622 – ʿAbd Allah related to us; my father related to me; ʿAbd Allah related to us; my father related to me; Musa related to us; Hazm related to us; he said, “I heard al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan say:
ʿUthman ibn Abi al-ʿAs married one of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab’s wives and declared, ‘By Allah, I did not marry her out of any wish for wealth or for children, but because I wanted her to tell me about ʿUmar’s nights.’ So I asked her, ‘How was ʿUmar’s prayer during the night?’
She replied, ‘He would perform the ʿIshaʾ prayer, then instruct us to place by his head a wash-basin filled with water. In the middle of the night he would awaken, dip his hand into the water and wipe his face and hands, then remember Allah until he dozed off again. He continued to rouse himself like that until the moment came when he rose to stand in prayer.’