or thirteen rakʿahs.

ʿĀʾishah—may Allah be pleased with her—said: “He would pray four; do not ask about how beautiful and how long they were.”

Some people have assumed that these four were performed all at once with a single taslīm. This is a mistake, because other narrations explain in detail that he prayed four rakʿahs, giving the taslīm after every two; then another four, again giving the taslīm after every two; and finally three. Thus her statement, “He would pray four—do not ask about how beautiful and how long they were—then he would pray …”

This wording shows that after completing the first four with taslīm he paused briefly, for she said “then he would pray,” and the word “then” in Arabic indicates a lapse of time. After that pause he would pray the next four as two-by-two and conclude with the taslīm.

I would like to point out that one must not rush when interpreting the texts; rather, he should gather the scattered reports and combine them so that the matter becomes clear. Some brothers who have just begun studying—especially hadith—have started leading the people in four rakʿahs prayed all together. This is an error: it contradicts the sunnah and stems from a faulty understanding, for when the Prophet ﷺ was asked about the night prayer he said, “two by two.” One therefore cannot pray four all at once—though he may pray five together, or seven together, or nine together.

As for the hadith of ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd—may Allah be pleased with him—who once prayed with the Prophet ﷺ at night: the Prophet’s door was open, and his house was a house for the Ummah, for the Companions. If one of them wished to pray with him, he would come; the Prophet would never say, “Do not pray with me—pray in your own house.” On the contrary, he welcomed him, let him enter, and the man prayed alongside him.