Shama'il Muhammadiyah

“How was the ritual prayer of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) during Ramadan?” so she said: “Neither in Ramadan nor in any other month would Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) add to the total of eleven cycles of ritual prayer. He would perform four — do not ask about their excellence or their length — then he would perform four — do not ask about their excellence or their length — and then he would perform three.” ‘A'isha said (may Allah the Exalted be well pleased with her): “I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, do you sleep before you perform the odd-numbered ritual prayer ?' He said: ‘O 'A'isha, my eyes may sleep, but my heart does not sleep!’”

“Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to perform eleven cycles of ritual prayer during the night, making one of them odd-numbered , and when he had finished, he would recline on his right side.”

Two other chains have narrations similar to the previous one.

"Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to perform nine cycles of ritual prayer during the night.”

“When he entered into the ritual prayer, he said: ‘Allah is Supremely Great .” According to Abu 'Isa: “Shu'ba is the one who entertained doubts about al-Ma'ida and al- Anam."

"Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) spent one whole night reciting a verse from the Qur’an.” Commentary: The aayah is the last aayah of Surah Maa-idah:In tu-adh-dhib-hum fa-innahum 'ibaaduk. Wa in tagh-fir lahum fa-innaka antal azizul hakim.Translation: "If Thou punish them, lo! they are Thy slaves, and if Thou forgive them, (lo! the are Thy slaves).Lo! Thou, only Thou, art Mighty, the wise".Surah Maa-idah, 118.The Being that possesses great power, if He wills, He may forgive the criminal. The One that is all Wise, there is Wisdom and benefit in every act of His. The reason for Sayyidina Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam reciting this aayah while standing and also in the ruku and sajdah, and repeating it many times, is to bring to mind the two attributes of Allah, namely the attributes of justice and forgiveness. The whole scene on the day of qiyaamah will be of these two things. It is stated that Imaam Aa'zam Abu Hanifah RA. also recited the following aayah the whole night:Wamtaazul yauma ayyuhal mujrimun.Translation: "But avaunt ye, O ye guilty, this day!" Surah Yaseen, 58.In this aayah too the scene of qiyaamah is portrayed. That today the sinners should separate and distinguish themselves. What a severe and nerve-chilling command this is. Today they are together with the pious and holy people and benefiting from the barakaat (blessings) they receive, but at this moment the sinners will be separated from them. May the Most Merciful Allah with His Grace keep those pious souls under His shadow, otherwise it is really a time for great trials.

“I performed the ritual prayer one night with Allah’s Messenger (All^ bless him and give him peace), and he remained standing until I almost did something bad.” He was asked: “What did you almost do?” He replied: “I nearly sat down and left the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in the lurch!”

“The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to perform the ritual prayer sitting down, so he would also recite the Qur’an while he was seated. If the amount of his recitation remaining was thirty or forty verses, he would rise and recite standing up, and then he would bow and prostrate. Then he would do likewise in the second cycle.”

“I asked 'A’isha (may Allah be well pleased with her) about the voluntary ritual prayers of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), and she said: ‘He used to spend a long night performing the ritual prayer while standing, and a long night while sitting, so if he recited the Qur’an while standing, he would bow and prostrate from a standing position, and if he recited while sitting, he would bow and prostrate from a sitting position.”

“Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to perform voluntary ritual prayer sitting down , and he would recite the Sura and pronounce it slowly, so that it would seem to be longer than one that was actually longer than it.”

“By the time the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) died, he was performing most of his ritual prayers from a sitting position.”

"I performed two cycles of ritual prayer with Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) before the noon prayer, and two cycles after it, and two cycles after the sunset prayer in his house, and two cycles after the evening prayer in his house.”

“Hafsa said: 'Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to perform two cycles of ritual prayer when the dawn was rising, and the caller was calling'. And Ayyub said, “I think he described the two prayer cycles as abbreviated.”

"I recall eight cycles performed by Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace): two cycles before the noon prayer and two cycles after it, two cycles after the sunset prayer, and two cycles after the evening prayer.” Ibn ‘Umar said: “Hafsa also told me about the two cycles of the early-morning prayer , but I did not see them performed by the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).”

"I asked 'A’isha (may Allah be well pleased with her) about the ritual prayer of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), and she said: 'He used to perform two cycles of ritual prayer before the noon prayer and two cycles after it, two cycles after the sunset prayer, two cycles after the evening prayer, and two before the dawn prayer.’”

“We asked 'Ali (may Allah ennoble his countenance) about the ritual prayer of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) in the daytime, and he said: ‘You would be incapable of that,’ so we said: Anyone of us who is capable of that will perform it!’ He therefore said: ‘When the sun was from over here , at the time of the afternoon prayer, he used to perform two cycles of ritual prayer, and when the sun was from over here, like its appearance from over here, at the time of the midday prayer, he would perform four. He would also perform four cycles before the midday prayer and two after it, and four before the afternoon prayer, separating each pair of cycles with the salutation of peace upon the angels drawn near, and upon the Prophets and the believers and Muslims who follow them'.”

"I asked ‘A'isha (may Allah the Exalted be well pleased with her): “Did the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) perform the mid-morning ritual prayer?” She said: “Yes, four cycles, and he used to add whatever Allah wished (Almighty and Glorious is He).”

“The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to perform the mid-morning ritual prayer in six cycles.”

“I have never heard anyone mention seeing the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) performing the mid¬morning ritual prayer except Umm Hani (may Allah the Exalted be well pleased with her). “She related that Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) entered her house on the Day of the Conquest of Mecca, whereupon he performed the major ritual ablution and glorified Allah in eight cycles. I never saw him (Allah bless him and give him peace) perform a ritual prayer in a more abbreviated form than that, even though he completed the bowing !”

“I asked 'A'isha (may Allah the Exalted be well pleased with her): ‘Was the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to performing the mid-morning ritual prayer?’ She said: ‘No, except when he was coming back from an absence.'"