Riyad as-Salihin

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to perform eleven Rak'ah (of Tahajjud) prayers at night. He (ﷺ) would prostrate so long as one of you might recite fifty Ayat (of the Qur'an). Thereafter, he would perform two Rak'ah before Fajr prayers and would lie down on his right side till the Mu'adhdhin would come and inform him about the time of (Fajr) prayer..

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not observe more than eleven Rak'ah (of Tahajjud prayers), be in Ramadan or any other month. First of all he would perform four Rak'ah. Ask not about their excellence and their length. He (ﷺ) would then perform four more Rak'ah; and do not ask about their excellence and their length. Then he would perform three Rak'ah (Witr prayer). ('Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) added) I submitted: "O Messenger of Allah! Do you sleep before performing the Witr prayer?" He (ﷺ) said, "O 'Aishah! My eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep.".

The Prophet (ﷺ) would sleep during the early part of night and stand in Salat during the latter part..

One night I joined the Prophet (ﷺ) in his (optional) Salat. He (ﷺ) prolonged the Qiyam (standing) so much that I made up my mind to commit an act of wrong. He was questioned: "What did you intend to do?" He replied: "I intended to sit down and stop following him (in Salat).".

I performed Salat with the Prophet (ﷺ) one night, and he started reciting Surat Al- Baqarah. I thought that he would go in Ruku' (bowing posture in Salat) at the end of one hundred Ayat, but he continued (reciting); and I thought that he would perhaps recite (this Surah) in the whole Rak'ah (prayer), but he continued the recitation; I thought he would perhaps bow on completing (this Surah). He (ﷺ) then started reciting Surat An-Nisa' which he followed with Surat Al-Imran. He recited leisurely. When he recited an Ayah which mentioned the tasbeeh, he would say Subhan Allah and when he recited the Ayah which tells how the Rubb is to be asked, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would then ask from Him; and when he (ﷺ) recited an Ayah asking one to seek Protection Allah, he would seek Protection of Allah. Then he bowed and said, "Subhana Rabbiyal-Azim (My Rubb the Great is free from imperfection)"; his bowing lasted about the same length of time as his standing, (and then on returning to the standing posture after Ruku') he would say, "Sami' Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana lakal-hamd (Allah listens to him who praises Him. Praise be to You, Our Rubb!)," and he would then stand about the same length of time as he had spent in bowing. He would then prostrate himself and say, "Subhana Rabbiyal-A'la (My Rubb the Supreme is free from imperfection)," and his prostration lasted nearly the same length of time as his standing (Qiyam)..

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked: "Which Salat is the best?" He replied, " The best Salat is that in which Qiyam (the duration of standing) is longer.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The Salat which is dearest to Allah is that of (Prophet) Dawud; and As-Saum (the fasting) which is dearest to Allah is that of (Prophet) Dawud. He used to sleep half the night, get up to perform Salat for one-third of it, then sleep through the remaining one-sixth of it; and he used to observe Saum on alternative days.".

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "Every night there is a special time during which whatever a Muslim asks Allah of any good relating to this life or the Hereafter, it will be granted to him; and this moment comes every night.".

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When one of you gets up at night to perform (Tahajjud) prayer, let him start Salat with two short Rak'ah.".

Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood for Salat at night, he would start his prayer with two brief Rak'ah..

If the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) missed his night (Tahajjud) Salat because of indisposition or the like, he would perform twelve Rak'ah during the day..

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "If anyone falls asleep and therefore fails to observe his Hizb (share) or part of it, if he observes it between the Fajr and the Zuhr prayers, it will be recorded for him as though he had observed it during the night.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "May Allah show mercy to a man who gets up during the night and performs Salat, awakens his wife to pray and if she refuses, he sprinkles water on her face (to make her get up). May Allah show mercy to a woman who gets up during the night and performs Salat, awakens her husband for the same purpose; and if he refuses, she sprinkles water on his face.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When a man awakens his wife during the night and they both perform two Rak'ah Salat together, they are recorded among the men and women who celebrate remembrance of Allah.".

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When one of you dozes off while performing Salat, he should lie down till his drowsiness has gone away from him. When one of you performs Salat while dozing, he may abuse himself instead of seeking pardon (as a result of drowsiness).".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When anyone of you stands up for Salat at night and finds it difficult to recite the Qur'an accurately and he is unaware of what he is reciting, he should go back to sleep.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who observes optional prayer (Tarawih prayers) throughout Ramadan, out of sincerity of Faith and in the hope of earning reward will have his past sins pardoned.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to urge (the people) to perform (optional Tarawih) prayer at night during the month of Ramadan. He did not order them or make it obligatory on them. He (ﷺ) said, "Whosoever performs (optional Tarawih) prayers at night during the month of Ramadan, with Faith and in the hope of receiving Allah's reward, will have his past sins forgiven.".

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whosoever performs Qiyam during Lailat-ul-Qadr (Night of Decree), with Faith and being hopeful of Allah's reward, will have his former sins forgiven.".

Some of the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) saw Lailat-ul-Qadr (Night of Decree) in their dreams in the last seven nights of Ramadan, whereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I see that your dreams all agree upon the last seven nights. Whosoever seeks it, let him seek it in the last seven nights.".