Mishkat al-Masabih
Mishkat al-Masabih 1295
عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اتَّخَذَ حُجْرَةً فِي الْمَسْجِدِ مِنْ حَصِيرٍ فَصَلَّى فِيهَا لَيَالِيَ حَتَّى اجْتَمَعَ عَلَيْهِ نَاسٌ ثُمَّ فَقَدُوا صَوْتَهُ لَيْلَةً وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُ قَدْ نَامَ فَجَعَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَتَنَحْنَحُ لِيَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِمْ. فَقَالَ: مَا زَالَ بِكُمُ الَّذِي رَأَيْتُ مِنْ صَنِيعِكُمْ حَتَّى خَشِيتُ أَنْ يُكْتَبَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَوْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمْ مَا قُمْتُمْ بِهِ. فَصَلُّوا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ فَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ صَلَاةِ الْمَرْء فِي بَيته إِلَّا الصَّلَاة الْمَكْتُوبَة)
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Zayd ibn Thabit reported that the Prophet made a small enclosure of woven palm mats in the mosque and prayed there for several nights, until people gathered around him. One night, when they could no longer hear his voice, they thought he had fallen asleep. Some began clearing their throats so he would come out to them. He said: What I have seen you doing has continued, until I feared that this prayer might be prescribed for you. If it were prescribed for you, you would not keep it up. People, pray in your homes, for a person’s best prayer is the prayer in his home, except for the obligatory prayer. Al-Bukhari and Muslim transmitted it.