Saad bin Hisham reported,

Saad bin Hisham divorced his wife and then traveled to Medina to sell some property he owned there, intending to use the proceeds to buy weapons and horses so he could fight the Romans until he died. He met a group of his people, who told him that six men from his tribe had wanted to do the same thing during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, but the Prophet ﷺ had said to them, "Is there not in me a good example for you?" and forbade them from doing so. So he had them witness that he had taken back his wife, then he returned to us.He told us that he had gone to Ibn Abbas and asked him about the witr prayer.Ibn Abbas said, "Shall I not direct you to the person on earth who knows best about the witr of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?"He replied, "Yes."Ibn Abbas said, "Go to Ayesha and ask her, then come back to me and tell me what she answered you."Saad said, "I went to Hakeem bin Aflah and asked him to take me to her. He said, 'I will not go near her. I told her not to say anything about these two factions, but she refused to do anything but pursue the matter.' I insisted upon him with an oath, so he came with me, and we entered upon her."She said, "Is that Hakeem?" recognizing him.He said, "Yes," or, "Indeed."She asked, "Who is this with you?"He said, "Saad bin Hisham."She asked, "Hisham who?"He said, "Ibn Amir."She invoked mercy upon him and said, "What an excellent man Amir was."I said, "Mother of the Believers, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."She said, "Do you not read the Quran?"I said, "Yes."She said, "The character of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the Quran."I was about to get up, but then it occurred to me to ask about the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I said, "Mother of the Believers, tell me about the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."She said, "Do you not recite this surah, 'O you who wraps himself in garments' [Muzzammil 73:1]?"I said, "Yes."She said, "Allah made standing in prayer at night obligatory at the beginning of this surah. So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companions stood in prayer for a year until their feet swelled. Allah withheld the conclusion of this surah in heaven for twelve months, then He revealed the relief at the end of the surah, so the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ became voluntary after having been obligatory."I was about to get up, but then it occurred to me to ask about the witr of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I said, "Mother of the Believers, tell me about the witr of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."She said, "We used to prepare his tooth-stick and his water for ablution, and Allah would rouse him whenever He willed to rouse him during the night. He would use the tooth-stick, perform ablution, and then pray eight rakahs, not sitting during them except at the eighth, when he would sit and remember his Lord and supplicate and seek forgiveness. Then he would rise without giving the salutation and pray a ninth rakah. Then he would sit, praise his Lord, remember Him, and supplicate, then give the salutation aloud so that we could hear it. Then he would pray two rakahs while seated after giving the salutation. So that, my son, makes eleven rakahs.When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ grew older and became heavier, he would pray witr with seven rakahs, then pray two rakahs while seated after giving the salutation. So that, my son, makes nine.Whenever the Prophet of Allah ﷺ performed a prayer, he loved to maintain it consistently. If sleep, pain, or illness prevented him from praying at night, he would pray twelve rakahs during the day. I do not know of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ reciting the entire Quran in a single night, nor standing in prayer through an entire night until morning, nor fasting a full month other than Ramadan."So I went to Ibn Abbas and told him what she had said.He said, "She has spoken the truth. If I were on visiting terms with her, I would have gone to her so she could tell me face to face."

حدثنا يحيى حدثنا سعيد بن أبي عروبة عن قتادة عن زرارة بن أوفى

عن سعد بن هشام

أنه طلق امرأته ثم ارتحل إلى المدينة ليبيع عقارا له بها ويجعله في السلاح والكراع ثم يجاهد الروم حتى يموت فلقي رهطا من قومه فحدثوه أن رهطا من قومه ستة أرادوا ذلك على عهد رسول الله ﷺ فقال أليس لكم في أسوة حسنة فنهاهم عن ذلك فأشهدهم على رجعتها ثم رجع إلينا فأخبرنا أنه أتى ابن عباس فسأله عن الوتر فقال ألا أنبئك بأعلم أهل الأرض بوتر رسول الله ﷺ قال نعم قال ائت عائشة فاسألها ثم ارجع إلي فأخبرني بردها عليك قال فأتيت على حكيم بن أفلح فاستلحقته إليها فقال ما أنا بقاربها إني نهيتها أن تقول في هاتين الشيعتين شيئا فأبت فيهما إلا مضيا فأقسمت عليه فجاء معي فدخلنا عليها فقالت حكيم وعرفته قال نعم أو بلى قالت من هذا معك قال سعد بن هشام قالت من هشام قال ابن عامر قال فترحمت عليه وقالت نعم المرء كان عامر قلت يا أم المؤمنين أنبئيني عن خلق رسول الله ﷺ قالت ألست تقرأ القرآن قلت بلى قالت فإن خلق رسول الله ﷺ كان القرآن فهممت أن أقوم ثم بدا لي قيام رسول الله ﷺ قلت يا أم المؤمنين أنبئيني عن قيام رسول الله ﷺ فقالت ألست تقرأ هذه السورة {يا أيها المزمل} قلت بلى قالت فإن الله عز وجل افترض قيام الليل في أول هذه السورة فقام رسول الله ﷺ وأصحابه حولا حتى انتفخت أقدامهم وأمسك الله عز وجل خاتمتها في السماء اثني عشر شهرا ثم أنزل الله عز وجل التخفيف في آخر هذه السورة فصار قيام رسول الله ﷺ تطوعا من بعد فريضته فهممت أن أقوم ثم بدا لي وتر رسول الله ﷺ قلت يا أم المؤمنين أنبئيني عن وتر رسول الله ﷺ قالت كنا نعد له سواكه وطهوره فيبعثه الله عز وجل لما شاء أن يبعثه من الليل فيتسوك ثم يتوضأ ثم يصلي ثماني ركعات لا يجلس فيهن إلا عند الثامنة فيجلس ويذكر ربه عز وجل ويدعو ويستغفر ثم ينهض ولا يسلم ثم يصلي التاسعة فيقعد فيحمد ربه ويذكره ويدعو ثم يسلم تسليما يسمعنا ثم يصلي ركعتين وهو جالس بعدما يسلم فتلك إحدى عشرة ركعة يا بني فلما أسن رسول الله ﷺ وأخذ اللحم أوتر بسبع ثم صلى ركعتين وهو جالس بعدما يسلم فتلك تسع يا بني وكان نبي الله ﷺ إذا صلى صلاة أحب أن يداوم عليها وكان إذا شغله عن قيام الليل نوم أو وجع أو مرض صلى من النهار اثنتي عشرة ركعة ولا أعلم نبي الله ﷺ قرأ القرآن كله في ليلة ولا قام ليلة حتى أصبح ولا صام شهرا كاملا غير رمضان فأتيت ابن عباس فحدثته بحديثها فقال صدقت أما لو كنت أدخل عليها لأتيتها حتى تشافهني مشافهة