The Book of Prayer – Travellers

I slept (one night) in the house of Maimuna, the wife of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was with her that night. He (after sleeping for half of the night got up and) then performed ablution and then stood up and observed prayer. I too stood on his left side. He took hold of me and made me stand on his right side. He (the Holy Prophet) observed thirteen rak’ahs on that night. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then slept and snored and it was a habit with him to snore while sleeping. The Mu’adhdbin then came to him (to inform him about the prayer). He then went out and observed prayer without performing ablution. (‘Amr said: Bukair b. Ashajj had narrated it to me )

I spent one night in the house of my mother’s sister Maimuna, daughter of Harith, and said to her: Awake me when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stands to pray (at night). (She woke me up when) the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up for prayer. I stood on his left side. He took hold of my hand and made me stand on his right side, and whenever I dozed off he took hold of my earlobe (and made me alert). He (the narrator) said: He (the Holy Prophet) observed eleven rak’ahs. He then sat with his legs drawn and wrapped in his garment and slept so that I could bear his breathing while asleep. And when the dawn appeared, he observed two short rak’ahs of (Sunnah) prayer.

It was short and performed with a little water.) I also got up and did the same as the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had done. I then came (to him) and stood on his left. He then made me go around to his right side. He then observed prayer and went to sleep till he began to snore. Bilal came to him and informed him about the prayer. He (the Holy Prophet) then went out and observed the dawn prayer without performing ablution. Sufyan said: It was a special (prerogative of the) Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) for it has been conveyed to us that the eyes of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sleep, but his heart does not sleep.

I spent the night in the house of my mother’s sister, Maimuna, and observed how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed (at night). He got up and relieved himself. He then washed his face and hands and then went to sleep. He again got up and went near the water-skin and loosened its straps and then poured some water in a bowl and inclined it with his hands (towards himself). He then performed a good ablution between the two extremes and then stood up to pray. I also came and stood by his left side. He took hold of me and made me stand on his right side. It was in thirteen rak’ahs that the (night) prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was completed. He then slept till he began to snore, and we knew that he had gone to sleep by his snoring. He then went out (for the dawn prayer) and then again slept, and said while praying or prostrating himself:” O Allah! place light in my heart, light in my hearing, light in my sight, light on my right, light on my left, light in front of me, light behind me, light above me, light below me, make light for me,” or he said:” Make me light.”

I met Kuraib and he reported Ibn ‘Abbas as saying: I was with my mother’s sister Maimuna that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came there, and then he narrated the rest of the hadith as was narrated by Ghundar and said these words:” Make me light,” beyond any doubt.

I spent a night in the house of my mother’s sister, Maimuna, and then narrated (the rest of the) haditb, but he made no mention of the washing of his face and two hands but he only said: He then came to the water-skin and loosened its straps and performed ablution between the two extremes, and then came to his bed and slept. He then got up for the second time and came to the waterskin and loosened its straps and then performed ablution which was in fact an ablution (it was performed well), and implored (the Lord) thus:” Give me abundant light,” and he made no raention of:” Make me light.”

The Messenger of Allah may peace be upon him) stood near the water-skin and poured water out of that and performed ablution in which he neither used excess of water nor too little of it, and the rest of the hadith is the same, and in this mention is also made (of the fact) that on that night the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made supplication before Allah in nineteen words. Kuraib reported: I remember twelve words out of these, bux have forgotten the rest. The Messenger of Allah said:” Place light in my heart, light in my tongue, light in my hearing, light in my sight, light above me, light below me, light on my right, light on my left, light in front of me, light behind me, place light in my soul, and make light abundant for me.”

I slept one night in the house of Maimuna when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was there, with a view to seeing the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) at night. The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) entered into conversation with his wife for a short while, and then went to sleep, and the rest of the hadith is the same and in it mention is made of:” He then got up, performed ablution and brushed his teeth.”

He spent (one night) in the house of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He (the Holy Prophet) got up, brushed his teeth and performed ablution and said:” In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, there are indeed signs for people of understanding” (al-Qur’an, iii. 190), to the end of the Surah. He then stood up and prayed two rak’ahs, standing, bowing and prostrating himself at length in them. Then he finished, went to sleep and snored. He did that three times, six rak’ahs altogether, each time cleaning his teeth, performing ablution, and reciting these verses. Then he observed three rak’ahs of Witr. The Mu’adhdhin then pronounced the Adhan and he went out for prayer and was saying,:” O Allah I place light in my heart, light in my tongue, place light in my hearing, place light in my eyesight, place light behind me, and light in front of me, and place light above me, and light below me. O Allah! grant me light.”

I spent a night in the house of my mother’s sister Maimuna. The Apostle of Allah (way peace be upon him) got up for observing voluntary prayer (Tahajjud) at night. The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) stood by the water-skin and performed ablution and then stood up and prayed. I also got up when I saw him doing that. I also performed ablution from the water-skin and then stood at his left side. He took hold of my hand from behind his back and then turned me from his back to his right side. I (‘Ata’, one of the narrators) said: Did it concern the voluntary prayer (at night)? He (‘Ibn ‘Abbas) said: Yes.

(My father) Abbas sent me to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he was in the house of my mother’s sister Maimuna and spent that night along with him. He (the Holy Prophet) got up and prayed at night, and I stood up on his left side. He caught hold of me from behind his back and made me stand on his right side.

I spent a night in the house of my mother’s sister Maimuna, and the rest of the hadith is the same as narrated above.

I heard Ibn ‘Abbas saying that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observed thirteen rak’ahs at night.

I would definitely watch at night the prayer observed by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He prayed two short rak’ahs, then two long, long, long rak’ahs, then he prayed two rak’ahs which were shorter than the two preceding rak’ahs, then he prayed two rak’ahs which were shorter than the two preceding, then he prayed two rak’ahs which were shorter than the two preceding, then observed a single one (Witr), making a total of thirteen rak’ahs