Anas b. Malik was asked about standing in humble supplication and replied,“God’s Messenger stood in humble supplication after bowing.”A version has“before and after bowing.”Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Zaid b. Thabit said that God’s Messenger made an apartment of reed mats in the mosque and prayed in it for some nights until people gathered round him. One night when they missed his voice and thought he had gone to sleep, some of them began to clear their throats in order that he might come out to them, so he said,“What I have seen you doing has continued to be your practice, so that I have been afraid that it might be prescribed for you, and if it were prescribed for you you would not fulfil it. You people should therefore pray in your houses, for, with the exception of the prescribed prayer, the most excellent prayer a man observes is that which he observes in his house.”(Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira said that God’s Messenger used to commend prayer at night in Ramadan, but did not command it as a duty. He would say,“If anyone prays during the night in Ramadan because of faith and seeking his reward from God, his former sins will be forgiven him.”When God’s Messenger died this was the practice, and it continued thus during Abu Bakr’s Caliphate and the early part of ‘Umar’s. Muslim transmitted it.

Jabir reported God’s Messenger as saying,“When one of you performs the prayer in his mosque he should leave a portion of his prayer for his house, for God blesses his house because of his prayer.”Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Dharr said:We fasted along with God’s Messenger, but he did not make us get up at night for prayer at any time during the month till seven nights remained; then he made us get up for prayer till a third of the night had passed. Next night he did not make us get up, but when the fifth remaining night came he made us get up for prayer till a half of the night had gone, so I said,“Messenger of God, I wish you had led us in supererogatory prayers during the whole of this night." He replied,“When a man prays with an imam till he goes away he is reckoned as having spent a night in prayer." On the fourth remaining night he did not make us get up till two-thirds of the night had passed. On the third remaining night he gathered his family, his wives and the people and prayed with us till we were afraid we would miss the falah (explaining, when asked, that the falah was the meal before daybreak). Then he did not make us get up for prayer during the remainder of the month. Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Nasa’i transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted something similar, but Tirmidhi did not mention,“then he did not make us get up for prayer during the remainder of the month."

‘A’isha said:I missed God’s Messengerone night and found him at al-Baqi‘. He said,“Were you afraid that God and His Messenger would act wrongly towards you?" I replied,“Messenger of God, I thought you had gone to one of your wives." He said,“On the middle night of Sha'ban God most high descends to the lowest heaven and forgives more sins than the hairs of the goats of Kalb." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, and Razin added,“for those who deserve hell."Tirmidhi said,“I heard Muhammad (i.e., Bukhari) declare that this tradition is weak."

Zaid b. Thabit reported God s Messenger as saying,“A man’s prayer in his house is more excellent than his prayer in this mosque of mine, except for the prescribed prayer." Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi transmitted it.

‘Abd ar-Rahman b. ‘Abd al-Qari said:I went out one night to the mosque with ‘Umar b. al-Khattab and we saw the people in sections separate from one another, one man praying by himself, and another followed by a group; so ‘Umar said,“If I collected these people behind one reciter it would be better." He then made up his mind and collected them with Ubayy b. Ka‘b as imam. Afterwards I went out with him another night when the people were following the prayer of their reciter, and ‘Umar said,“This is a good innovation, but what you miss through sleeping is more excellent than what you are getting up for, meaning at the end of the night, for the people were getting up during the early part of the night. Bukhari transmitted it.

As-Sa’ib b. Yazid said:'Umar ordered Ubayy b. Ka'b and Tamim ad-Dari to lead the people in eleven rak'as during the night in Ramadan. The reader was reciting [a sura with over] a hundred verses in each rak'a so that we leaned on our sticks because of standing so long, and we did not depart till the dawn was beginning to break. Malik transmitted it.

Al-A‘raj said:I never came upon the people without hearing them cursing the infidels during Ramadan. The reader recited sura al-Baqara (Al-Qur’an; 2) in the course of eight rak'as, and when he made it serve for twelve rak'as the people thought he had shortened the prayer. Malik transmitted it.