The Qur'an

Anas b. Malik said (explaining the meaning of the Qur'anic verse "Who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope, and spend of what We have bestowed on them" (32:16). The people used to remain awake between the sunset and the night prayers and would pray. Al-Hasan used to say:

(This verse means) the prayer and vigil at night.

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar:

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about the prayer at night. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Prayer during the night should consist of pairs of rak'ahs, but if one of you fears the morning is near he should pray one rak'ah which will make his prayer an odd number for him.

It was narrated that Mu’adh bin Jabal said:

"I was with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on a journey. One morning I drew close to him when we were on the move and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an action that will gain me admittance to Paradise and keep me far away from Hell.’ He said: ‘You have asked for something great, but it is easy for the one for whom Allah makes it easy. Worship Allah and do not associate anything in worship with Him, establish prayer, pay charity, fast Ramadan, and perform Hajj to the House.’ Then he said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the means of goodness? Fasting is a shield, and charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire, and a man’s prayer in the middle of the night.’ Then he recited: "Their sides forsake their beds" until he reached: "As a reward for what they used to do."[32:16-17] Then he said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the head of the matter, and its pillar and pinnacle? (It is) Jihad.’ Then he said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the basis of all that?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He took hold of his tongue then said: ‘Restrain this.’ I said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, will we be brought to account for what we say?’ He said: ‘May your mother not found you, O Mu’adh! Are people thrown onto their faces in Hell for anything other than the harvest of their tongues?’"

Sahl b. Sa'd as-Sa'idi reported:

I was in the company of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) that he gave a description of Paradise and then Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) concluded with these words: There would be bounties which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard and no human heart has ever perceived them. He then recited this verse:" They forsake (their) beds, calling upon their Lord in fear and in hope, and spend out of what We have given them. So no soul knows what refreshment of the eyes is hidden for them: a reward for what they did" (xxxii. 16-17)

Mu'adh bin Jabal (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "Inform me of an act which will cause me to enter Jannah and keep me far from Hell." He (ﷺ) replied, "You have asked me about a matter of great importance, but it is easy for one for whom Allah makes it easy." He added, "Worship Allah, associate nothing with Him in worship, offer As-Salat (the prayer), pay the Zakat, observe Saum (fasting) during Ramadan and perform Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House of Allah, if you can afford it." He (ﷺ) further said, "Shall I not guide you to the gates of goodness? Fasting is a screen (from Hell), charity extinguishes (i.e., removes) the sins as water extinguishes fire, and standing in prayers by a slave of Allah during the last third part of the night." Then he recited: "Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Rabb in fear and hope, and they spend (in charity in Allah's Cause) out of what We have bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do." (32:16-17) Then he added, "Shall I tell you of the root of the matter, its pillar and its highest point?" I replied: "Yes! Certainly, O Prophet of Allah." He said, "The root of this matter (foundation) is Islam, its pillar (mainstay is) As-Salat (the prayer) and its highest point is Jihad (fighting in the Cause of Allah)." Then he asked, "Shall I tell you of that which holds all these things?" I said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." So he took hold of his tongue and said, "Keep this in control." I asked: "O Messenger of Allah! Shall we really be accounted for what we talk about?" He replied, "May your mother lose you! People will be thrown on their faces into the Hell on account of their tongues."

Sahl bin Sa'd (May Allah be pleased with him) said:

I was in the company of the Prophet (ﷺ). He gave a description of Jannah and concluded with these words, "There will be bounties which no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no human heart has ever perceived." He (ﷺ) then recited this Verse:"Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Rubb in fear and hope, and they spend (in charity in Allah's Cause) out of what We have bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy..." (32:16,17)[Al-Bukhari].

Narrated Mu'adh bin Jabal:

"I accompanied the Prophet (ﷺ) on a journey. One day I was near him while we were moving so I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Inform me about an action by which I will be admitted into Paradise, and which will keep me far from the Fire.' He said: 'You have asked me about something great, but it is easy for whomever Allah makes it easy: Worship Allah and do not associate any partners with Him, establish the Salat, give the Zakat, fast Ramadan and perform Hajj to the HOuse.' Then he said: 'Shall I not guide you to the doors of good? Fasting is a shield, and charity extinguishes sins like water extinguishes fire - and a man's praying in depths of the night.'" He said: "Then he recited: 'Their sides forsake their beds to call upon their Lord.' Until he reached: 'What they used to do.' [32:16-17] Then he said: 'Shall I not inform you about the head of the entire matter, and its pillar, and its hump?' I said: 'Of course O Messenger of Allah! He said: 'The head of the matter is Islam, and its pillar is the Salat, and its hump is Jihad.' Then he said: 'Shall I not inform you about what governs all of that?' I said: 'Of course O Messenger of Allah!'" He (ﷺ) said: "So he grabbed his tongue. He said 'Restrain this.' I said: 'O Prophet of Allah! Will we be taken to account for what we say?' He said: 'May your mother grieve your loss O Mu'adh! Are the people tossed into the Fire upon their faces, or upon their noses, except because of what their tongues have wrought'"

Anas bin Malik said about this Ayah:

Their sides forsake their beds (32:16) - "It was revealed about waiting for [this] Salat which you call Al-'Atamah."