While he was reciting Surah al-Baqarah at night with his horse tethered beside him, the horse suddenly began to leap about. He fell silent and the horse settled. He recited again and the horse leapt about. He fell silent and the horse settled. He recited once more and the horse leapt about, so he stopped. His son Yahya was nearby, and he feared the horse might trample him. When he moved the boy away, he raised his head toward the sky until he could no longer see it.The next morning he related this to the Prophet ﷺ, who said, "Recite, Ibn Hudayr. Recite, Ibn Hudayr."He replied, "Messenger of Allah, I feared the horse would trample Yahya, who was close to it, so I raised my head and turned to him. Then I raised my head to the sky and saw something like a canopy with what looked like lamps in it, and it ascended until I could no longer see it."The Prophet ﷺ asked, "Do you know what that was?"He answered, "No."The Prophet ﷺ said, "Those were the angels drawing near to your voice. Had you continued reciting, by morning the people would have been gazing at them, for they would not have hidden themselves from view."
بينما هو يقرأ من الليل سورة البقرة وفرسه مربوط عنده، إذ جالت الفرس، فسكت فسكنت، فقرأ فجالت الفرس، فسكت فسكنت الفرس، ثم قرأ فجالت الفرس فانصرف، وكان ابنه يحيى قريبا منها فأشفق أن تصيبه فلما أجزته، رفع رأسه إلى السماء حتى ما يراها. فلما أصبح حدث النبي ﷺ فقال: اقرأ يا ابن حضير، اقرأ يا ابن حضير. قال: فأشفقت يا رسول الله أن تطأ يحيى- وكان منها قريبا- فرفعت رأسي فانصرفت إليه، فرفعت رأسي إلى السماء فإذا مثل الظلة فيها أمثال المصابيح فخرجت حتى لا أراها! قال: وتدري ما ذاك؟ قال: لا. قال: تلك الملائكة دنت لصوتك، ولو قرأت لأصبحت ينظر الناس إليها، لا تتوارى منهم.
Bukhari narrated it in the Virtues of the Quran (5018), and Muslim in the Prayer of the Traveler (796), both from the hadith of Yazid bin Had, that Abdullah bin Khabab told him, that Abu Saeed Khudri told him, from Usayd bin Hudayr, that he said (then he mentioned the hadith).