Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > Supererogatory prayers: rawatib, tarawih, witr and duha > Whoever is in a voluntary prayer at the time of the iqamah
Contents
Updated on 25 September 2026 at 3:23 PM
This part belongs to the full section: All sections of this part.
These sheets from the chapter on supererogatory prayers (tatawwu) examine the worshipper surprised by the iqamah while performing a voluntary prayer, voluntary prayer on a mount in travel or residence, mounted or on foot, and then the tarawih and witr prayers: their status, number of rak'ahs, times, and congregational performance. Each question is presented with the positions of the 4 schools, their Quranic and prophetic proofs, and the classical references supporting them.
Certain times of the day exclude prayer altogether, as indicated by the hadith of the chapter:
Abstain from prayer until the sun rises and rises high; for it rises between the 2 horns of Satan, and at that moment the disbelievers prostrate to it; then pray, for the prayer is witnessed and attended until the shadow of an object, measured with a lance, equals its length; then abstain, for at that moment Hell is stoked; when the coolness returns, pray, for the prayer is witnessed and attended until you pray asr; then abstain until sunset, for the sun sets between the 2 horns of Satan, and at that moment the disbelievers prostrate to it.Reported by Muslim (832)
He adds: in these 3 times the obligatory prayers are not performed according to us ("al-Mabsut" 1/50, 151; see "Bidayat al-Mubtadi" 1/12, "Bidayat al-Mujtahid" 1/75, "al-Ikhtiyar li-Ta'lil al-Mukhtar" 1/45, "Tabyin al-Haqa'iq" 1/85, "al-'Inaya" 1/378, "Durrar al-Hukkam" 1/239-240, "al-Durr al-Mukhtar" 1/372, "al-Awsat" 2/413, "Hashiyat al-Tahtawi" 1/125).
Whoever began a voluntary prayer before the iqamah: the majority of scholars hold that he completes his prayer so long as he does not fear missing the congregational prayer. Here are their sayings.
Imam al-Kasani, the Hanafi, said: if someone enters the mosque, starts the prayer, then the muezzin proceeds with the iqamah, there are 2 cases: he has started a voluntary prayer or an obligatory one. If he has started a voluntary prayer and the iqamah is pronounced, he completes the pair (shaf') in which he is and adds nothing to it. Completing the pair is due to the fact that preserving it from invalidity is obligatory and is possible for him; he adds nothing because starting a voluntary prayer beyond the pair is like starting a new voluntary prayer, and we have already mentioned that starting a voluntary prayer in the mosque after the iqamah is disliked ("Ma'ani al-Athar" 1/286).
It is stated in "al-Mudawwana al-Kubra" (1/97): Malik was asked about the man who opens a voluntary prayer and the obligatory prayer is called upon him before he bows. He said: if he is one of those whom the 2 rak'ahs lighten, like the light man able to recite in each of them the Umm al-Quran (the Fatiha) alone and to catch the imam, I see that he does it; if he is a slow man who cannot lighten, I see that he cuts with the salam and enters into the prayer. Ibn al-Qasim said: I said to Malik: what made you widen this, allowing him the 2 rak'ahs and then the prayer with the imam? Does he catch him before the imam opens the prayer or before he bows? He said: rather before he bows. Suhnun said: does he owe, according to Malik, the make-up (qada') of what he cut? He said: he never told us that the make-up is due from him. There is no make-up because he did not cut it deliberately; rather what he cut came upon him; and his cutting is with the salam; if he does not cut it with the salam, he repeats the prayer.
The detail of the Maliki school is as follows: it is forbidden for the legally responsible person (mukallaf) to open a prayer, obligatory or voluntary, in congregation after the iqamah of the standing imam. If the standing prayer is called in a mosque, the worshipper cuts his prayer if he is in the mosque or in its courtyard, and joins the imam: whether his prayer is voluntary or obligatory, whether he is at the moment of the iqamah or otherwise, whether he has performed a rak'ah or not; with the salam or with something else, like speech or the intention to nullify it. On condition that he fears, by completing the prayer he is in, missing a rak'ah with the imam of the called prayer.
If the iqamah is pronounced in a mosque for its standing imam, the one who secures the reward of the congregation and who is in the mosque or its courtyard must leave it; the same applies to whoever prayed the maghrib or the isha and performed the witr. If he does not secure the reward of the congregation or did not pray it at all, the prayer is due from him if he fulfills the conditions of prayer and is not the imam of another mosque. When the prayer is called in the mosque while he prays it outside, or called outside while he prays it in the mosque, he completes it obligatorily in both cases.
It is disliked to prolong the bowing more than usual for the one who joins the prayer, except out of necessity, like fearing that his prayer becomes void or that the congregation escapes him: for example if that rak'ah is the last, because not prolonging causes the follower (ma'mum) to miss the reward of the congregation. As for the lengthening of the recitation in order to let someone join, it is not disliked (the book "al-Khulasa al-Fiqhiyya" on the school of the Maliki masters).
Al-Shirazi said in "al-Muhadhdhab" (1/94; "al-Tanbih" 1/38): if he is in a voluntary prayer and the congregation is called, if he does not fear missing the congregation he completes the voluntary prayer then joins the congregation; if he fears missing it, he cuts the voluntary prayer, for the congregation is superior. Al-Nawawi said: this question is well known among the companions of the school according to the detail mentioned by the compiler; and by his words "he feared missing the congregation" he means the loss of the congregation in its entirety: then he says the salam from his prayer, as explicitly declared by Sheikh Abu Hamid (al-Ghazali), Sheikh Nasr and others, and Allah knows best ("al-Majmu'" 4/180; "Asna al-Matalib" 1/231; "Mughni al-Muhtaj" 1/231).
Ibn Qudama said: if the prayer is called while he is in the voluntary prayer and he does not fear missing the congregation, he completes it without cutting it, by the word of Allah:
"And do not invalidate your deeds."
Surah Muhammad, 33
If he fears missing the congregation, there are 2 narrations: one, that he completes it; the other, that he cuts it, for what he catches of the congregation is greater in reward and richer in merit than what he loses by cutting the voluntary prayer, since the congregational prayer exceeds the prayer of the man alone by 27 degrees ("al-Mughni" 1/272-273; "al-Kafi" 1/178; "al-Furu'" 1/281; "Fath al-Bari" by Ibn Rajab 4/73-74; "al-Mubdi'" 2/47; "al-Insaf" 2/220; "al-Rawd al-Murba'" 1/239).
The scholars differ, in 2 opinions, on the obligation of facing the qibla in the voluntary prayer performed on a mount. The first opinion: it is obligatory upon him; this is one of the 2 narrations transmitted from al-Shafi'i and Ahmad. Qadi Husayn said: al-Shafi'i explicitly stated, in one place, the obligation of facing, and, in another place, that it is not obligatory ("al-Majmu'" 3/208).
Ibn Muflih said in "al-Mubdi'" (1/402; "al-Mughni" 1/260): if the rider can open the prayer (by the state of consecration) facing the qibla, on his mount or by himself, like the one riding a single mount that obeys him, is that due from him? Two narrations: the first, it is due from him without hardship; the one who affirmed it in "al-Wajiz" decided it so, the majority transmitted and chose it, and Abu al-Ma'ali mentioned it, based on what Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) traveled and wanted to pray supererogatorily, he turned his mount toward the qibla, pronounced the takbir and prayed wherever it faced.Hasan hadith: reported by Ahmad and Abu Dawud (1225)
This is its wording. Since he could open the prayer facing the qibla, it becomes due from him, like the rider of a ship. The second narration: it is not due from him; Abu Bakr chose and preferred it in "al-Mughni" and elsewhere, because of the hardship it involves, because of the hadith of Ibn Umar, and because it is a part of the prayer resembling its rest; the first report is understood as a recommendation.
Imam Ahmad said: when a man prays supererogatorily on his mount, I like that he face the qibla at the takbir, according to the hadith of Anas ("Masail Abi Dawud" 110). The other opinion: facing the qibla is not obligatory upon whoever prays supererogatorily on his mount; it is merely recommended: this is the view of the Hanafis, the Malikis, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad in one of the 2 narrations transmitted from him.
Ibn Abidin said: facing the qibla is not required at the opening, since the prayer is valid in a direction other than that of the Kaaba, the opening is valid as well ("Radd al-Muhtar" 2/487; "Tuhfat al-Fuqaha" 1/155). Ibn al-Mundir reported that al-Hasan said: the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to pray on their mounts wherever their faces turned; the same was said by Tawus and Ata', and it is the view of Malik, Sufyan al-Thawri, al-Awza'i, al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, Abu Thawr and the partisans of opinion; Ahmad and Abu Thawr, however, recommended the worshipper traveling on a mount to face the qibla at the takbir, according to the hadith of Anas ("al-Awsat" 5/250-251; see "Fath al-Bari" by Ibn Hajar 2/575).
Ibn Abd al-Barr said: the jurists do not disagree on the permissibility of the voluntary prayer on the mount, in whatever direction it faces by its reins, in travel; the hadith of Jabir reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prayed on his mount in the direction of his face. From al-Hasan: the companions of the Messenger of Allah prayed in their travels on their mounts, wherever their faces turned. This is a matter agreed upon, without disagreement among all the scholars, concerning the traveler's voluntary prayer on his mount: he gestures (with his head) in a way that makes the prostration lower than the bowing, performs the tashahhud and the salam while sitting on his mount, in its place; some of them only recommend that the worshipper open his voluntary prayer on his mount facing the qibla, pronouncing the takbir facing it, then not caring about the direction it takes; others do not recommend it, saying it is like his praying voluntarily in a direction other than the qibla, deliberately and knowingly: so is his opening toward it. Malik and his companions went toward this second saying, while al-Shafi'i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Abu Thawr held the first, and some of them argued with the previous hadith of Anas.
Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Abu Thawr said: this is how one who prays supererogatorily on his mount in travel should act. And Abdallah ibn Umar said concerning the word of Allah:
"So wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah."
Surah al-Baqarah, 115
that it was revealed about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in travel, supererogatory, on his mount: it is a good interpretation supported by the Sunna ("al-Istidhkar" 2/255-256; "al-Tamhid" 17/72; "al-Mudawwana" 1/80). What Ibn Abd al-Barr reported from al-Shafi'i and Ahmad is one of the 2 narrations transmitted from them, as mentioned, with however a detail on their part.
Al-Nawawi summarized what the companions of the school said: the rider in travel who prays supererogatorily without being able to bow, prostrate or face the qibla throughout his prayer, like the one on a saddle with a high backrest or the like, has the obligation of facing the qibla at the opening discussed in 4 views. The soundest: if it is easy, it is obligatory; otherwise not. Easy is the case of a standing mount that he can turn aside or redirect, or a walking mount whose reins he holds; hard is that of a hobbled or unruly mount. The second view: facing is never obligatory, verified by the compiler, that is al-Shirazi, and his master Qadi Abu al-Tayyib. The third view: obligatory in all cases; if it becomes impossible, his prayer is not valid. The fourth view: if the mount is directed toward the qibla at the opening, he enters the consecration as it is; otherwise the opening is valid only facing the qibla. Qadi Husayn said: al-Shafi'i explicitly stated the obligation of facing in one place, and its absence in another; it was said: 2 sayings, it was said: 2 states, distinguishing the easy case from the other; and the consideration in facing rests on the rider, not on the mount: if he faces the qibla at the opening while the mount is deviated or curved, it is valid without disagreement, and the reverse would not be valid if we required the facing of the mount ("al-Majmu'" 3/208-209; "Kifayat al-Akhyar" 1/100; "Asna al-Matalib" 1/134; "Mughni al-Muhtaj" 1/143; "Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya al-Kubra" by al-Subki 5/211).
Ibn Qudama concluded: if opening facing the qibla is possible, like the one riding a single mount that obeys him, 2 narrations emerge: it is due from him, according to the previous hadith of Anas, and because he could open the prayer facing the qibla, so it becomes due, like all prayer; or it is not due from him, because it is a part of the parts of the prayer, resembling its rest, and it is not free of hardship, so it falls, and the report of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is understood as a virtue and a recommendation ("al-Mughni" 1/290).
Ibn al-Qayyim said: among the guidance of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was praying supererogatorily on his mount in whatever direction it faced, gesturing with his head in the bowing and prostration, his prostration being lower than his bowing; Ahmad and Abu Dawud reported from him, in the hadith of Anas, that he faced the qibla at the opening takbir, then prayed the rest of the prayers wherever the mount faced. Then he said: "In this hadith there is a consideration: those who described his prayer (peace be upon him) on his mount stated absolutely that he prayed in it toward any direction it faced, without excepting the opening takbir or anything else, like Amir ibn Rabi'a, Abdallah ibn Umar and Jabir ibn Abdallah; their hadiths are sounder than this hadith of Anas, and Allah knows best" ("Zad al-Ma'ad" 1/475; "Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari" by Ibn Battaal 3/89).
Can the traveler whose journey does not require shortening the prayer perform the voluntary prayer on his mount or not? And can he pray on the mount in residence or not? The jurists disagreed about the traveler who does not shorten the prayer: may he perform the voluntary prayer on his mount or not? Two opinions.
The first opinion, that of Imam Malik and his companions: he does not pray supererogatorily on the mount except in a journey that shortens the prayer. Their proof: the travels in which Ibn Umar and others reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed on his mount supererogatorily were travels in which the prayer is shortened; the concession therefore came attached to that and must not be exceeded, as if he said: when you travel like this journey of mine, do as I did.
The other opinion, that of the majority of scholars: Abu Hanifa, al-Shafi'i, Ahmad and their companions: the voluntary prayer on the mount is permitted outside the city in every journey, whether the prayer is shortened in it or not. Their proof: none of the reports of this chapter specifies a journey; every journey permits it, unless some travels are specified with the obligation of complying ("al-Istidhkar" 2/256-258; "al-Tamhid" 17/72 and after; "al-Awsat" 5/250; "Tafsir al-Qurtubi" 2/81; "Tafsir Ibn Kathir" 1/159; "al-Mughni" 1/259-260; "Fath al-Bari" 2/575).
As for prayer on the mount while in residence: Abu Yusuf said that he prays in the city on the mount as well, by gestures; this is also the saying of Abu Sa'id al-Istakhri among the Shafi'is, and one of the 2 opinions in the madhhab of Imam Ahmad ("al-Majmu'" 3/212; "Majmu' al-Fatawa" 14/37; "Tuhfat al-Fuqaha" 1/155). Al-Nawawi enumerated 4 views on the resident's voluntary prayer:
Al-Athram said: Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked about the voluntary prayer on the mount in residence; he replied: in travel we have heard; in residence we have heard nothing ("al-Istidhkar" 2/258). Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya said: is that permitted in residence, that is, prayer on the mount? Two sayings in the madhhab of Ahmad and others ("Majmu' al-Fatawa" 24/37).
The scholars differ, in 2 opinions, on the validity of the traveler's voluntary prayer while walking. The first opinion: it is not permitted, according to Abu Hanifa, Malik and Ahmad ibn Hanbal in one of the 2 narrations transmitted from him. The other opinion: he may pray the voluntary prayer walking, according to the Shafi'is and Ahmad in the second narration.
Ibn Qudama said: the second narration of Ahmad is that he prays walking; Muthanna ibn Jami' transmitted it, and the Qadi and others mentioned it; he must face the qibla at the opening of the prayer, then turn toward the direction of his walking, recite while walking, bow and then prostrate on the ground: this is the madhhab of Ata' and al-Shafi'i.
Al-Amidi said: he gestures in the bowing and prostration like the rider, for it is a state in which leaving the facing was permitted, so the bowing and prostration are not due from him; according to the Qadi's opinion, the bowing and prostration are possible without interrupting his walking, so they are due from him like the standing person. They argued that prayer was permitted to the rider so that he would not leave the caravan in travel; this meaning is found in the walker: it is one of the 2 states of the traveler's walking, so prayer was permitted in it like the other. Then he answered: according to us (the first narration), nothing was transmitted, nor is it of the meaning of the transmitted, for it requires considerable effort and continuous walking that breaks the prayer and entails its nullity, absent in the rider, so it cannot be assimilated to him; and the word of Allah "And wherever you are, turn your faces toward it" (Surah al-Baqarah, 144) is general, left in the places of consensus with conditions present here: the obligation of facing remains in the rest according to the generality ("al-Mughni" 1/261; "al-Ikhtiyar" 1/95; "Tuhfat al-Fuqaha" 1/155; "al-Majmu'" 3/211; "Ihya 'Ulum al-Din" 2/262; "Rawdat al-Talibin" 1/213; "Mughni al-Muhtaj" 1/144; "Nihayat al-Muhtaj" 1/432).
The tarawih prayer is a sunna by the consensus of the scholars; it is an emphasized sunna, prescribed for men and women alike, and it is one of the apparent signs of religion ("Ma'ani al-Athar" 2/272; "al-Ikhtiyar" 1/68; "Radd al-Muhtar" 2/472; "Hashiyat al-Adawi" 1/352, 2/321; "al-Majmu'" 5/51; "Sharh Muslim" 6/38; "al-Mughni" 2/364). The first to legislate it was the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), who encouraged it:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) encouraged the night standing of Ramadan without commanding them strictly, and he would say: "Whoever stands in prayer during Ramadan with faith and seeking the reward, his previous sins are forgiven."Reported by Bukhari (37) and Muslim (759), from Abu Hurayrah
Al-Nawawi explained: this means that he did not command them in a binding and imperative manner, which would be the azima, but by an order of invitation and encouragement, mentioning its merit. By "with faith" is meant believing that it is the truth; and "seeking the reward": performing it for Allah the Most High, without showing off or the like. Al-Shirbini, al-Karmani and others said: they agreed that the night standing of Ramadan mentioned in this hadith refers to the tarawih prayer ("Fath al-Bari" 4/251; "al-Iqna'" by al-Shirbini 1/117; "Sharh Muslim" 6/38).
The Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed the tarawih with his companions some nights without persisting in it, and explained the reason for leaving the persistence: fear that it might be written upon them as an obligation and that they would be unable to perform it. From Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
One night, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prayed in the mosque and some people prayed with him; he prayed again the following night and the people were more numerous; then they gathered on the third or fourth night, but the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not come out to them. In the morning he said: I have seen what you did, and nothing prevented me from coming out to you except that I feared it might be made obligatory upon you; and that took place in Ramadan.Reported by Bukhari (1077) and Muslim (761)
Bukhari added: "But I feared it might be made obligatory upon you and you would be unable to perform it." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed away and the matter remained thus.
The hafiz Ibn Hajar said in "Fath al-Bari": his words "you would be unable to perform it" mean that it becomes hard for you, so that you leave it despite being able to perform it; total inability is not meant, for it would drop the obligation altogether. The apparent meaning of this hadith is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) anticipated that persistence would make the night prayer in congregation obligatory; the question raises difficulties, and some Malikis built it on their principle that starting is binding, which is debatable. Al-Muhibb al-Tabari answered that Allah may have revealed to the Prophet that, if he persisted in it with them, it would become obligatory upon them: he thus preferred to lighten their burden and left the persistence; or that it occurred within himself, as happened with some acts of worship he practiced with constancy and which became obligatory. It is also said: he feared that someone in this umma might conclude to the obligation from his persistence; al-Qurtubi inclined toward this latter meaning: his words "it might be made obligatory upon you" mean that you would consider it an obligation, so that it becomes due from whoever considers it so, like the mujtahid who considers something lawful or forbidden and must act upon his judgment. It is also said: the rule of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was that, if he persisted in a righteous deed and the people followed him in it, it was made obligatory upon them; this latter saying is clearly far-fetched, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) persisted in the obligatory prayers, his companions followed him, and nothing additional was imposed upon them.
Ibn Battaal said: it is possible that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said this while the night prayer was obligatory upon him alone, fearing that, if he came out to them and they committed to it with him, Allah would make them equal in its ruling; for the principle in the Law is equality between the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his umma in worship. It is also possible that he feared their persistence would weaken them, so that whoever left it would disobey by ceasing to follow him.
Al-Khattabi wondered at the origin of this fear, given what the Night Journey hadith contains: "They are 5 and they are 50; the word is not changed with Me": if change is excluded, how could an increase be feared? This refutes the preceding answers. Al-Khattabi answered that the night prayer was obligatory upon the Prophet (peace be upon him), and his legal acts call for the umma's imitation when persistent: he therefore stopped coming out to them so that it would not enter the obligatory through the command to imitate him, not through creating a new obligation added to the 5, like the man who makes a vow prayer binding upon himself, which becomes due from him without a new universal obligation arising in the Law. He proposed another possibility: Allah ordained the prayer 50 times, then reduced most of it through the intercession of His Prophet (peace be upon him); if the umma went back to what had been waived and committed to what their prophet (peace be upon him) had exempted them from, it would not be strange for it to be established as an obligation upon them, as some people had committed themselves to monasticism from themselves, then Allah blamed their falling short:
"But they did not observe it as it should have been observed."
Surah al-Hadid, 27
The Prophet (peace be upon him) therefore feared they would follow the path of those people, and he cut off the practice out of compassion for them. These 2 answers were received from al-Khattabi by a number of commentators, such as Ibn al-Jawzi; but they rest on the night prayer having been obligatory upon him (peace be upon him) and on the obligation of imitating his acts, both of which are disputed.
Al-Karmani answered that the Night Journey hadith shows that what Allah means by His words:
"The word is not changed with Me."
Surah Qaf, 29
is security from the decrease of any of the 5, without touching upon the increase. However, the doubling in His words "They are 5 and they are 50" also indicates the absence of increase, for doubling does not go below 10. Some answered the premise of the question by saying that era was open to abrogation, so there was no objection to fearing an obligation; but this is debatable, for "The word is not changed with Me" is a report which, on the sounder view, abrogation does not enter, and it is not like their example "Fast in perpetuity," where abrogation is possible. "Fath al-Bari" then opened 3 further answers:
The strongest of these 3 answers, in my view, is the first ("Fath al-Bari" 3/13-14; see "'Umdat al-Qari" 7/176; "Sharh al-Zarqani" 1/336).
The specification of the nights in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed with his companions is reported by Abu Dawud and others, from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him):
We fasted Ramadan with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and he did not stand in prayer with us a single night of the month until 7 remained; then he prayed with us until a third of the night had passed. On the sixth he did not pray; on the fifth he prayed with us until half the night. I said: Messenger of Allah, will you not stand in prayer with us for the rest of this night? He said: when a man prays with the imam until he departs, the standing of that night is counted for him. On the fourth he did not pray; on the third he gathered his family, his women and the people, and prayed with us until we feared missing the felicity. I said: what is the felicity? He said: the suhur. Then he did not pray with us for the rest of the month.Authentic hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (1375), al-Nasa'i (1364) and Ahmad in the "Musnad" (5/159)
From al-Nu'man ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him): "We stood in prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in the month of Ramadan on the night of the 20-third until a third of the first part of the night, then on the night of the 20-fifth until half the night, then on the night of the 20-seventh until we feared missing the felicity", and they called that the suhur. Authentic hadith (reported by al-Nasa'i 1606 and Ahmad 4/272).
The rightly guided caliphs and the Muslims, from the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), persisted in the tarawih in congregation, and the tarawih prayer was attributed to Umar because he was the one who gathered the people behind a single imam: Ubayy ibn Ka'b. Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qari reported: "I went out one night of Ramadan with Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) to the mosque: the people were scattered, each man praying by himself, or a man praying and a group praying with him. Umar said: I see that if I gathered these people behind a single reciter, it would be better. He resolved and gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Ka'b. Another night, I went out with him and the people were praying behind their reciter; Umar said: what a good innovation this is, and what they leave out by their sleep is better than what they perform": he meant the end of the night, for the people prayed the beginning (reported by Bukhari, 1906).