The reciter: And Harimah ibn Yahya narrated to me, saying: Abdullah ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Yunus ibn Yazid informed me from Ibn Shihab, saying: Urwah ibn al-Zubayr informed me that Aisha informed him:
That the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out in the middle of the night and prayed in the mosque, and men prayed with his prayer. When morning came, the people were talking about it. So a greater number of them gathered, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out on the second night and they prayed with his prayer. When morning came, the people were mentioning it. So the people of the mosque increased on the third night, and he came out and they prayed with his prayer. When the fourth night came, the mosque could not accommodate its people, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not come out to them. Then some of the men began to say: "The prayer!" So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not come out to them until he came out for the Fajr prayer. When he had finished the Fajr prayer, he turned to the people, then he testified (recited the tashahhud) and said: "As for what follows, it was not hidden from me what you did last night, but I feared that the night prayer would be made obligatory upon you and you would be unable to keep up with it."
أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم خرج من جوف الليل فصلى في المسجد فصلى رجال بصلاته فأصبح الناس يتحدثون بذلك فاجتمع أكثر منهم فخرج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم في الليلة الثانية فصلوا بصلاته فأصبح الناس يذكرون ذلك فكثر أهل المسجد من الليلة الثالثة فخرج فصلوا بصلاته فلما كان في الليلة الرابعة عجز المسجد عن أهله فلم يخرج إليهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم فطفق رجال منهم يقولون: الصلاة، فلم يخرج إليهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم حتى خرج لصلاة الفجر فلما قضى الفجر أقبل على الناس ثم تشهد فقال: أما بعد فإنه لم يخف علي شأنكم الليلة ولكني خشيت أن تُفرض عليكم صلاة الليل فتعجزوا عنها
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