We offered the sunset prayer along with Allah's Apostle ﷺ. We then said: If we sit (along with Messenger of Allah) and observe night prayer with him it would be very good, so we sat down and he came to us and said: You are still sitting here. I said: Messenger of Allah, we observed evening prayer with you, then we said: Let us sit down and observe night prayer along with you, whereupon he said: You have done well or you have done right. He then lifted his head towards the sky and it often happened that as he lifted his head towards the sky, he said: The stars are a source of security for the sky and when the stars disappear there comes to the sky, i. e. (it meets the same fate) as it has been promised (it would plunge into darkness). And I am a source of safety and security to my Companions and when I would go away there would fall to the lot (of my Companions) as they have been promised with and my Companions are a source of security for the Umma and as they would go there would fall to the lot of my Umma as (its people) have been promised.  

صَلَّيْنَا الْمَغْرِبَ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لَوْ جَلَسْنَا حَتَّى نُصَلِّيَ مَعَهُ الْعِشَاءَ قَالَ فَجَلَسْنَا فَخَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا فَقَالَ مَا زِلْتُمْ هَا هُنَا قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّيْنَا مَعَكَ الْمَغْرِبَ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا نَجْلِسُ حَتَّى نُصَلِّيَ مَعَكَ الْعِشَاءَ قَالَ أَحْسَنْتُمْ أَوْ أَصَبْتُمْ قَالَ فَرَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَكَانَ كَثِيرًا مِمَّا يَرْفَعُ رَأْسَهُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَقَالَ النُّجُومُ أَمَنَةٌ لِلسَّمَاءِ فَإِذَا ذَهَبَتِ النُّجُومُ أَتَى السَّمَاءَ مَا تُوعَدُ وَأَنَا أَمَنَةٌ لأَصْحَابِي فَإِذَا ذَهَبْتُ أَتَى أَصْحَابِي مَا يُوعَدُونَ وَأَصْحَابِي أَمَنَةٌ لأُمَّتِي فَإِذَا ذَهَبَ أَصْحَابِي أَتَى أُمَّتِي مَا يُوعَدُونَ  

We offered the sunset prayer along with Allah's Apostle ﷺ. We then said: If we sit (along with Messenger of Allah) and observe night prayer with him it would be very good, so we sat down and he came to us and said: You are still sitting here. I said: Messenger of Allah, we observed evening prayer with you, then we said: Let us sit down and observe night prayer along with you, whereupon he said: You have done well or you have done right. He then lifted his head towards the sky and it often happened that as he lifted his head towards the sky, he said: The stars are a source of security for the sky and when the stars disappear there comes to the sky, i. e. (it meets the same fate) as it has been promised (it would plunge into darkness). And I am a source of safety and security to my Companions and when I would go away there would fall to the lot (of my Companions) as they have been promised with and my Companions are a source of security for the Umma and as they would go there would fall to the lot of my Umma as (its people) have been promised. (Using translation from Muslim 2531)   

صَلَّيْنَا الْمَغْرِبَ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَقُلْنَا لَوِ انْتَظَرْنَا حَتَّى نُصَلِّي مَعَهُ الْعِشَاءَ فَانْتَظَرْنَا فَخَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا فَقَالَ «مَا زِلْتُمْ هَاهُنَا؟ » قُلْنَا نَعَمْ نُصَلِّي مَعَكَ الْعِشَاءَ قَالَ «أَحْسَنْتُمْ» أَوْ قَالَ «أَصَبْتُمْ» ثُمَّ رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَقَالَ «النُّجُومُ أَمَنَةُ السَّمَاءِ فَإِذَا ذَهَبَتِ النُّجُومُ أَتَى السَّمَاءَ مَا تُوعَدُ وَأَنَا أَمَنَةٌ لِأَصْحَابِي فَإِذَا أَنَا ذَهَبْتُ أَتَى أَصْحَابِي مَا يُوعَدُونَ وَأَصْحَابِي أَمَنَةٌ لِأُمَّتِي فَإِذَا ذَهَبَ أَصْحَابِي أَتَى أُمَّتِي مَا يُوعَدُونَ»  

[Machine] Narrated by the Prophet ﷺ , he went out one night after delaying the Isha prayer until a short while or an hour had passed into the night while people were waiting in the mosque. He asked them, "What are you waiting for?" They replied, "We are waiting for the prayer." He said, "You will never remain in prayer as long as you keep waiting." Then he said, "Indeed, this is a prayer that no one before you from any nation had performed." Then he raised his head towards the sky and said, "The stars are the security of the heavens, so when the stars are removed, what has been promised will come to the heavens, and I am the security for my companions, so when I am taken away, what has been promised will come to my companions. And my companions are the security for my Ummah, so when my companions are taken away, what has been promised will come to my Ummah. O Bilal, establish the prayer."  

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ وَقَدْ أَخَّرَ صَلَاةَ الْعِشَاءِ حَتَّى ذَهَبَ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ هُنَيْهَةٌ أَوْ سَاعَةٌ وَالنَّاسُ يَنْتَظِرُونَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ فَقَالَ «مَا تَنْتَظِرُونَ؟» قَالُوا نَنْتَظِرُ الصَّلَاةَ قَالَ «أَمَا أَنَّكُمْ لَنْ تَزَالُوا فِي صَلَاةٍ مَا انْتَظَرْتُمُوهَا» ثُمَّ قَالَ «أَمَا إِنَّهَا صَلَاةٌ لَمْ يُصَلِّهَا أَحَدٌ مِمَّنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ مِنَ الْأُمَمِ» ثُمَّ رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَقَالَ «النُّجُومُ أَمَانُ السَّمَاءِ فَإِنْ طُمِسَتِ النُّجُومُ أَتَى السَّمَاءَ مَا يُوعَدُونَ وَأَنَا أَمَانُ أَصْحَابِي فَإِذَا قُبِضْتُ أَتَى أَصْحَابِي مَا يُوعَدُونَ وَأَصْحَابِي أَمَانُ أُمَّتِي فَإِذَا قُبِضَ أَصْحَابِي أَتَى أُمَّتِي مَا يُوعَدُونَ يَا بِلَالُ أَقِمْ»