Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I spent one night in the house of the purified wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), my maternal aunt, Sayyidah Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her). I lay down across the pillow (i.e., at the edge), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his wife lay down lengthwise on the pillow as usual. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) slept, and when half the night had passed, or a little before or after it, he woke up and began to rub his eyes with his hands to remove the effects of sleep. Then he recited the last ten verses of Surah Al-Imran. Then he stood up and went to a water-skin that was hanging (from the ceiling), and performed ablution from it thoroughly. Then he stood up and did as he had performed ablution. Then I went and stood at his blessed side. He placed his right hand on my head and took hold of my right ear and began to twist it. Then he prayed two rak‘ahs. After that, he prayed another two rak‘ahs, then another two rak‘ahs, then another two rak‘ahs, and after that he prayed one rak‘ah of witr and lay down. Then when the mu’adhdhin came to him, he got up and prayed two light rak‘ahs. Then he went out and led the morning prayer.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that the night prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to be thirteen rak‘ahs.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would get up at night to perform Tahajjud, he would say: O Allah, all praise is for You, for You are the Light of the heavens and the earth. All praise is for You, for You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth. All praise is for You, for You are the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is in them. You are true, Your promise is true, and Your word is true, and meeting You is true, Paradise is true, and Hell is true, all the Prophets are true, and the Hour is true. O Allah, I have submitted to You, I have believed in You, I have put my trust in You, I have turned to You, I have argued before You, and I seek judgment from You. So forgive me for all my past and future sins, those I have committed secretly and those I have committed openly. You are my God; there is no god but You.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I once performed prayer at night with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He stood for such a long time that a wrong thought occurred in my heart. We asked, "What was that wrong thought?" He replied, "I thought I should sit down and leave the company of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that I was present when a person was mentioned before the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who had slept through the night until the morning. The Prophet said: This is a person in whose both ears (or he said: ear) the devil has urinated.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to him and Sayyidah Fatimah one night and said, "Will you not pray (the Tahajjud) prayer?" I replied, "O Messenger of Allah, our souls are in Allah's control; when He wills, He will awaken us." At this response of ours, the Prophet returned without saying anything, but as he was leaving, I heard him striking his thigh and reciting (this verse from Surah Al-Kahf): "Man is the most quarrelsome of all beings." (Al-Kahf 54)

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Satan ties three knots at the back of the head of any one of you when he sleeps, and on each knot he breathes the following words: "The night is long, so sleep." Then if one wakes up and remembers Allah, one knot is undone; and when he performs ablution, the second knot is undone; and if he prays (obligatory or voluntary prayer), then the third knot is undone. Thus, in the morning, he becomes energetic and good-natured; otherwise, he becomes lazy and of bad disposition.

Narrated by Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Offer prayers in your houses also, and do not make them like graveyards."

Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The example of the one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not remember his Lord is like that of the living and the dead.

Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made a small room out of a mat or set up a screen during Ramadan. He prayed in it for several nights. Some of the companions followed him in prayer during those nights. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) became aware of this, he began to sit and stopped leading the prayer. Then he came out and said, "I know what you did, but people, continue to pray in your homes, for the best prayer of a person is that which he performs in his house, except for the obligatory prayer (which should be performed in the mosque)."