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ahmad:21603Muḥammad b. Bishr > Muḥammad b. ʿAmr > Mūsá b. ʿUqbah > Busr b. Saʿīd > Zayd b. Thābit

[Machine] The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ , prayed one night and the people in the mosque heard his prayer. The following night, there were even more people and the voice of the Messenger of Allah became faint to them, so they started whispering and moving closer to him. The Messenger of Allah noticed them and said, "Why do you keep doing what you are doing? I was afraid that it would be prescribed for you, even though it is not obligatory. The best prayer a person can offer is in their own home, except for the obligatory prayer."  

أحمد:٢١٦٠٣حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بِشْرٍ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو حَدَّثَنِي مُوسَى بْنُ عُقْبَةَ عَنْ بُسْرِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ قَالَ

صَلَّى رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ لَيْلَةً فَسَمِعَ أَهْلُ الْمَسْجِدِ صَلَاتَهُ قَالَ فَكَثُرَ النَّاسُ اللَّيْلَةَ الثَّانِيَةَ فَخَفِيَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَوْتُ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ فَجَعَلُوا يَسْتَأْنِسُونَ وَيَتَنَحْنَحُونَ قَالَ فَاطَّلَعَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ فَقَالَ مَا زِلْتُمْ بِالَّذِي تَصْنَعُونَ حَتَّى خَشِيتُ أَنْ يُكْتَبَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَوْ كُتِبَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ مَا قُمْتُمْ بِهَا وَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ صَلَاةِ الْمَرْءِ فِي بَيْتِهِ إِلَّا صَلَاةَ الْمَكْتُوبَةِ  


See similar narrations below:

Collected by Bukhārī, Nasāʾī
bukhari:7290Isḥāq > ʿAffān > Wuhayb > Mūsá b. ʿUqbah > Abū al-Naḍr > Busr b. Saʿīd > Zayd b. Thābit

The Prophet ﷺ took a room made of date palm leaves mats in the mosque. Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed in it for a few nights till the people gathered (to pray the night prayer (Tarawih) (behind him.) Then on the 4th night the people did not hear his voice and they thought he had slept, so some of them started humming in order that he might come out. The Prophet ﷺ then said, "You continued doing what I saw you doing till I was afraid that this (Tarawih prayer) might be enjoined on you, and if it were enjoined on you, you would not continue performing it. Therefore, O people! Perform your prayers at your homes, for the best prayer of a person is what is performed at his home except the compulsory congregational) prayer." (See Hadith No. 229,Vol. 3) (See Hadith No. 134, Vol. 8)  

البخاري:٧٢٩٠حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ أَخْبَرَنَا عَفَّانُ حَدَّثَنَا وُهَيْبٌ حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ عُقْبَةَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا النَّضْرِ يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ بُسْرِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ

أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ اتَّخَذَ حُجْرَةً فِي الْمَسْجِدِ مِنْ حَصِيرٍ فَصَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِيهَا لَيَالِيَ حَتَّى اجْتَمَعَ إِلَيْهِ نَاسٌ ثُمَّ فَقَدُوا صَوْتَهُ لَيْلَةً فَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُ قَدْ نَامَ فَجَعَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَتَنَحْنَحُ لِيَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِمْ فَقَالَ مَا زَالَ بِكُمُ الَّذِي رَأَيْتُ مِنْ صَنِيعِكُمْ حَتَّى خَشِيتُ أَنْ يُكْتَبَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَوْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمْ مَا قُمْتُمْ بِهِ فَصَلُّوا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ فَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ صَلاَةِ الْمَرْءِ فِي بَيْتِهِ إِلاَّ الصَّلاَةَ الْمَكْتُوبَةَ  

nasai:1599Aḥmad b. Sulaymān > ʿAffān b. Muslim > Wuhayb > Mūsá b. ʿUqbah > Abū al-Naḍr > Busr b. Saʿīd > Zayd b. Thābit

The Prophet ﷺ used some palm fiber mats to section off a small area in the masjid. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed in it for several nights until the people gathered around him. Then, one night they did not hear his voice, and they thought that he was sleeping, so they cleared their throats to make him come out to them. He said: 'You kept doing that until I feared that it would be made obligatory for you, and if it were made obligatory, you would not be able to do it. O people, pray in your houses, for the best prayer a person offers is in his house, apart from the prescribed (obligatory) prayers.'"  

النسائي:١٥٩٩أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَفَّانُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا وُهَيْبٌ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ مُوسَى بْنَ عُقْبَةَ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا النَّضْرِ يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ بُسْرِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ

أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ اتَّخَذَ حُجْرَةً فِي الْمَسْجِدِ مِنْ حَصِيرٍ فَصَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِيهَا لَيَالِيَ حَتَّى اجْتَمَعَ إِلَيْهِ النَّاسُ ثُمَّ فَقَدُوا صَوْتَهُ لَيْلَةً فَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُ نَائِمٌ فَجَعَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَتَنَحْنَحُ لِيَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِمْ فَقَالَ مَا زَالَ بِكُمُ الَّذِي رَأَيْتُ مِنْ صُنْعِكُمْ حَتَّى خَشِيتُ أَنْ يُكْتَبَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَوْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمْ مَا قُمْتُمْ بِهِ فَصَلُّوا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ فَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ صَلاَةِ الْمَرْءِ فِي بَيْتِهِ إِلاَّ الصَّلاَةَ الْمَكْتُوبَةَ