Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from
Urwa ibn az-Zubayr from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, prayed in the mosque one night and people prayed
behind him. Then he prayed the next night and there were
more people. Then they gathered on the third or fourth
night and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, did not come out to them. In the morning,
he said, "I saw what you were doing and the only thing
that prevented me from coming out to you was that I feared
that it would become obligatory (fard) for you." This
happened in Ramadan.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu
Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf from Abu Hurayra that the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, used to exhort people to watch the night in prayer
in Ramadan but never ordered it definitely. He used to
say, "Whoever watches the night in prayer in Ramadan with
trust and expectancy, will be forgiven all his previous
wrong actions."
Ibn Shihab said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, died while that wasstill
the custom, and it continued to be the custom in the
khalifate of Abu Bakr and at the beginning of the
khalifate of Umar ibn al-Khattab."
Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn
az-Zubayr that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qari said, "I went
out with Umar ibn alKhattab in Ramadan to the mosque and
the people there were spread out in groups. Some men were
praying by themselves, whilst others were praying in small
groups. Umar said, 'By Allah! It would be better in my
opinion if these people gathered behind one reciter.' So
he gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Kab. Then I went out
with him another night and the people were praying behind
their Qur'an reciter. Umar said, 'How excellent this new
way is, but what you miss while you are asleep is better
than what you watch in prayer.' He meant the end of the
night, and people used to watch the beginning of the night
in prayer."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Yusuf
that as-Sa'ib ibn Yazid said, "Umar ibn al-Khattab ordered
Ubayy ibn Kab and Tamim ad-Dari to watch the night in
prayer with the people for eleven rakas.The reciterof the
Qur'an would recite the Mi'in (a group of medium-sized
suras) until we would be leaning on our staffs from having
stood so long in prayer. And we would not leave until the
approach of dawn."
Yahya related to me from Malik that Yazid ibn Ruman
said, "The people used to watch the night in prayer during
Ramadan for twenty-three rakas in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Da'ud ibn al-Husayn
that he heard al-Araj say, "I never saw the people in
Ramadan, but that they were cursing the disbelievers." He
added, "The reciter of Qur'an used to recite surat al-Baqara
in eight rakas and if he did it in twelve rakas the people
would think that he had made it easy."
Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Abi
Bakr said, "I heard my father say, 'We finished praying in
Ramadan and the servants hurried with the food, fearing
the approach of dawn.' "
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa
from his father that Dhakwan Abu Amr (a slave belonging to
A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, who was freed by her after her death)
used tostand in prayer and recite for her in Ramadan.