Saad bin Hisham reported,

Saad bin Hisham intended to go out and fight in the cause of Allah, so he came to Medina wanting to sell some property he owned there and use the proceeds to buy weapons and horses, then fight the Romans until he died. When he arrived in Medina, he met some of its people who forbade him from doing this. They told him that six men had wanted to do the same thing during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade them, saying, "Do you not have an example in me?" When they told him this, he took back his wife, whom he had divorced, and called witnesses to attest to the reconciliation.Then he went to Ibn Abbas and asked him about the witr prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.Ibn Abbas said, "Shall I direct you to the person on earth who knows most about the witr of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?"He asked, "Who?"Ibn Abbas replied, "Ayesha. Go to her and ask her, then come back and tell me what she answered you."Saad said, "So I set out for her house. I came to Hakeem bin Aflah and asked him to accompany me to her."Hakeem said, "I do not go near her, because I forbade her to say anything regarding these two factions, but she refused and went ahead with what she did."Saad continued, "I urged him insistently, so he came along, and we went to Ayesha. We sought her permission to enter, she granted it, and we went in."She said, "Is that Hakeem?" recognizing him.He said, "Yes."She asked, "Who is with you?"He said, "Saad bin Hisham."She asked, "Which Hisham?"He said, "The son of Amir."She invoked Allah's mercy upon him and spoke well of him. Qatada said, He had been killed at the battle of Uhud.I said, "Mother of the Believers, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."She said, "Do you not recite the Quran?"I said, "Yes."She said, "Then the character of the Prophet of Allah was the Quran."He said, "I was about to get up and not ask anyone about anything until I died, but then it occurred to me to ask, so I said, 'Tell me about the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.'"She said, "Do you not recite 'O you who are wrapped in garments' [Muzzammil 73:1]?"I said, "Yes."She said, "Allah made the night prayer obligatory at the beginning of this surah. The Prophet of Allah and his companions stood in prayer for a year, and Allah held back the closing of this surah for twelve months in heaven, until Allah revealed the relaxation at the end of this surah. So the night prayer became voluntary after having been obligatory."I said, "Mother of the Believers, tell me about the witr of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."She said, "We used to prepare for him his toothstick and his water for purification, and Allah would rouse him whenever He willed during the night. He would brush his teeth, perform ablution, and pray nine units, sitting only in the eighth, in which he would remember Allah, praise Him, and supplicate to Him. Then he would rise without saying the salam, and stand to pray the ninth. Then he would sit, remember Allah, praise Him, and supplicate to Him, then he would say the salam audibly so we could hear him. After saying the salam he would pray two more units while seated. That makes eleven units, my son.When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ grew older and gained weight, he would pray witr with seven units, doing in the two units afterward as he had done before. That makes nine, my son. Whenever the Prophet of Allah ﷺ performed a prayer, he loved to be constant in it. If sleep or illness overcame him and prevented him from praying at night, he would pray twelve units during the day. I do not know of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ reciting the entire Quran in a single night, nor praying through an entire night until morning, nor fasting an entire month other than Ramadan."Saad said, "Then I went to Ibn Abbas and told him what she had said."Ibn Abbas said, "She has spoken the truth. If I were close to her, or if I visited her, I would have gone to her so she could tell me face to face."Saad said, "I told him, 'Had I known you do not visit her, I would not have related her words to you.'"

عن سعد بن هشام بن عامر

أنه أراد أن يغزو في سبيل الله، فقدم المدينة، وأراد أن يبيع عقارا بها، فيجعله في السلاح والكراع، ويجاهد الروم حتى يموت، فلما قدم المدينة لقي أناسا من أهل المدينة، فنهوه عن ذلك، وأخبروه أن رهطا ستة أرادوا ذلك في حياة رسول الله ﷺ، فنهاهم رسول الله ﷺ، وقال: أليس لكم في أسوة؟ فلما حدثوه بذلك راجع امرأته- وقد كان طلقها- وأشهد على رجعتهافأتى ابن عباس، فسأله عن وتر رسول الله ﷺ؟ فقال ابن عباس: ألا أدلك على من هو أعلم أهل الأرض بوتر رسول الله ﷺ؟ قال: من؟ قال: عائشة، فاتها فسلها، ثم ائتني فأخبرني بردها عليك. قال: فانطلقت إليها، فأتيت على حكيم بن أفلح، فاستلحقته إليها، فقال: ما أنا بقاربها، لأني نهيتها أن تقول في هاتين الشيعتين شيئا، فأبت فيهما إلا مضيا، قال: فأقسمت عليه فجاء، فانطلقنا إلى عائشة، فاستأذنا عليها، فأذنت لنا، فدخلنا عليها، فقالت: حكيم؟ فعرفته، فقال: نعم، فقالت: من معك؟ قال: سعد بن هشام قالت: من هشام؟ قال: ابن عامر، فترحمت عليه، وقالت خيرا-قال قتادة: وكان أصيب يوم أحد-فقلت: يا أم المؤمنين، أنبئيني عن خلق رسول الله ﷺ، قالت: ألست تقرأ القرآن؟ قلت: بلى. قالت: فإن خلق نبي الله كان القرآن. قال: فهممت أن أقوم، ولا أسأل أحدا عن شيء حتى أموت، ثم بدا لي، فقلت: أنبئيني عن قيام رسول الله ﷺ فقالت: ألست تقرأ: {يأيها المزمل}؟ قلت: بلى قالت: فإن الله عز وجل افترض القيام في أول هذه السورة، فقام نبي الله وأصحابه حولا، وأمسك الله خاتمتها اثني عشر شهرا في السماء، حتى أنزل الله عز وجل في آخر هذه السورة التخفيف، فصارقيام الليل تطوعا بعد فريضة، قال: قلت: يا أم المؤمنين، أنبئيني عن وتررسول الله ﷺ، فقالت: كنا نعد له سواكه، وطهوره، فيبعثه الله ما شاء أن يبعثه من الليل، فيتسوك ويتوضأ، ويصلي تسع ركعات، لا يجلس فيهاإلا في الثامنة، فيذكر الله ويحمده ويدعوه، ثم ينهض ولا يسلم، ثم يقوم فيصلي التاسعة، ثم يقعد فيذكر الله ويحمده ويدعوه، ثم يسلم تسليما يسمعنا، ثم يصلي ركعتين بعد ما يسلم وهو قاعد، فتلك إحدى عشرة ركعة يا بني، فلما أسن رسول الله ﷺ، وأخذه اللحم، أوتر بسبع، وصنع في الركعتين مثل صنيعه الأول، فتلك تسع يا بني، وكان نبي الله ﷺ إذا صلى صلاة أحب أن يداوم عليها، وكان إذا غلبه نوم أو وجع عن قيام الليل صلى من النهار ثنتي عشرة ركعة، ولا أعلم نبي الله ﷺ قرأالقرآن كله في ليلة، ولا صلى ليلة إلى الصبح، ولا صام شهرا كاملا غيرشهر رمضان، قال: فانطلقت إلى ابن عباس فحدثته بحديثها، فقال: صدقت، ولو كنت أقربها، أو أدخل عليها، لأتيتها حتى تشافهني به، قال: قلت: لو علمت أنك لا تدخل عليها ما حدثتك حديثها.