another two, then another two, then yet another two, then two more, and finally a single rakʿah. In other words, he would perform eleven rakʿahs, ending every pair with the taslīm and making witr with one. After that, he ﷺ would pray two rakʿahs before dawn; when the Fajr call was given he would offer these two units so lightly that ʿĀʾishah would remark, “Did he merely recite Umm al-Qurʾān (Sūrah al-Fātiḥah)?” because of their brevity. He would then lie on his right side until the muʾadhdhin came to inform him that the congregational prayer was about to begin.

This shows, first, that the night prayer is eleven rakʿahs concluded with a single witr, and, second, that it is preferable to perform the regular sunnah (rawātib) prayers at home rather than in the mosque, especially for the imam. It also indicates that the imam should not leave his house until the iqāmah: he stays at home until the time for the iqāmah arrives, then goes out to the mosque and leads the prayer. This is better than the imam arriving early and praying in the mosque. The congregation wait for the imam, and the imam waits for them; therefore it is best for him to emerge only shortly before the iqāmah—unless there is a specific reason or benefit in his coming early, such as encouraging the worshippers to attend promptly, for if he delayed they might become sluggish. In that case, arriving early would also be for the common good.

In another report ʿĀʾishah stated that the Prophet ﷺ did not go beyond eleven rakʿahs in Ramadan or at other times. She was asked, “How was the Prophet’s prayer in Ramadan?” She replied, “He never exceeded eleven rakʿahs in Ramadan or at other times. He would pray four—do not ask about how beautiful and how lengthy they were—then he would pray another four—do not ask about how beautiful and how lengthy they were—then he would pray three.” Four plus four plus three make eleven. This is the sunnah, and it is preferable not to exceed eleven rakʿahs in the night prayer.