The eighth form is that reported by al-Nasā’ī (1) from Hudhayfah, who prayed with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, during Ramadan. He bowed and said while bowing, “Glory be to my Lord, the Magnificent,” for as long as he had stood. Then he sat, saying, “My Lord, forgive me; my Lord, forgive me,” for as long as he had stood. [Then he prostrated, saying, “Glory be to my Lord, the Most High,” for as long as he had stood] (2). He had prayed only four rak‘ahs when Bilāl came to call him to the dawn prayer.
He performed witr at the beginning, middle, and end of the night.
One night (3), he stood in prayer, reciting a single verse repeatedly until morning (4):
‘If You punish them, they are Your servants; and if You forgive them, You are indeed the Almighty, the All-Wise.’ [al-Mā’idah: 118]” (5).
(1) Al-Mujtabā (1665) and al-Kubrā (1382); the underlying report is in Muslim (772). Its sources were discussed in detail earlier, when treating the Prophet’s words of remembrance upon rising from bowing, peace and blessings be upon him (p. 250).
(2) The bracketed passage is missing from the manuscripts, apparently because of a scribal eye-skip. Shaykh al-Fiqī supplied it from al-Sunan without indicating the addition. The al-Risālah edition does likewise.
(3) n: “laylatan tāmmatan (an entire night).”
(4) mb adds after it: “wa-hiya (and it is).”
(5) Reported by Ibn Abī Shaybah (8454), Ahmad (21388), al-Nasā’ī in al-Mujtabā (1010) and al-Kubrā (1084, 11096), Ibn Mājah (1350), and al-Bayhaqī (3/13), through Qudāmah al-‘Āmirī, from Jasrah bint Dajājah, from Abū Dharr, with this wording. Its chain of transmission has some weakness because of Qudāmah and Jasrah. It was also reported by Ahmad (21328) and al-Bayhaqī (3/14), through Fulayt al-‘Āmirī, from Jasrah, with this wording; Fulayt is sadūq (truthful). Al-Hākim (1/241) graded the hadith sahīh (authentic), and al-Albānī graded it hasan (good); see Asl Sifat al-Salāh (2/534–535). Ibn Khuzaymah stated in his Sahīh (1/299): “If the report is authentic …”