Establishing the Prayer and the Sunnah Regarding Them

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr said: “The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: ‘Do not be like so-and-so, who used to pray voluntarynight prayers then stopped praying voluntary night prayers.”

It wasnarrated that Jabir bin ‘Abdullah said: “The Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) said: ‘The mother of Sulaiman bin Dawud said to Sulaiman:“Omy son, do not sleep too much at night, for sleeping too much atnight will leave a man poor on the Day of Resurrection.”

It wasnarrated that Jabir said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:‘Whoever prays a great deal at night, his face will be handsomeduringthe day.’”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdullah bin Salam said: “When the Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ) came to Al-Madinah, the people rushed towards him and itwas said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has come!’ I came alongwith the people to see him, and when I looked at the face of theMessenger of Allah (ﷺ), I realized that his face was not the faceof a liar. The first thing he said was: “O people, spread (thegreeting of) Salam, offer food to people and pray at night whenpeople are sleeping, you will enter Paradise in peace.”

It wasnarrated that Abu Sa’eed and Abu Hurairah said that theProphet(ﷺ) said: ‘When a man wakes up at night and wakes his wife,andthey pray two Rak’ah, they will be recorded among the men andwomenwho remember Allah much.”

It wasnarrated that Abu Hurairah said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: ‘May Allah have mercy on a man who gets up at night andprays,and wakes his wife, and she prays; and if she refuses hesprinkleswater in her face. And May Allah have mercy on a woman whogets up atnight and prays, and wakes her husband and he prays; andif herefuses, she sprinkles water in his face.’”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Sa’ib said: “Sa’d bin AbuWaqqas came to us when he had become blind. I greeted him with Salamand he said: ‘Who are you?’ So I told him, and he said: ‘Welcome,Oson of my brother. I have heard that you recite Qur’an in abeautifulvoice. I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “ThisQur’an wasrevealed with sorrow, so when you recite it, then weep.If you cannotweep then pretend to weep, and make your voicemelodious in recitingit. Whoever does not make his voice melodious,he is not one of us.”

it wasnarrated that ‘Aishah the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Onenight at the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) I was latereturningfrom the ‘Isha’, then I came and he said: ‘Where wereyou?’ I said: ‘Iwas listening to the recitation of a man amongyour Companions, for Ihave never heard a recitation or a voice likehis from anyone.’ He gotup and I got up with him, to go and listento him. Then he turned tome and said: ‘This is Salim, the freedslave of Abu Hudhaifah. Praiseis to Allah Who has created such menamong my Ummah.’”

It wasnarrated that Jabir said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:‘Among the people who recite the Qur’an with the most beautifulvoicesis the man who, when you hear him, you think that he fearsAllah.’”

It wasnarrated that Fadalah bin ‘Ubaid said: “The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: ‘Allah listens more attentively to a man with abeautifulvoice who recites Qur’an out loud than the master of asinging slavelistens to his slave.’”

It wasnarrated that Abu Hurairah said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)entered the mosque and heard a man reciting Qur’an. He asked, ‘Whoisthis?’ It was said: ‘(He is) ‘Abdullah bin Qais.’ He said:‘he hasbeen given (sweet melodious voice) from the Mazamir of thefamily ofDawud.’”

It wasnarrated from Bara’ (bin ‘Azib) that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)said: “Beautify the Qur’an with your voices.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Abdin Al-Qari said: “I heard‘Umar bin Khattab say: ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:‘Whoeversleeps and misses his daily portion of Qur’an, or anypart of it, lethim read it between the Fajr prayer and the Zuhrprayer, and it willbe recorded as if he had read it during thenight.”

It wasnarrated that Abu Darda’ conveyed that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whoever goes to bed intending to wake up and pray during thenight,but is overwhelmed by sleep until morning comes, what heintended willbe recorded for him, and his sleep is a charity givento him by hisLord.”

It wasnarrated from ‘Uthman bin ‘Abdullah bin Aws that hisgrandfatherAws bin Hudhaifah said: “We came to the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) inthe delegation of Thaqif. The allies of Quraish stayed at thehouseof Mughirah bin Shu’bah, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) campedBani Malik in a tent belonging to him. He used to come to us everynight after the ‘Isha’ and speak to us standing on his two feet,untilhe started to shift his weight from one foot to the other. Mostofwhat he told us was what he had suffered from his people, theQuraish.He said: ‘(The two sides) were not equal. We were weak andoppressedand humiliated, and when we went out to Al-Madinah, theoutcome of thebattles between us varied; sometimes we would defeatthem andsometimes they would defeat us.’ One night he was laterthan heusually was, and I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, you havecome to uslate tonight.’ He said: ‘It occurred to me that I hadnot read mydaily portion of Qur’an and I did not want to come outuntil I hadcompleted it.’” Aws said: “I asked the Companionsof the Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ): ‘How did you used to divide up theQur’an?’ They said: ‘Athird, a fifth, a seventh, a ninth, aneleventh, a thirteenth, andHizbul-Mufassal.’”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr said: “I memorized the Qur’anand recited it all in one night. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:‘Iam afraid that you may live a long life and that you may getbored.Recite it over the period of a month.’ I said: ‘Let mebenefit from mystrength in my youth.’ He said: ‘Recite it in tendays.’ I said: ‘Letme benefit from my strength and my youth.’He said: ‘Recite it inseven days.’ I said: ‘Let me benefitfrom my strength and my youth,’but he refused (to alter it anyfurther).”

It wasnarrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: “No one properly understands who reads the Qur’an inlessthan three days.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Aishah said: “I did not know of the Prophet ofAllah (ﷺ) reciting the entire Qur’an until morning.”

It wasnarrated that Umm Hani’ bint Abi Talib said: “I used to heartheProphet (ﷺ) reciting at night when I was on the roof of myhouse.”

It wasnarrated that Jasrah bint Dijajah said: “I heard Abu Dharrsay:‘The Prophet (ﷺ) stood reciting a Verse and repeating it untilmorning came. That Verse was: “If you punish them, they are Yourslaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You, are theAll-Mighty, the All-Wise.’”” [5:118]

It wasnarrated from Hudhaifah that the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed, andwhen herecited a Verse which mentioned mercy, he would ask for mercy;whenhe recited a Verse that mentioned punishment he would pray fordeliverance from it; and when he recited a Verse that mentioned theTanzih of Allah, he would glorify Him.

It wasnarrated that Abu Laila said: “I prayed beside the Prophet(ﷺ)when he was praying voluntary prayers at night. He recited aVersewhich mentioned punishment and said: ‘I seek refuge with Allahfromthe Fire, woe to the people of the Fire.’”

It wasnarrated that Qatadah said; “I asked Anas bin Malik about therecitation of the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said: ‘He used to elongatehisvoice.’”

It wasnarrated that Ghudaif bin Harith said: “I came to ‘Aishah andasked: ‘Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recite Qur’an loudly orsoftly?’ She said: ‘Sometimes he would recite loud and sometimessoftly.’ I said, ‘Allahu Akbar! Praise is to Allah Who has madethismatter one of broad scope.’”

It wasnarrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “When the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)prayed Tahajjud at night, he would say: “Allahumma lakal-hamd,Antanurus-samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Wa lakal-hamd, Antaqayyamus-samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Wa lakal-hamd, Antamalikus-samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Wa lakal-hamd, Antal-haqq,wa wa’dukahaqq, wa liqa’uka haqq, wa qawluka haqq, wal-jannatuhaqq, wan-nabiyyuna haqq, wa Muhammadun haqq. Allahumma laka aslamtu,wa bikaamantu, wa ‘alaika tawakkaltu wa ilaika anabtu, wa bikakhasamtu, wailaika hakamtu, faghfirli ma qaddamtu wa ma akhkhartu,wa ma asrartuwa ma a’lantu. Antal-muqaddimu wa Antal-muakhkhiru.La ilaha illa antawa la ilaha ghairuka, wa la hawla wa la quwwatailla bika (O allah, toyou is praise, You are the Light of theheavens and the earth, andeveryone therein. To You is praise, Youare the Sustainer of theheavens and the earth, and everyone therein.To You is praise, You arethe Sovereign of the heavens and the earth,and everyone therein. ToYou is praise, You are the Truth; Yourpromise is true, the meetingwith You is true, Your saying is true,Paradise is true, the Fire istrue, the Hour is true, the Prophetsare true, and Muhammad is true. OAllah, to You have I submitted, inYou I believe, in You have I put mytrust, to You I turn inrepentance, by Your help I argue, to You Irefer my case, so forgiveme for my past and future sins, what I havedone in secret and what Ihave done openly. You are the One Who bringsforward and puts back.None has the right to be worshipped but You,and there is none whohas the right to be worshipped other than You.And there is no powerand no strength except with You.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Asim bin Humaid said: “I asked ‘Aishah: ‘Withwhat did the Prophet (ﷺ) start voluntary prayers?’ She said: ‘Youhave asked me about something which no one has asked before. He usedto say Allahu Akbar ten times, and Al-Hamdu Lillah ten times andSubhan Allah ten times, and he would say Allahumma aghfirli wahdini,warzuqni, wa ‘afini (O Allah, forgive me, guide me, grant meprovisionand give me good health),” and he would seek refuge fromthedifficulty of the standing on the Day of Resurrection.”

It wasnarrated that Abu Salamah bin ‘Abdur-Rahman said: “I asked‘Aishah: ‘With what did the Prophet (ﷺ) start his voluntaryprayers?’ She said: ‘He would say: “Allahumma Rabba Jibra’ilwaMika’il wa Israfil, Fatiras-samawati wal-ard, ‘alimal-ghaybiwash-shahadah, Anta tahkumu baina ‘ibadika fima kanu fihiyakhtalifun,ahdini lima akhtulifa fihi minal-haqqi bi ihdnika,innaka latahdi ilasiratin mustaqim (O Allah, Lord of Jibra’il,Mika’il and Israfil,Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knowerof the unseen and theseen, You judge between Your slaves concerningthat wherein theydiffer. Guide me to the disputed matters of truthby Your Leave, forYou are the One Who guides to the straight Path).”

It wasnarrated that ‘Aishah said, and this is the Hadith of AbuBakr.“During the period after he finished prayer the ‘Isha’ untiltheFajr, the Prophet (ﷺ) used to pray eleven Rak’ah, saying theSalamafter each two Rak;ah and praying Witr with one Rak’ah. Hewouldprostrate for as long as it takes anyone of you to recite fiftyVersesbefore he would raise his head. When the Mu’adh-dhin fellsilent afterthe first Adhan for the Subh prayer, he would get up andpray twobrief Rak’ah.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Aishah said: “The Prophet (ﷺ) used to praythirteen Rak’ah at night.”