Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Abu Mansur al-Sam‘ani informed us; Abu Ja‘far al-Rayani related to us; Humayd ibn Zanjawayh related to us; Ahmad ibn Khalid al-Himsi related to us; Muhammad ibn Ishaq related to us from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, who said: Abd Allah ibn Unays related to me from his father that he said to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him: “I live in a desert settlement called al-Wat’ah, and—praise be to Allah—I lead its people in prayer. So appoint for me a night in this month on which I may come down to the mosque and spend it in prayer there.” He said: “Come down on the twenty-third night and spend it in prayer there. If you wish to continue through the remainder of the month, then do so; ⦗197/b⦘ and if you wish, then refrain.” (1)
He said: After praying the afternoon prayer, he would enter the mosque and not leave except for a need, until he prayed the dawn prayer. Once he had prayed the dawn prayer, his mount would be waiting at the door of the mosque.
Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Abu Mansur al-Sam‘ani informed us; Abu Ja‘far al-Rayani related to us; Humayd ibn Zanjawayh related to us; Ya‘la ibn Ubayd related to us; al-A‘mash related to us from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: We were discussing the Night of Decree, when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, asked: “How much of the month has passed?” We said: “Twenty-two days have passed, (2) and seven remain.” He said: “Twenty-two have passed and seven remain; (3) seek it tonight, for the month is twenty-nine days.” (4)
A group said that it is the twenty-seventh night. This was the view of Ali, Ubayy, and Aishah:
Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Abu Mansur al-Sam‘ani informed us; Abu Ja‘far al-Rayani related to us; Humayd ibn Zanjawayh related to us; Ya‘la ibn Ubayd related to us; Sufyan related to us from Asim, from Zirr ibn Hubaysh, who said: I said to Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, “O Abu al-Mundhir, tell us about the Night of Decree. For Ibn Umm Abd says: ‘Whoever stands in prayer throughout the year will attain it.’” He said:
(1) Reported by Abu Dawud in al-Salah (Prayer), chapter: “Regarding Laylat al-Qadr,” 2:110; al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan, 4:310, and in Shu'ab al-Iman, 7:276; al-Tahawi in Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar, 3:88; and Abd al-Razzaq in al-Musannaf, 4:251. Malik narrated it with a disconnected chain, 1:320, while Muslim and others narrated it with a connected chain, as mentioned above. Al-Mundhiri said: “Its chain includes Muhammad ibn Ishaq, concerning whom discussion has preceded. Muslim also recorded in his Sahih, in the Book of Fasting, no. 1168, from the hadith of Busr ibn Sa'id, from Abd Allah ibn Unays, that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: ‘I was shown Laylat al-Qadr, then I was made to forget it; and I was shown its morning, prostrating in water and mud.’ He said: ‘It rained upon us on the night of the twenty-third, and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, led us in prayer. When he departed, traces of water and mud were visible upon his forehead and nose.’” As for Ibn Ishaq, his tadlis (concealment of a narrator in the chain) does not detract from the report, since it is not an accusation that impugns his integrity. The scholar al-Laknawi discussed at length the response to criticism of him and concluded that he was reliable in his book Imam al-Kalam fima Yata'allaq bi al-Qira'ah Khalf al-Imam, pp. 280-290. In summary, he is hasan (acceptable), though scholars differed concerning him, and his hadith is hasan, as al-Mundhiri stated. See also Majma' al-Zawa'id, 3:178.
(2) Omitted from manuscript “A.”
(3) Omitted from manuscript “A.”
(4) Reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-Musannaf, 3:84; through his chain, Ibn Majah reported it in al-Siyam (Fasting), chapter: “What Has Been Related Regarding ‘The Month Is Twenty-Nine Days,’” no. 1656, 1:530. Al-Busiri said in al-Zawa'id: “Its chain is sound according to the criteria of Muslim.” Shaykh Ahmad Shakir added in his annotation to al-Musnad that it also meets the criteria of al-Bukhari. Ibn Hibban graded it sahih (authentic), p. 230 of Mawarid al-Zam'an. It was also reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan, 4:310, and by Imam Ahmad in al-Musnad, 2:251, with a sound chain; see Shaykh Ahmad Shakir's commentary, 13:156. The compiler also recorded it in Sharh al-Sunnah, 6:386.