another four of the same length and beauty, and then three; she did not extol these last ones as she had the prayers before them. That makes eleven rakʿahs in total, and the witr consists of the final three.

2 – It is also possible that the four were not offered as one block, but rather two by two. This accords with the hadith, “The night prayer is offered in pairs,” and with other reports that spell out his ﷺ night worship as being two rakʿahs at a time. ʿĀʾishah may therefore have spoken of the first four together and the second four together because, after finishing the first two, he would rise immediately for the next two; once he had completed four rakʿahs he would pause for some time, creating a lengthy break before beginning the next set of four.

3 – She mentioned that he slept, and asked whether he slept before witr. This indicates that his sleep came after the eight rakʿahs and that he offered the remaining three after waking. He replied that only his eyes slept, whereas his heart did not become absorbed in sleep because of its constant attachment to Allah and obedience to Him. Al-Bukhari said: “The prophets’ eyes sleep, but their hearts do not.”

Several other narrations from ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) describe both the manner and the number of the Prophet’s ﷺ night prayer besides the one already cited. Among them are:

(a) The version found in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: he would pray ten rakʿahs during the night, perform witr with a single rakʿah, and then offer the two rakʿahs of Fajr, making thirteen rakʿahs in all.

(b) Also in the two Ṣaḥīḥs she said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray thirteen rakʿahs at night, and five of those served as his witr; he would not sit during any of them except in the last of the five.”

(c) Another report from her states: “Seven rakʿahs.”

(d) Another says: “Nine rakʿahs.”

(e) Al-Bukhari also records from her: “He used to pray thirteen rakʿahs, and when he heard the call to the dawn prayer he would offer two brief rakʿahs.”