Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.

ذِكْرُ الْوَقْتِ الَّذِي يُوتِرُ فِيهِ الْمَرْءُ بِاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَقَّبَ تَهَجُّدَهُ بِهِ

ibnhibban:2444al-Faḍl b. al-Ḥubāb > ʿAbdullāh b. Rajāʾ > Isrāʾīl > Ashʿath b. Abū al-Shaʿthāʾ from his father > Masrūq

[Machine] I asked Aisha when the Prophet ﷺ used to perform the Sunnah prayer after Isha. She said, "When he heard the rooster crowing, and he used to persistently perform it even if it was little."  

ابن حبّان:٢٤٤٤أَخْبَرَنَا الْفَضْلُ بْنُ الْحُبَابِ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ رَجَاءٍ عَنْ إِسْرَائِيلَ عَنْ أَشْعَثَ بْنِ أَبِي الشَّعْثَاءِ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ قَالَ

سَأَلْتُ عَائِشَةَ مَتَى كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ يُوتِرُ؟ قَالَتْ «إِذَا سَمِعَ الصَّارِخَ يَعْنِي الدِّيكَ وَكَانَ أَحَبَّ الْعَمَلِ إِلَيْهِ أَدْوَمُهُ وَإِنْ قَلَّ  


See similar narrations below:

Collected by Bukhārī, Tirmidhī
bukhari:1132ʿAbdān from my father > Shuʿbah > Ashʿath from my father > Masrūq > Saʾalt

I asked ʿAisha which deed was most loved by the Prophet. She said, "A deed done continuously." I further asked, "When did he used to get up (in the night for the prayer)." She said, "He used to get up on hearing the crowing of a cock."  

البخاري:١١٣٢حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدَانُ قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي أَبِي عَنْ شُعْبَةَ عَنْ أَشْعَثَ سَمِعْتُ أَبِي قَالَ سَمِعْتُ مَسْرُوقًا قَالَ

سَأَلْتُ عَائِشَةَ ؓ أَىُّ الْعَمَلِ كَانَ أَحَبَّ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَتِ الدَّائِمُ قُلْتُ مَتَى كَانَ يَقُومُ قَالَتْ يَقُومُ إِذَا سَمِعَ الصَّارِخَ  

tirmidhi:2856Abū Hishām al-Rifāʿī > Ibn Fuḍayl > al-Aʿmash > Abū Ṣāliḥ

"I asked 'Aishah and Umm Salamah about which deed did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ like to do most. They said: 'Whatever he could do regularly, even if it was little.'"  

Abū ʿĪsá said that this Ḥadīth is Ḥasan-Gharīb in this particular context.
الترمذي:٢٨٥٦حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو هِشَامٍ الرِّفَاعِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ فُضَيْلٍ عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ قَالَ

سُئِلَتْ عَائِشَةُ وَأُمُّ سَلَمَةَ أَىُّ الْعَمَلِ كَانَ أَحَبَّ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَتَا مَا دِيمَ عَلَيْهِ وَإِنْ قَلَّ  

قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ