that once he finished Sūrah al-Baqarah he would bow. Instead, the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—went on and recited the whole of Sūrah al-Nisāʾ. Hudhayfah then thought he would bow after that, yet the Prophet continued and, in the same rakʿah, completed Sūrah Āl ʿImrān, reciting deliberately, without haste. Whenever he passed a verse of glorification he said subḥān Allāh (Glory be to Allah); when he came to a verse that contained a request, he would ask; and when he encountered a verse of seeking refuge, he sought refuge.
Thus the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—combined recitation, remembrance, supplication, and contemplation. For the person who asks where a petition is mentioned, seeks refuge where refuge is called for, and glorifies where glorification appears is certainly reflecting on his recitation and pondering its meanings. That standing, then, became a garden among the gardens of remembrance—made up of recitation, glorification, supplication, and reflection—and throughout it all the Prophet did not bow. These three chapters—al-Baqarah, al-Nisāʾ, and Āl ʿImrān—amount to more than five and a quarter juzʾ. If someone were to recite them slowly, pausing at verses of warning to seek protection, at verses of mercy to ask for mercy, and at verses of glorification to glorify, how long would it take? Undoubtedly a long time; for that reason the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—would stand until his feet swelled and cracked.
ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd—then a young man—once prayed with him on one of those nights and later said, “The Prophet prolonged the standing so much that I nearly did something improper.” They asked, “What did you think of doing?” He replied, “I thought of sitting down and leaving him,” unable to endure the length of the standing.
After completing the three chapters, the Prophet bowed, saying, subḥāna rabbī al-ʿaẓīm (Glory be to my Lord, the Magnificent), and he prolonged the bowing to almost the same length as his standing. He then rose, lengthened the standing that follows bowing, and said, samiʿa Allāhu liman ḥamidah rabbanā wa laka al-ḥamd (Allah hears those who praise Him; our Lord, to You belongs all praise), until that standing was nearly as long as the bowing. Next he prostrated, saying, subḥāna rabbī al-aʿlā (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High), and he prolonged the prostration until it was about as long as his standing.
Such was his practice in prayer: he kept its parts proportionate. If he lengthened the standing, he lengthened the bowing, the prostrations, the standing after bowing, and the sitting between the two prostrations. When he shortened the recitation, he likewise shortened the bowing, the prostrations, and the standing, so that the prayer remained balanced. This was his habit—peace and blessings be upon him—in both obligatory and voluntary prayers.
This hadith provides several benefits.
Benefit one—and it is the reason the author cited the narration—is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) strove like a warrior, exerting himself in obedience, undertaking this demanding worship solely to seek the Face of Allah and His good pleasure. Allah says, describing the Prophet and his Companions: “You see them bowing and prostrating, seeking bounty from Allah and His pleasure” (al-Fath 48:29).
Another benefit: it is permissible to perform the night prayer in congregation, though not on a continuous basis. Outside Ramadan it may be done occasionally, whereas in Ramadan it is sunnah for the people to pray together.
A further benefit: during the night prayer, when one passes a verse of mercy he should pause and ask, so that if he encounters mention of Paradise he stops and says, “O Allah, make me among its people,”