Bayan Al-Hadith › Sahih Muslim › The Book of Prayer - Travellers
Sahih Muslim 755bصحيح مسلم 755b
وَحَدَّثَنِي سَلَمَةُ بْنُ شَبِيبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ أَعْيَنَ، حَدَّثَنَا مَعْقِلٌ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ - عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " أَيُّكُمْ خَافَ أَنْ لاَ يَقُومَ مِنْ آخِرِ اللَّيْلِ فَلْيُوتِرْ ثُمَّ لْيَرْقُدْ وَمَنْ وَثِقَ بِقِيَامٍ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَلْيُوتِرْ مِنْ آخِرِهِ فَإِنَّ قِرَاءَةَ آخِرِ اللَّيْلِ مَحْضُورَةٌ وَذَلِكَ أَفْضَلُ " .
Jabir reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who amongst you is afraid that he may not be able to get up at the end of the night should observe Witr (in the first part) and then sleep, and he who is confident of getting up and praying at night (i. e. Tahajjud prayer) should observe it at the end of it, for the recitation at the end of the night is witnessed*, and that is better. *: meaning, "by angels" (Sharh an-Nawawi)
Grading
Sahih (authentic by the consensus of hadith scholars)
Chain of narrators
سلمة بن شبيب ← الحسن بن محمد بن أعين ← معقل بن عبيد الله ← محمد بن مسلم بن تدرس ← جابر بن عبد الله
Salama ibn Shabib → Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn A'yan → Ma'qil ibn Ubaydullah → Muhammad ibn Muslim ibn Tadrus → Jabir