The Book of Prayer - Travellers

Sahih Muslim 731 a

Hadith Text

I did not see the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting (the Qur'an) in the night prayer in a sitting position, till he grew old and then he recited (it) in a sitting position, but when thirty or forty verses were left out of the Surah, he would then stand up, recite them and then bowed.

Commentary

This noble hadith demonstrates the Prophet's practice in his later years regarding the night prayer (Tahajjud). Initially, he would perform the entire prayer standing, but with advancing age, he began reciting while sitting due to physical weakness. However, he would stand for the final portion of the recitation - approximately thirty to forty verses - before performing the bowing (ruku').

This practice illustrates several important principles: the permissibility of praying while sitting when necessary, the virtue of completing at least part of the prayer standing when possible, and the Prophet's careful balance between religious devotion and physical capability. It shows that Islamic worship accommodates human conditions while maintaining spiritual excellence.

Scholars derive from this that if one begins prayer sitting due to legitimate reason, standing for part of it is commendable. The specific number of verses (30-40) indicates that standing for roughly one rak'ah's worth of recitation fulfills the optimal practice when combining sitting and standing in prayer.