I asked 'A'isha about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) during the night (i. e. Tahajjud prayer) She replied: He used to pray for a long time standing and for a long time sitting in the night, and when he recited the Qur'an while standing, he would bow himself from the standing position, and when he recited while sitting, he would bow from the sitting position.
The Book of Prayer - Travellers
Sahih Muslim 730 d
Hadith Text
I asked 'A'isha about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) during the night (i.e. Tahajjud prayer) She replied: He used to pray for a long time standing and for a long time sitting in the night, and when he recited the Qur'an while standing, he would bow himself from the standing position, and when he recited while sitting, he would bow from the sitting position.
Commentary
This noble hadith from the Mother of Believers, 'A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her), illuminates the Prophet's night prayer methodology. The Prophet (ﷺ) demonstrated flexibility in worship, praying both standing and sitting during Tahajjud, showing that physical capacity may dictate posture without diminishing reward.
The wisdom behind alternating positions includes: facilitating prolonged worship, accommodating physical comfort while maintaining devotion, and demonstrating that the essence of prayer lies in heartfelt connection with Allah rather than rigid physical forms alone. When standing, he bowed from standing; when sitting, he bowed from sitting - each action performed with proper form according to circumstance.
Scholars derive from this that voluntary prayers may be performed sitting even without valid excuse, though standing remains superior. The Prophet's practice teaches balance in worship - neither abandoning it due to difficulty nor causing harm through excessive rigor. This exemplifies the moderate path of Islam where worship accommodates human capacity while maintaining devotion.