20.

The Book of Qiyam Al-Lail (The Night Prayer) and Voluntary Prayers During the Day

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كتاب قيام الليل وتطوع النهار

Zurarah bin Awfa narrated, ‘when Sa'd bin Hisham bin Amir (رضي الله تعالى عنه) came to visit us, he told us that he came to Ibn Abbas (رضي الله تعالى عنه) and asked him about the witr of the Apostle of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . He said, ‘shall I not tell you of the most knowledgeable person on Earth about the witr of the Apostle of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)?’ I said, ‘who?’ He said, ‘Ummul Momineen Aisha (رضي الله تعالى عنها). So we went to her and greeted her with Salam and entered and asked her, ‘tell me about the witr of the Apostle of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ’. She said, ‘we used to prepare for him his siwak and water for wudu, then Allah (جَلَّ ذُو) would wake him when He willed to wake him at night. He would clean his teeth and perform wudu, then he would pray nine rak'a, during which he would not sit until the eighth. Then he would praise Allah (جَلَّ ذُو) and remember Him and supplicate, then he would get up and not say the taslim. Then he would pray the ninth, then sit and praise Allah (جَلَّ ذُو) and remember Him and supplicate, then he would say a taslim that we could hear. Then he prayed two rak'a sitting, and that was eleven rak'a, O my son. When the Apostle of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) grew older and put on weight, he prayed witr with seven, then he prayed two rak'a sitting after saying the taslim, and that was nine, O my son. And when the Apostle of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) offered a prayer, he liked to persist in offering it’.