Ibn ‘Abbas told how the Prophet said when he got up during the night to pray, “O God, to Thee be the praise; Thou art supreme over the heavens and the earth and their inhabitants. To Thee be the praise; Thou art the Light of the heavens and the earth and their inhabitants. To Thee be the praise; Thou art the King of the heavens and the earth and their inhabitants. To Thee be the praise; Thou art the Truth, Thy promise is truth, the meeting with Thee is true, Thy word is true, paradise is true, hell is true, the prophets are true, Muhammad is true, the last hour is true. O God, to Thee I submit, in Thee I believe upon Thee I trust, to Thee I repent, by Thy help I have disputed, and to Thee I have come for decision, so forgive me my former and my latter sins, my secret and my open sins, and what Thou knowest better than I. Thou art He who brings forward, and Thou art He who defers. There is no god but Thee, and there is no other god than Thee.”
Ya'la b. Mamlak said he asked Umm Salama, the Prophet’s wife, about his recitation and prayer. She Said, “What have you to do with his prayer? He would pray, then sleep as long as he had prayed, then pray as long as he had slept, then sleep as long as he had prayed, till morning.” She then described his recitation and did so with an exposition word by word.
‘A’isha said that when the Prophet got up at night he began his prayer by saying, “O God, the Lord of Gabriel, Michael and Israfil, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who knowest the unseen and the seen, Thou decidest among Thy servants concerning their differences. Guide me on account of different opinions regarding the truth by Thy permission; verily Thou guidest whom Thou wilt to a straight path.”
Humaid b. ‘Abd ar-Rahman b. ‘Auf said that one of the companions of the Prophet told how he decided when he was on a journey along with God’s Messenger that he must watch his prayer to see how he conducted it. When he had prayed the evening prayer, which is the 'atama, he lay down for a long period during the night, then awoke, looked at the horizon and said, “Our Lord, Thou hast not created this in vain…verily Thou dost not break Thy promise” (Al-Qur’an; 3:191,194). Then God's Messenger went to his couch from which he took out a toothstick, then poured out some water into a bowl from a skin vessel beside him, cleaned his teeth, and stood up and prayed, till it appeared to me that he prayed as long as he had slept. Then he lay down till it appeared to me that he slept as long as he had prayed. Then awakening and doing as he did the first time, he said the same as he had said. He did that three times before the dawn.
