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I am the one who is best informed of the time of this prayer, i.e. the night prayer. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to offer it at the hour when the moon went down on its third night.

One night the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was busy and he delayed the night ('isha') prayer so much so that we dosed in the mosque. We awoke, then dozed, and again awoke and again dozed. He (the Prophet) then came upon us and said : There is none except you who is waiting for prayer.

AbuZayd quoted Abdullah ibn Mas'ud as saying that on the night when the jinn listened to the Qur'an the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: What is in your skin vessel? He said: I have some nabidh. He (the Holy Prophet) said: It consists of fresh dates and pure water. Sulayman ibn Dawud reported the same version of this tradition on the authority of AbuZayd or Zayd. But Sharik said that Hammad did not mention the words "night of the jinn".

Ghudayf ibn al-Harith reported: I asked Aisha: Have you seen the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) washing (because of defilement) at the beginning of the night or at the end? She replied: Sometimes he would take a bath at the beginning of the night and sometimes at the end. Thereupon I exclaimed: Allah is most Great. All Praise be to Allah Who made this matter accommodative. I again asked her: What do you think, did the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say the witr prayer (additional prayer after obligatory prayer at night) in the beginning of the night or at the end? She replied: Sometimes he would say the witr prayer at the beginning of the night and sometimes at the end. I exclaimed: Allah is most Great. All praise be to Allah Who made the matter accommodative. Again I asked her: What do you think, did the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) recite the Qur'an (in the prayer) loudly or softly? She replied: Sometimes he would recite loudly and sometimes softly. I exclaimed: Allah is most Great. All praise be to Allah Who made the matter flexible.

We observed the prayer after nightfall with the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), and he did not come out till about half the night had passed. He then said: Take your places. We then took our places. Then he said: The people have prayed and gone to bed, but you are still engaged in prayer as long as you wait for the prayer. Were it not for the weakness of the weak and for the sickness of the sick. I would delay this prayer till half the night had gone.

I spent a night with the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). When he woke up from his sleep (in the later part of the night for prayer) he came to his ablution water. He took the toothstick and used it. He then recited the verse: "Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are tokens (of His Soverignity) for men of understanding" (Quran iii. 190). He then recited these verses almost upto the end of the chapter or he finished the whole chapter. He then performed ablution and came to the place of prayer. He then said two rak'ahs of prayer. He then lay down on the bed and slept as much as Allah wished. He then got up and did the same. He then lay down and slept. He then got up and did the same. Everytime he used the tooth-stick and offered two rak'ahs of prayer. He then offered the prayer known as witr. Abu Dawud said: Fudail on the Authority of Husain reported the wording: He then used the tooth-stick and performed ablution while he was reciting the verses: "Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth..." until he finished the chapter.

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Gabriel (peace_be_upon_him) led me in prayer at the House (i.e. the Ka'bah). He prayed the noon prayer with me when the sun had passed the meridian to the extent of the thong of a sandal; he prayed the afternoon prayer with me when the shadow of everything was as long as itself; he prayed the sunset prayer with me when one who is fasting breaks the fast; he prayed the night prayer with me when the twilight had ended; and he prayed the dawn prayer with me when food and drink become forbidden to one who is keeping the fast. On the following day he prayed the noon prayer with me when his shadow was as long as himself; he prayed the afternoon prayer with me when his shadow was twice as long as himself; he prayed the sunset prayer at the time when one who is fasting breaks the fast; he prayed the night prayer with me when about the third of the night had passed; and he prayed the dawn prayer with me when there was a fair amount of light. Then turning to me he said: Muhammad, this is the time observed by the prophets before you, and the time is anywhere between two times.

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) had a wooden vessel under his bed in which he would urinate at night.

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) did not get up after sleeping by night or by day without using the tooth-stick before performing ablution.

When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) got up during the night (to pray), he cleansed his mouth with the tooth-stick.