51 – ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Waqid narrated to us; Dimrah ibn Rabiʿah narrated to us; from Ibn Shawdhab, who said:

“Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani used to lead the people of his mosque in prayer during the month of Ramadan. In every rakʿah (unit of prayer) he would recite thirty verses, and in the pause between each two units of tarawih he would stand for his own worship and recite another thirty verses, calling out to them, ‘Prayer, prayer!’

When he concluded with witr (the single-unit closing prayer) he would supplicate with the supplication drawn from the Quran, and those behind him would answer ‘Āmīn’ while otherwise remaining silent. Among the last things he would say was to invoke blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ and to plead: ‘O Allah, employ us in acting upon his sunnah, inspire us to follow his guidance, and make us leaders for the God-fearing.’ Then,” the narrator added, “he would fall down (in prostration).

When the night of breaking the fast (the eve of Eid al-Fitr) arrived, he would bathe and wash the two garments in which he had entered ihram, and once he had finished the prayer he would make several supplications.

Later Hamid, Yunus ibn ʿUbayd, and Ayyub met. Hamid al-Tawil said to Yunus, ‘Do you not know that Ayyub has started delivering narrative sermons?’—and they smiled.”