Hadith 441

Commentary

1. It seems from the Hadīth of Abū Salamah ؓ that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ would perform eleven Rak’ah thus, at first he ؓ would do four Rak’ah with the enormous beauty, elegance and length, then likewise he ؓ would perform four Rak’ah, thereafter he ؓ would sleep and then he got up to pray three Rak’ah of Witr. But the narration of Urwah in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim proves that he would perform eleven Rak’ah thus, he ؓ would make Salām after every two Rak’ah and he ؓ would perform one Witr at the end. The narration of Zaid bin Khālid Juhanī ؓ also supports it. [See: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Hadīth: 765] ‘Allāmah Ibn ‘Abdul Barr reconciled that he ؓ would make a salutation after every two Rak’ah, thus he ؓ would pray four Rak’ah with full beauty, elegance and length and took some rest; thereafter he ﷺ would pray four Rak'ah and rest, which means he would pray four Rah'ah for the second time in pairs of twos and then rest, therefore taking this Hadīth as proof of praying four Rak'ah together (in one go) is not right. Allamah Anwar Shāh Kāshmīrī Al-Ḥanāfī acknowledged this and told the Aḥnāf who try to support the view of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah with this Hadīth that it is better to perform four Rak'ah of night prayer with one salutation. [Ma'ārif: 4 / 119] 2. Concerning the late night prayer, Imām At-Tirmidhī reported various narrations of the Prophet ﷺ about the number of Rak'ah of night prayer. His ﷺ usual routine was that he would perform eleven Rak'ah, but sometimes he also performed less Rak'ah due to a shortage of time and tiredness or owing to sickness. His ﷺ statement: "The night prayer is sets of two Rak'ah. If one fears the coming of the dawn, he should perform one Rak'ah as Witr" [Jāmi' At-Tirmidhī, Hadīth: 437], tells that it is allowed to either decrease or increase the number of Rak'ah according one's circumstances and time. 3. There is no confusion and contradiction in the narrations reported by 'Āishah ﷺ.