فَإِنَّ خُلُقَ نَبِيِّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ الْقُرْآنَ. قُلْتُ: يَا أُمَّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْبِئِينِي عَنْ وَتْرِ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَتْ: كُنَّا نُعِدُّ لَهُ سِوَاكَهُ وَطَهُورَهُ فَيَبْعَثُهُ اللَّهُ مَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَبْعَثَهُ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَيَتَسَوَّكُ وَيَتَوَضَّأُ وَيُصَلِّي تِسْعَ رَكَعَاتٍ لَا يَجْلِسُ فِيهَا إِلَّا فِي الثَّامِنَةِ فَيَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ وَيَحْمَدُهُ وَيَدْعُوهُ ثُمَّ يَنْهَضُ وَلَا يُسَلِّمُ فَيُصَلِّي التَّاسِعَةَ ثُمَّ يَقْعُدُ فَيَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ وَيَحْمَدُهُ وَيَدْعُوهُ ثُمَّ يُسَلِّمُ تَسْلِيمًا يُسْمِعُنَا ثُمَّ يُصَلِّي رَكْعَتَيْنِ بَعْدَمَا يُسَلِّمُ وَهُوَ قَاعد فَتلك إِحْدَى عشرَة رَكْعَة يابني فَلَمَّا أَسَنَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَخَذَ اللَّحْمَ أَوْتَرَ بِسَبْعٍ وَصَنَعَ فِي الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ مِثْلَ صَنِيعِهِ فِي الْأُولَى فَتِلْكَ تِسْعٌ يَا بُنَيَّ وَكَانَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا صَلَّى صَلَاةً أَحَبَّ أَنْ يُدَاوِمَ عَلَيْهَا وَكَانَ إِذَا غَلَبَهُ نَوْمٌ أَوْ وَجَعٌ عَنْ قِيَامِ اللَّيْلِ صَلَّى مِنَ النَّهَارِ ثِنْتَيْ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً وَلَا أَعْلَمُ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ كُلَّهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ وَلَا صَلَّى لَيْلَةً إِلَى الصُّبْحِ وَلَا صَامَ شهرا كَامِلا غير رَمَضَان. رَوَاهُ مُسلم
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sa’d ibn Hisham said: I went to Aisha and said, Mother of the Believers, tell me about the character of the Messenger of God. She asked, Do you not recite the Qur’an? I replied, Yes. She said, The character of the Prophet of God was the Qur’an. I said, Mother of the Believers, tell me about the witr prayer of the Messenger of God. She replied: We would prepare his toothstick and water for ablution. God would wake him during the night whenever He willed. He would use the toothstick, perform ablution, and pray nine units, sitting only at the eighth. There he would remember God, praise Him, and supplicate Him. Then he would rise without giving the salutation, pray the ninth, and sit. He would remember God, praise Him, and supplicate Him, then give a salutation loud enough for us to hear. After giving the salutation, he would pray two units seated. That made eleven units, my son. When he grew older and gained weight, he prayed witr as seven units, doing with the two units as he had done before; that made nine, my son. When the Prophet of God performed a prayer, he liked to keep it up. If sleep or illness kept him from standing in prayer at night, he would pray twelve units during the day. I do not know of the Prophet of God reciting the whole Qur’an in one night, praying through a night until dawn, or fasting a complete month other than Ramadan. Muslim transmitted it.