The Book of Prayer (Travellers)

Abu Sa'id and Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Allah waits till when one-third of the first part of the night is over; He descends to the lowest heaven and says: It there any supplicator of forgiveness? Is there any penitant? Is there any petitioner (for mercy and favour)? Is there any solicitor? -till it is daybreak.

This hadith is narrated by Ishaq with the same chain uf transmitters except this that the hadith transmitted by Mansur (the above one) is more comprehensive and lengthy.

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: He who observed prayer at night during Ramadan, because of faith and seeking his reward from Allah, his previous sins would be forgiven.

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to exhort (his Companions) to pray (at night) during Ramadan without commanding them to observe it as an obligatory act, and say: He who observed the night prayer in Ramadan because of faith and seeking his reward (from Allah), all his previous sins would be forgiven. When Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) died, this was the practice, and it continued thus during Abu Bakr's caliphate and the early part of 'Umar's caliphate.

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: He who observed the fasts of Ramadan with faith and seeking reward (from Allah), all his previous sins would be forgiven, and he who observed prayer on Lailat-ul- Qadr with faith and seeking reward (from Allah), all his previous sins would be forgiven.

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying: He who prayed on the Lailat-ul-Qadr (the Majestic Night) knowing that it is (the same night). I (believe) that he (the Holy Prophet also) said: (He who does) it with faith and seeking reward (from Allah), his sins would be forgiven.

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) prayed one night in the mosque and people also prayed along with him. He then prayed on the following night and there were many persons. Then on the third or fourth night (many people) gathered there, but the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) did not come out to them (for leading the Tarawih prayer). When it was morning he said: I saw what you were doing, but I desisted to come to you (and lead the prayer) for I feared that this prayer might become obligatory for you. (He the narrator) said: It was the month of Ramadan.

'A'isha reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came out during the night and observed prayer in the mosque and some of the people prayed along with him. When it was morning the people talked about this and so a large number of people gathered there. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) went out for the second night, and they (the people) prayed along with him. When it was morning the people began to talk about it. So the mosque thronged with people on the third night. He (the Holy Prophet) came out and they prayed along with him. When it was the fourth night, the mosque was filled to its utmost capacity but the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) did not come out. Some persons among then cried:" Prayer." But the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) did not come to them till he came out for the morning prayer. When he had completed the morning prayer, he turned his face to the people and recited Tashahhud (I bear testi- mony that there is no god but Allah and I bear testimony that Muhammad is His Messen- ger) and then said: Your affair was not hidden from me in the night, but I was afraid that (my observing prayer continuously) might make the night prayer obligatory for you and you might be unable to perform it.

Zirr (b. Hubaish) reported: I heard from Ubayy b. Ka'b a statement made by 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud in which he said: He who gets up for prayer (every night) during the year will hit upon Lailat-ul-Qadr. Ubayy said: By Allah I there is no god but He, that (Lailat-ul-Qadr) is in Ramadhan (He swore without reservation: ) By Allah, I know the night; it is the night on which the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) commanded us to pray. It is that which precedes the morning of twenty-seventy and its indication is that the sun rises bright on that day without rays.

Ubayy b Ka'b reported: By Allah, I know about Lailat-ul Qadr and I know it fully well that it is the twenty-seventh night (during Ramadan) on which the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) commanded us to observe prayer. (Shu'ba was in doubt about these words:" the night on which the Messenger of Allah [may peace be upon him] commanded us to observe the prayer." This has been transmitted to me by a friend of mine.)

Shu'ba reported this hadith with the same chain of transmitters, but he made no mention that Shu'ba was in doubt and what follows subsequently.

Ibn 'Abbas reported: I spent a night with my material aunt (sister of my mother) Maimuna. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) got up during the night and relieved himself, then washed his face and hands and went to sleep. He then got up again, and came to the water skin and loosened its straps, then performed good ablution between the two extremes. He then stood up and observed prayer. I also stood up and stretched my body fearing that he might be under the impression that I was there to find out (what he did at night). So I also performed ablution and stood up to pray, but I stood on his left. He took hold of my hand and made me go round to his right side. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) completed thirteen rak'abs of his night prayer. He then lay down and slept and snored (and it was his habit to snore while asleep). Then Bilal came and he informed him about the prayer. He (the Holy Prophet) then stood up for prayer and did not perform ablution, and his supplication included there words:" O Allah, place light in my heart, light in my sight, light in my hearing, light on my right hand, light on my left hand, light above me, light below me, light in front of me, light behind me, and enhance light for me." Kuraib (the narrator) said: There are seven (words more) which are in my heart (but I cannot recall them) and I met some of the descendants of 'Abbas and they narrated these words to me and mentioned in them: (Light) in my sinew, in my flesh, in my blood, in my hair, in my skin, and made a mention of two more things.

Kuraib, the freed slave of Ibn 'Abbas, reported that Ibn 'Abbas narrated to him that he spent a night in the house of Maimuna, the mother of the believers, who was his mother's sister. I lay down across the cushion, whereas the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and his wife lay down on it length-wise. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) slept up till midnight, or a little before midnight of a little after midnight, and then got up and began to cast off the effects of sleep from his face by rubbing with his hand, and then recited the ten concluding verses of Surah 'Imran. He then stood up near a hanging water-skin and performed ablution well, and then stood up and prayed, 'Ibn 'Abbas said: I also stood up and did the same, as the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had done, and then went to him and stood by his side. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) placed his right hand upon my head and took hold of my right ear and twistedit, and then observed a pair of rak'ahs, again a pair of rak'ahs, again a pair of rak'ahs, again a pair of rak'ahs, again a pair of rak'ahs, again a pair of rak'ahs, and then observed Witr and then lay down till the Mu'adhdhin came to him. He (the Holy Prophet) then stood up and observed two short rak'ahs, and then went out (to the mosque) and observed the dawn prayer.

Makhrama b. Sulaiman narrated it with the same chain of narrators and he made this addition: " He then went to the water-skin and brushed his teeth and performed ablution well. He did not pour water but a little. He then awakened me and I stood up," and the rest of the hadith is the same.

Ibn Abbas reported: I slept (one night) in the house of Maimuna, the wife of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him), and the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) was with her that night. He (after sleeping for half of the night got up and) then performed ablution and then stood up and observed prayer. I too stood on his left side. He took hold of me and made me stand on his right side. He (the Holy Prophet) observed thirteen rak'ahs on that night. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) then slept and snored and it was a habit with him to snore while sleeping. The Mu'adhdbin then came to him (to inform him about the prayer). He then went out and observed prayer without performing ablution. ('Amr said: Bukair b. Ashajj had narrated it to me )

Ibn 'Abbas reported: I spent one night in the house of my mother's sister Maimuna, daughter of Harith, and said to her: Awake me when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) stands to pray (at night). (She woke me up when) the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) stood up for prayer. I stood on his left side. He took hold of my hand and made me stand on his right side, and whenever I dozed off he took hold of my earlobe (and made me alert). He (the narrator) said: He (the Holy Prophet) observed eleven rak'ahs. He then sat with his legs drawn and wrapped in his garment and slept so that I could bear his breathing while asleep. And when the dawn appeared, he observed two short rak'ahs of (Sunnah) prayer.

Ibn 'Abbas reported that he spent a night in the house of his matenial aunt, Maimuna. The Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him) got up at night and performed short ablution (taking water) from the water-skin hanging there. (Giving a description of the ablution Ibn 'Abbas said: It was short and performed with a little water.) I also got up and did the same as the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) had done. I then came (to him) and stood on his left. He then made me go around to his right side. He then observed prayer and went to sleep till he began to snore. Bilal came to him and informed him about the prayer. He (the Holy Prophet) then went out and observed the dawn prayer without performing ablution. Sufyan said: It was a special (prerogative of the) Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) for it has been conveyed to us that the eyes of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sleep, but his heart does not sleep.

Ibn 'Abbas said: I spent the night in the house of my mother's sister, Maimuna, and observed how the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) prayed (at night). He got up and relieved himself. He then washed his face and hands and then went to sleep. He again got up and went near the water-skin and loosened its straps and then poured some water in a bowl and inclined it with his hands (towards himself). He then performed a good ablution between the two extremes and then stood up to pray. I also came and stood by his left side. He took hold of me and made me stand on his right side. It was in thirteen rak'ahs that the (night) prayer of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was completed. He then slept till he began to snore, and we knew that he had gone to sleep by his snoring. He then went out (for the dawn prayer) and then again slept, and said while praying or prostrating himself:" O Allah! place light in my heart, light in my hearing, light in my sight, light on my right, light on my left, light in front of me, light behind me, light above me, light below me, make light for me," or he said:" Make me light."

Salama said: I met Kuraib and he reported Ibn 'Abbas as saying: I was with my mother's sister Maimuna that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came there, and then he narrated the rest of the hadith as was narrated by Ghundar and said these words:" Make me light," beyond any doubt.

Ibn 'Abbas reported: I spent a night in the house of my mother's sister, Maimuna, and then narrated (the rest of the) haditb, but he made no mention of the washing of his face and two hands but he only said: He then came to the water-skin and loosened its straps and performed ablution between the two extremes, and then came to his bed and slept. He then got up for the second time and came to the waterskin and loosened its straps and then performed ablution which was in fact an ablution (it was performed well), and implored (the Lord) thus:" Give me abundant light," and he made no raention of:" Make me light."

Kuraib reported that Ibn 'Abbas spent a night in the house of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he said: The Messenger of Allah may peace be upon him) stood near the water-skin and poured water out of that and performed ablution in which he neither used excess of water nor too little of it, and the rest of the hadith is the same, and in this mention is also made (of the fact) that on that night the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) made supplication before Allah in nineteen words. Kuraib reported: I remember twelve words out of these, bux have forgotten the rest. The Messenger of Allah said:" Place light in my heart, light in my tongue, light in my hearing, light in my sight, light above me, light below me, light on my right, light on my left, light in front of me, light behind me, place light in my soul, and make light abundant for me."

Ibn 'Abbas reported: I slept one night in the house of Maimuna when the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) was there, with a view to seeing the prayer of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) at night. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) entered into conversation with his wife for a short while, and then went to sleep, and the rest of the hadith is the same and in it mention is made of:" He then got up, performed ablution and brushed his teeth."

'Abdullah b. 'Abbas reported: He spent (one night) in the house of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). He (the Holy Prophet) got up, brushed his teeth and performed ablution and said:" In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, there are indeed signs for people of understanding" (al-Qur'an, iii. 190), to the end of the Surah. He then stood up and prayed two rak'ahs, standing, bowing and prostrating himself at length in them. Then he finished, went to sleep and snored. He did that three times, six rak'ahs altogether, each time cleaning his teeth, performing ablution, and reciting these verses. Then he observed three rak'ahs of Witr. The Mu'adhdhin then pronounced the Adhan and he went out for prayer and was saying,:" O Allah I place light in my heart, light in my tongue, place light in my hearing, place light in my eyesight, place light behind me, and light in front of me, and place light above me, and light below me. O Allah! grant me light."

Ibn Abbas reported: I spent a night in the house of my mother's sister Maimuna. The Apostle of Allah (way peace be upon him) got up for observing voluntary prayer (Tahajjud) at night. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) stood by the water-skin and performed ablution and then stood up and prayed. I also got up when I saw him doing that. I also performed ablution from the water-skin and then stood at his left side. He took hold of my hand from behind his back and then turned me from his back to his right side. I ('Ata', one of the narrators) said: Did it concern the voluntary prayer (at night)? He ('Ibn 'Abbas) said: Yes.

Ibn 'Abbas reported: (My father) Abbas sent me to the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he was in the house of my mother's sister Maimuna and spent that night along with him. He (the Holy Prophet) got up and prayed at night, and I stood up on his left side. He caught hold of me from behind his back and made me stand on his right side.

Ibn 'Abbas reported: I spent a night in the house of my mother's sister Maimuna, and the rest of the hadith is the same as narrated above.

Abu Jamra reported: I heard Ibn 'Abbas saying that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed thirteen rak'ahs at night.

Zaid b Khalid al-Juhani said: I would definitely watch at night the prayer observed by the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). He prayed two short rak'ahs, then two long, long, long rak'ahs, then he prayed two rak'ahs which were shorter than the two preceding rak'ahs, then he prayed two rak'ahs which were shorter than the two preceding, then he prayed two rak'ahs which were shorter than the two preceding, then observed a single one (Witr), making a total of thirteen rak'ahs

Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported: I accompanied the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) in a journey and we reached a watering place. He said: Jabir, are you going to enter it? I said: Yes. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) then got down and I entered it. He (the Holy Prophet) then went away to relieve himself and I placed for him water for ablution. He then came back and performed ablution, and then stood and prayed in one garment, having its ends tied from the opposite sides. I stood. behind him and he caught hold of my ear and made me stand on his right side.

'A'isha reported that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) stood up at night to pray, he began his prayer with two short rak'ahs.