ʿUthman bin ʿAffan ؓ said, speaking from his minbar: I am going to tell you a hadeeth that I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ; nothing kept me from telling it to you except the fact that I care for you. I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “Standing guard for one night for the sake of Allah, may He be exalted, is better than a thousand nights spent in prayer and [a thousand] days spent fasting.ʿ
قَالَقَالَ عُثْمَانُ وَهُوَ يَخْطُبُ عَلَى مِنْبَرِهِ إِنِّي مُحَدِّثُكُمْ حَدِيثًا سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ لَمْ يَكُنْ يَمْنَعُنِي أَنْ أُحَدِّثَكُمْ بِهِ إِلَّا الضِّنُّ بِكُمْ إِنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ حَرَسُ لَيْلَةٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَلْفِ لَيْلَةٍ يُقَامُ لَيْلُهَا وَيُصَامُ نَهَارُهَا