"Tonight I will surely observe the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ." He said, "So I lay down at his threshold," or "his tent."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood and prayed two very long, very long, very long rakahs. Then he prayed two rakahs shorter than the previous two, then two rakahs shorter than those, then two rakahs shorter than those, then two rakahs shorter than those, then two rakahs shorter than those. Then he prayed witr. That made thirteen rakahs in all.
لأرمقن الليلة صلاة رسول الله ﷺ قال: فتوسدت عتبته، أو فسطاطه. فقام رسول الله ﷺ فصلى ركعتين طويلتين طويلتين طويلتين، ثم صلى ركعتين، وهما دون اللتين قبلهما، ثم صلى ركعتين وهما دون اللتين قبلهما، ثم صلى ركعتين وهما دون اللتين قبلهما، ثم صلى ركعتين وهما دون اللتين قبلهما، ثم صلى ركعتين وهما دون اللتين قبلهما. ثم أوتر. فتلك ثلاث عشرة ركعة.
Malik narrated it in the chapter on night prayer (12), from Abdullah bin Abu Bakr, from his father, that Abdullah bin Qays bin Makhrama told him, from Zayd bin Khalid Juhani, and he mentioned it. Muslim also narrated it in the chapter on the prayer of travelers (765), from Qutayba bin Saeed, from Malik, with the same wording, except that he said at the beginning of the hadith, "Then he prayed two light rakahs..."Ibn Abdul-Barr said in Al-Istidhkar (5/250), "Yahya bin Yahya made an error, for he omitted the mention of the two light rakahs, since what is preserved in this hadith and in others is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to open the night prayer with two light rakahs." End of quote.