the conquest. They recommended that, upon the conquest of a city, the imam should offer eight rak‘ahs in gratitude to Allah, calling this the prayer of conquest. They argued that following the Prophet’s example requires considering his intention. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—did not intend to offer this prayer because of the time of day. Had that been his intention, he would have offered it every day, or on most days, just as he offered the two rak‘ahs before Fajr every day. Likewise, he would offer two rak‘ahs after Zuhr and two or four before it. When he missed the two rak‘ahs after Zuhr, he made them up after ‘Asr.

When he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and his Companions slept through Fajr during the Khaybar campaign, they offered two rak‘ahs after sunrise, followed by another two. No one has said that offering this prayer at that time is a regular Sunnah, because they offered it only to make up the prayer they had slept through. When he missed ‘Asr on one of the days of the Battle of the Trench, he offered it after sunset. It is also reported that he missed Zuhr, so he offered Zuhr, then ‘Asr, then Maghrib. No one has said that it is recommended to offer eleven rak‘ahs between Maghrib and ‘Ishā’, because these were missed prayers being made up. Indeed, no one has even reported that he singled out the interval between Maghrib and ‘Ishā’ for prayer.

As for the words of Allah Most High:

“Rising at night”

Most scholars understand this to mean rising after sleep, not the early part of the night. This is the correct view, because this was how the Prophet—may Allah bless him and his family and grant him peace—used to pray. Reports from him to this effect have been transmitted through so many independent chains that their authenticity is beyond doubt: he would rise to pray after sleeping; he did not offer his night prayer between Maghrib and ‘Ishā’.