and Muhammad b. Fudayl is trustworthy and is counted among the narrators accepted by the two Shaykhs, Bukhari and Muslim. With this additional wording the hadith is therefore at least hasan and very likely sahih. Ahmad also records it (5/170) with still further details: “Yahya narrated to us; Qudamah b. Abd Allah narrated to us,” with the following wording: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ rose one night to lead the ‘isha’ prayer. He prayed with the people, and some of his Companions remained behind to continue praying. When he noticed their staying on, he withdrew to his quarters; when he saw that they had left the place he returned to it and prayed. I came and stood behind him, and he motioned to me with his right hand so I stood at his right. Then Ibn Masud arrived and stood behind me and him; he motioned to him with his left hand, so he stood on his left. Thus the three of us stood, each man praying on his own and reciting from the Quran whatever Allah willed. The Prophet then fixed upon a single verse of the Quran, repeating it until he prayed the dawn (fajr) prayer. After daybreak I signalled to Abd Allah b. Masud to ask him what the Prophet had intended by what he had done the previous night. Ibn Masud gestured with his hand that he would not question him until the Prophet spoke first. I said, “May my father and mother be your ransom! You stood on one verse of the Quran—while all of the Quran is with you. Had any one of us done that we would have criticised him.” He replied: “I was supplicating for my ummah.” I asked, “What answer were you given—or what reply came to you?” He said: “I was granted an answer such that, if many of them had even a glimpse of it, they would abandon the prayer.” I said, “Shall I not give the people the glad tidings?” He said: “Yes.” So I set off quickly, only a stone’s throw away, when Umar said, “Messenger of Allah, if you send this news to the people they will slacken in worship.” The Prophet therefore called out, “Return,” and I came back. The verse was: “In tuʿadhdhibhum fa-innahum ʿibaduka wa-in taghfir lahum fa-innaka anta al-ʿazizu al-hakim” — “If You punish them, they are but Your servants; but if You forgive them, surely You alone are the Almighty, the All-Wise” (Quran 5:118).