Riyad al-Salihin - Al-Nawawi - (1/428)

Riyad al-SalihinAl-Nawawi

1176 – Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, “The night prayer is offered two by two; when you fear that dawn is approaching, perform a single rakʿah as witr.” Agreed upon (1).

1177 – He also reported: “The Prophet ﷺ used to pray at night two by two and would conclude with one rakʿah as witr.” Agreed upon.

1178 – Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would omit fasting for part of the month until we thought he would not fast any of it, and he would fast so much that we thought he would not break the fast at all. Whenever you wished to see him praying at night, you could find him praying, and whenever you wished to see him sleeping, you could find him sleeping.” Reported by al-Bukhari.

1179 – ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray eleven rakʿahs—meaning at night. During each prostration he would remain as long as it takes one of you to recite fifty verses before lifting his head. He would then pray two rakʿahs before the dawn prayer, after which he would lie on his right side until the caller came to announce the prayer.” Reported by al-Bukhari.

1180 – She also said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ never exceeded—whether in Ramadan or at any other time—eleven rakʿahs: he would pray four, and do not ask about how beautiful and lengthy they were; then he would pray another four, and do not ask about how beautiful and lengthy they were; then he would pray three. I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, do you sleep before performing witr?’ He replied, ‘O ʿĀʾishah, my eyes sleep but my heart does not.’” Agreed upon.

1181 – She further related that the Prophet ﷺ used to sleep during the first part of the night and rise in its last part to pray. Agreed upon.

1182 – Ibn Masʿūd, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “I prayed with the Prophet ﷺ one night, and he did not cease…”

(1) I say: An explicit explanation appears in another narration reported by Muslim: Ibn Umar—the narrator—was asked, “What does ‘mathna mathna’ (two by two) mean?” He replied, “That one gives the taslim (closing salutation) after every two rak‘as.” The narrator is better informed about what he transmits than anyone else, all the more so since there are additional hadiths describing the Prophet actually giving the taslim after each pair of rak‘as during the night prayer; several of them are cited in my book Salat al-Tarawih. —N.

١١٧٦ - وعن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما ، أن النبي ﷺ قال : « صَلاَةُ اللَّيْلِ مَثْنَى مَثْنَى ، فَإِذَا خِفْتَ الصُّبْحَ فَأَوْتِرْ بِوَاحِدَةٍ » متفق عليه (١) . ١١٧٧ - وعنه قال : كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ ، يُصَلِّي مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَثْنَى مَثْنَى ، وَيُؤْتِرُ بِرَكْعَةٍ . متفق عليه . ١١٧٨ - وعن أنس رضي الله عنه قال : كَانَ رسولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ ، يُفْطِرُ مِنَ الشَّهْرِ حَتَّى نَظُنَّ أَنْ لَا يَصُومَ مِنْهُ ، وَيَصُومُ حَتَّى نَظُنَّ أَنْ لَا يُفْطِرَ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا ، وَكَانَ لَا تَشَاءُ أَنْ تَرَاهُ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مُصَلِّيًا إِلَّا رَأَيْتَهُ ، وَلَا نَائِمًا إِلَّا رَأَيْتَهُ ، رواه البخاري . ١١٧٩ - وعن عائشة رضي الله عنها ، أن رسول الله ﷺ ، كَانَ يُصَلِّي إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً - تَعْنِي فِي اللَّيْلِ - يَسْجُدُ السَّجْدَةَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ قَدْرَ مَا يَقْرَأُ أَحَدُكُمْ خَمْسِينَ آيَةً قَبْلَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَ رَأْسَهُ ، وَيَرْكَعُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ صَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ ، ثُمَّ يَضْطَجِعُ عَلَى شِقِّهِ الْأَيْمَنِ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَهُ الْمُنَادِي لِلصَّلَاةِ . رواه البخاري . ١١٨٠ - وعنها قالت : مَا كَانَ رسولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَزِيدُ - فِي رَمَضَانَ وَلَا فِي غَيْرِهِ - عَلَى إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً : يُصَلِّي أَرْبَعًا فَلَا تَسْأَلْ عَنْ حُسْنِهِنَّ وَطُولِهِنَّ ، ثُمَّ يُصَلِّي أَرْبَعًا فَلَا تَسْأَلْ عَنْ حُسْنِهِنَّ وَطُولِهِنَّ ، ثُمَّ يُصَلِّي ثَلَاثًا . فَقُلْتُ : يَا رسولَ اللَّهِ أَتَنَامُ قَبْلَ أَنْ تُؤْتِرَ ؟ فَقَالَ : « يَا عَائِشَةُ إِنَّ عَيْنَيَّ تَنَامَانِ وَلَا يَنَامُ قَلْبِي » متفق عليه . ١١٨١ - وعنها أن النبي ﷺ كَانَ يَنَامُ أَوَّلَ اللَّيْلِ ، وَيَقُومُ آخِرَهُ فَيُصَلِّي . متفق عليه . ١١٨٢ - وعن ابن مسعود رضي الله عنه قال : صَلَّيْتُ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ لَيْلَةً ، فَلَمْ يَزَلْ

(١) « قلت : جاء تفسيره في رواية لمسلم بلفظ : فقيل لابن عمر - راويه - : ما مثنى مثنى ؟ قال : « أن يسلم في كل ركعتين » . والراوي أدرى بمرويه من غيره ، لاسيما وفي الباب أحاديث فعلية في تسليمه بين كل ركعتين من صلاة الليل ، تجد بعضها في كتابي ( صلاة التراويح ) - ن - .