There is thus agreement on eleven rak‘ahs, while the final two rak‘ahs are disputed (1): are they the two rak‘ahs before the dawn prayer, or two other rak‘ahs?
When these are added to the obligatory prayers and the regular sunnah prayers that he consistently observed, his regular daily and nightly routine amounted to forty rak‘ahs, which he always maintained: seventeen obligatory rak‘ahs, ten or twelve rak‘ahs of regular sunnah prayers, and eleven or thirteen rak‘ahs of night prayer—a total of forty. Anything beyond this was occasional rather than regular, such as the eight rak‘ahs he prayed at the conquest, the midmorning prayer upon returning after an absence, his prayers when visiting others, the prayer of greeting the mosque, and similar prayers. The servant should therefore maintain this routine until death. How swift the response, and how soon the door opens, for one who knocks forty times every day and night! Allah alone is sought for help.
Section
An Account of His Night Prayer and Witr
An account of his prayer (2) early in the night (3): ‘Ā’ishah said: “Whenever the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, prayed the night prayer and then came in to me, he would pray four or six rak‘ahs before retiring to bed.” Ibn ‘Abbās said, describing the night he stayed with him: “He prayed the night prayer, then came and prayed [four rak‘ahs] (4), then slept.” Abū Dāwūd recorded both reports (5).
(1) The reading al-ākhiratayn (the last two) is also possible.
(2) Kāf and ‘Ayn read: “salāh (prayer).” The printed edition has the same reading.
(3) In the printed editions, this is made part of the section heading by adding the conjunction wa (and) before dhikr (an account).
(4) A necessary addition supplied from al-Sunan.
(5) The hadith of ‘Ā’ishah is no. 1303. Ahmad (24305) and al-Nasā’ī in al-Kubrā (390) also transmitted it, without the words “then he retires to bed.” Its chain includes Muqātil ibn Bashīr al-‘Ijlī, who narrates from ‘Ā’ishah and is an unknown narrator. Zurārah ibn Awfā also transmitted it, as recorded by Abū Dāwūd (1346–1348). It also appears in Ahmad (25987), except that this version states that he would pray two rak‘ahs. Ibn ‘Abd al-Hādī said in al-Muharrar (318): “Whether Zurārah heard directly from ‘Ā’ishah is open to question.” In his ‘Ilal (3657), al-Dāraqutnī considered it more likely that Zurārah narrated it from Sa‘d ibn Hishām, from ‘Ā’ishah. Abū Dāwūd (1349) and Ahmad (25988) transmitted it through this chain, but neither quoted its wording. Al-Nasā’ī likewise transmitted it in al-Mujtabā (1651) and al-Kubrā (423, 1420), through several routes from Hishām, from al-Hasan, from Sa‘d ibn Hishām, from ‘Ā’ishah. These versions do not mention his prayer, peace and blessings be upon him, before retiring to bed. Al-Albānī said: “The hadith is authentic except for ‘the four rak‘ahs’; the reliably preserved wording is two rak‘ahs.” For details, see Sahīh Abī Dāwūd—al-Umm (5/90–94).
As for the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbās, it is no. 1357, transmitted through Shu‘bah, from al-Hakam, from Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ‘Abbās. Al-Bukhārī (117, 697) likewise transmitted it through two routes from Shu‘bah.