after me,” and he also said, “Follow those who come after me—Abu Bakr and ʿUmar.”

For this reason we maintain that the night vigil of Ramadan is a sunnah. The minimum qiyām of the month is twelve rakʿahs, performed two by two, followed by witr; this was the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—regular prayer in Ramadan and at other times.

A number of the scholars and the early righteous in Madinah preferred twenty rakʿahs plus witr, while others preferred thirty-six rakʿahs plus witr; the latter is the view chosen by Mālik in the narration transmitted by Ibn al-Qāsim.

There is no qunūt during Ramadan—or at any other time of the year—except in the dawn prayer alone.

It is narrated from Mālik that he allowed qunūt in the latter half of Ramadan, yet the first opinion is the one his companions consider the definitive position of his school.

In the night prayer of Ramadan one should recite about ten verses when reading from the long passages, adding more when using shorter ones, and the surahs should be recited in the order in which they appear in the muṣḥaf.

There is no harm in praying between the even-numbered rakʿahs provided one sits between them; but if the imam makes his prayer lengthy, then no one should offer anything between those rakʿahs.