Another group said: It is established in an authentic report from ‘Ā’isha that “the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would not pray more than thirteen units, whether in Ramadan or at other times.”

Some became confused over this issue because they thought that the authentic hadith contradicted the established practice of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and the Muslims. The correct view is that all these practices are good, as Imam Ahmad, may Allah be pleased with him, explicitly stated. No fixed number of units is prescribed for the night prayer in Ramadan, since the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not prescribe a particular number. Accordingly, the number of units may be increased or decreased depending on how long or short the standing is.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to stand for a long time in prayer at night. Indeed, it is established in an authentic report from Hudhayfa that “he would recite al-Baqara, al-Nisā’, and Āl ‘Imrān in a single unit of prayer, so that prolonged standing made a greater number of units unnecessary.”

When Ubayy ibn Ka‘b led the people as a single congregation, he could not keep them standing for so long, so he increased the number of units to compensate for the shorter standing. They made the number twice that prayed by the Prophet, who used to pray eleven or thirteen units at night. Later, the people of Medina became less able to sustain prolonged standing, so they increased the number of units until it reached thirty-nine.