Saad bin Hisham reported,

He intended to go out and fight in the way of Allah, so he came to Madinah, planning to sell a property he owned there and spend the proceeds on weapons and horses, then wage war against the Byzantines until he died. When he arrived in Madinah, he met some of its people, and they told him not to do this. They informed him that a group of six men had wanted to do the same during the lifetime of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, and the Prophet of Allah ﷺ forbade them, saying, "Do you not have an example in me?" So when they told him that, he took back his wife, whom he had divorced, and called witnesses 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?""Who?" he asked."Ayesha," Ibn Abbas replied. "Go to her and ask her, then come back and tell me what she says to you."So I set out to see her. On the way I came upon Hakeem bin Aflah and asked him to accompany me to her.He said, "I will not go near her, because I told her not to say anything about these two factions, and she refused to do anything but press on with them."I insisted, swearing an oath, so he came along, and we went to Ayesha and asked permission to enter. She gave us permission and we went in.She asked, "Is that Hakeem?" for she recognized him."Yes," he said."Who is with you?" she asked."Saad bin Hisham," he answered."Which Hisham?" she asked."The son of Amir," he said.She then prayed for Allah's mercy on him and spoke well of him. Qatada said, He had been killed on the day of Uhud.I said, "Umm Muiminin, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."She said, "Do you not recite the Quran?""Of course," I said.She said, "The character of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ was the Quran."I nearly rose to leave and resolved never to ask anyone about anything again until I died. But then it occurred to me to ask more, so I said, "Tell me about the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."She said, "Do you not recite 'You who are wrapped in garments' [Muzzammil 73:1]?""Of course," I said.She said, "Allah made standing in prayer at night obligatory at the beginning of this surah, so the Prophet of Allah ﷺ and his companions stood in prayer for a year. Allah withheld the closing portion of it in heaven for twelve months, until He sent down the relief at the end of this surah. So the night prayer became voluntary after having been obligatory."I said, "Umm Muiminin, tell me about the witr of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."She said, "We used to prepare his toothstick and his water for purification, and Allah would rouse him at whatever hour of the night He willed. He would use the toothstick, perform wudu, and pray nine rakat, sitting only in the eighth. In it he would remember Allah, praise Him, and supplicate to Him, then he would rise without giving the salam. Then he would stand and pray the ninth, then sit and remember Allah, praise Him, and supplicate to Him, and then give the salam in a way that we could hear. After giving the salam he would pray two more rakat while seated. That makes eleven rakat, my son."Then when the Prophet of Allah ﷺ grew older and put on weight, he prayed witr with seven, doing in the two rakat as he had done before, and that makes nine, my son."Whenever the Prophet of Allah ﷺ prayed a prayer, he liked to keep it up regularly, and if sleep or illness kept him from praying at night, he would pray twelve rakat during the day. I do not know of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ ever reciting the entire Quran in a single night, or praying through a whole night until morning, or fasting a complete month other than Ramadan."Then 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, or if I went in to see her, I would have gone to her so she could tell me face to face."I said, "Had I known that you do not visit her, I would not have told you what she said."

وحدثنا محمد بن المثنى، حدثنا معاذ بن هشام، حدثني أبي، عن قتادة، عن زرارة بن أوفى، عن سعد بن هشام، أنه طلق امرأته ثم انطلق إلى المدينة ليبيع عقاره. فذكر نحوه.