(212) Chapter: Excellence of Standing in Prayer at Night

Hudhaifah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I performed Salat with the Prophet (ﷺ) one night, and he started reciting Surat Al- Baqarah. I thought that he would go in Ruku' (bowing posture in Salat) at the end of one hundred Ayat, but he continued (reciting); and I thought that he would perhaps recite (this Surah) in the whole Rak'ah (prayer), but he continued the recitation; I thought he would perhaps bow on completing (this Surah). He (ﷺ) then started reciting Surat An-Nisa' which he followed with Surat Al-Imran. He recited leisurely. When he recited an Ayah which mentioned the tasbeeh, he would say Subhan Allah and when he recited the Ayah which tells how the Rubb is to be asked, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would then ask from Him; and when he (ﷺ) recited an Ayah asking one to seek Protection Allah, he would seek Protection of Allah. Then he bowed and said, "Subhana Rabbiyal-Azim (My Rubb the Great is free from imperfection)"; his bowing lasted about the same length of time as his standing, (and then on returning to the standing posture after Ruku') he would say, "Sami' Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana lakal-hamd (Allah listens to him who praises Him. Praise be to You, Our Rubb!)," and he would then stand about the same length of time as he had spent in bowing. He would then prostrate himself and say, "Subhana Rabbiyal-A'la (My Rubb the Supreme is free from imperfection)," and his prostration lasted nearly the same length of time as his standing (Qiyam). [Muslim]. Commentary: This Hadith has already been mentioned. In his commentary on Sahih Muslim, Imam An-Nawawi has interpreted the words (occuring in this Hadith) as "I thought he would perhaps recite in the whole Rak`ah.'' Here Rak`ah means complete Salat (two Rak`ah). This interpretation is necessary for the reason that in its absence, the meanings of the next sentence go wrong. Due to this reason, we have kept these meanings in view in our translation. In any case, it furnishes justification for the desirability of long Qiyam (standing in Salat), the desirability of congregation in Nafl Salat, and the maintenance of the correct sequence in the recitation of the Surah of the Qur'an in prayers, which is not accepted by many people.