'A'isha ordered me to transcribe a copy of the Qur'an for her and said: When you reach this verse:" Guard the prayers and the middle prayer" (ii. 238), inform me; so when I reached it, I informed her and she gave me dictation (like this): Guard the prayers and the middle prayer and the afternoon prayer, and stand up truly obedient to Allah. 'A'isha said: This is how I have heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

Imam Muslim said: Ashja'i narrated it from Sufyan al-Thauri, who narrated it from al-Aswad b. Qais, who narrated it from 'Uqba, who narrated it from al-Bara' b. 'Azib who said: We recited with the Prophet (ﷺ) (the above-mentioned verse like this, i. e. instead of Salat al- Wusta, Salat al-'Asr) for a certain period. as It has been mentioned (in the above-quoted hadith).

Messenger of Allah, by God, I could not say. the 'Asr prayer till the sun set. Upon this the Messenger (ﷺ) said: By Allah I, too, have not observed it. So we went to a valley. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed ablution and we too performed ablution, and then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said the 'Asr prayer after the sun had set. and then said the evening prayer after it.

This hadith has been reported by Yahya b. Abd Kathir with the same chain of transmitters.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Angels take turns among you by night and by day, and they all assemble at the dawn and afternoon prayers. Those (of the angels) who spend the night among you, then, ascend, and their Lord asks them, though He is the best informed about them: How did you leave My servants? -they say: We left them while they were praying and we came to them while they were praying.

Angels take turns among you by night and by day, and the rest of the hadith is the same.

We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that he looked at the full moon and observed: You shall see your Lord as you are seeing this moon, and you will not be harmed by seeing Him. So if you can, do not let -yourselves be overpowered in case of prayer observed before the rising of the sun and its setting, i. e. the 'Asr prayer and the morning prayer. Jarir then recited it:" Celebrate the praise of thy Lord before the rising of the sun and before Its setting" (xx. 130).

You will be soon presented before your Lord, and you will see Him as you are seeing this moon, and then recited (the above-mentioned verse). But (in this hadith) no mention is made of Jarir.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying: He who observes prayer before the rising of the sun and its setting, i.e. the dawn prayer and the afternoon prayer, would not enter the (Hell) fire. A person belonging to Basra said to him: Did you yourself hear it from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)? He said: Yes. The person (from Basra) said: I bear witness that I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ); my ears heard it and my heart retained it.

He who said prayer before the rising of the sun and its setting would not enter the fire (of Hell), and there was a man from Basra (sitting) beside him who said: Did you hear it from the Messenger of Allah (way peace be upon him)? He said: Yes, I bear witness to it. The man from Basra said: I bear witness that I did hear from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying it from the place that you heard from him.

He who observed two prayers at two cool (hours) would enter Paradise.

This hadith has been narrated by the same chain of transmitters by Hammam, and said about Abu Bakr that he was Ibn Abu Musa.

Salama b. al-Akwa' reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray the evening prayer when the sun had set and disappeared (behind the horizon).

We used to observe the evening prayer with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and then one of us would go away and he could see the (distant) place where his arrow would fall.

A hadith like this, i. e." We used to observe evening prayer...." so on and so forth, has been narrated by Rafi' b. Khadij by another chain of transmitters.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) deferred one night the 'Isya' prayer. And this is called 'Atama. And the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not come out till Umar b. Khattab told (him) that the women and children had gone to sleep. So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out towards them and said to the people of the mosque: None except you from the people of the earth waits for it (for the night prayer at this late hour), and it was before Islam had spread amongst people. And in the narration transmitted by Ibn Shihab the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is reported to have said: It is not meant that you should compel the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for prayer. And (this he said) when 'Umar b. Khattab called (the Holy Prophet) in a loud voice.

It was narrated to me, and that which followed.

The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) one night delayed (observing the 'Isya' prayer) till a great part of the night was over and the people in the mosque had gone to sleep. He (the Holy Prophet) then came out and observed prayer and said: This is the proper time for it; were it not that I would impose a burden on my people (I would normally pray at this time). In the hadith transmitters by 'Abd al-Razzaq (the words are):" Were it not that it would impose burden on my people."

We waited one night in expectation of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for the last prayer of the night, and he came out to us when a third of the night had passed even after that. We do not know whether he had been occupied with family business or something else. When he came cut he said: You are waiting for prayer, for which the followers of no other religion wait. except you. Were it not a burden for my Ummah, I would have led them (in the 'Isya' prayer) at this hour. He then ordered the Mu'adhdbin (to call for prayer) and then stood up for prayer and observed prayer.

None among the people of the earth except you waits for prayer in the night.