I watched the Messenger of Allah ﷺ one night as he prayed the entire night through until dawn. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concluded his prayer with the salam, Khabab came to him and said, "Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be ransomed for you, you prayed tonight a prayer the like of which I have never seen you pray before."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, "Indeed, it was a prayer of hope and fear. I asked my Lord for three things, and He granted me two and withheld one. I asked my Lord
not to destroy us by what He destroyed the nations before us, and He granted me that. I asked my Lord
not to give an enemy from outside us victory over us, and He granted me that. And I asked my Lord
not to divide us into sects, but He withheld that from me."Abdullah narrated to us, saying, I heard my father say, Ali bin Ayyash heard this hadith directly from Shuayb bin Abu Hamza.
حدثنا علي بن عياش الحمصي حدثنا شعيب بن أبي حمزة ح وأبو اليمان أنبأنا شعيب قال وقال الزهري حدثني عبد الله بن عبد الله بن الحارث بن نوفل عن عبد الله بن خباب
راقبت رسول الله ﷺ في ليلة صلاها رسول الله ﷺ كلها حتى كان مع الفجر سلم رسول الله ﷺ من صلاته جاءه خباب فقال يا رسول الله بأبي أنت وأمي لقد صليت الليلة صلاة ما رأيتك صليت نحوها فقال رسول الله ﷺ أجل إنها صلاة رغب ورهب سألت ربي تبارك وتعالى ثلاث خصال فأعطاني اثنتين ومنعني واحدة سألت ربي تبارك وتعالى أن لا يهلكنا بما أهلك به الأمم قبلنا فأعطانيها وسألت ربي عز وجل أن لا يظهر علينا عدوا غيرنا فأعطانيها وسألت ربي تبارك وتعالى أن لا يلبسنا شيعا فمنعنيها حدثنا عبد الله قال سمعت أبي يقول علي بن عياش سمع هذا الحديث من شعيب بن أبي حمزة سماعا
[Shakir: 20951] Its isnad is sahih. Abdullah bin Abdullah bin Harith is trustworthy, his hadith is found in the Sahihayn. Likewise Abdullah bin Khabab, who is among the trustworthy of the Tabiin, and it is said that he had seen the Prophet.The hadith was narrated by Tirmidhi, 4/471, no. 2175, in the chapter on Fitan, and he said, hasan gharib sahih. And by Nasai, 3/217, in the chapter on Night Prayer, though it is not really a hadith, rather it shows the precision and care of Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him.[Shakir: 20952] Its isnad is sahih.