ذِكْرُ خَبَرٍ ثَانٍ يُصَرِّحُ بِصِحَّةِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ
[Machine] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out in the middle of the night and prayed in the mosque. The people followed him and prayed as well. In the morning, people were talking about it, so more people came the next night and the Messenger of Allah went out and prayed, and the people prayed with him. This continued for the third night, and the people talked about it so much that the mosque became crowded and unable to accommodate everyone. The Messenger of Allah did not come out to them anymore, so the people became upset and said that they missed the prayer. He then came out for the Fajr prayer and after finishing it, he faced the people and testified to the correctness of their intentions. He said, "What prevented me from coming out to you was my fear that the night prayer would become obligatory for you, and you would have difficulty fulfilling it." He always encouraged them to observe the nights of Ramadan without explicitly commanding them to do so. He used to say, "Whoever stands in prayer on Laylat al-Qadr (Night of Decree) out of faith and seeking reward, Allah will forgive his previous sins." The Messenger of Allah passed away while this tradition was still practiced during the caliphate of Abu Bakr and the early years of Umar's caliphate. Umar eventually gathered the people behind a single reciter during the month of Ramadan, and this was the first time people congregated for one reciter during Ramadan.
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ خَرَجَ فِي جَوْفِ اللَّيْلِ فَصَلَّى فِي الْمَسْجِدِ فَصَلَّى النَّاسُ فَأَصْبَحَ النَّاسُ يَتَحَدَّثُونَ بِذَلِكَ فَكَثُرَ النَّاسُ فَخَرَجَ عَلَيْهِمُ اللَّيْلَةَ الثَّانِيَةَ فَصَلَّى فَصَلَّوْا بِصَلَاتِهِ فَأَصْبَحُوا يَتَحَدَّثُونَ بِذَلِكَ حَتَّى كَثُرَ النَّاسُ فَخَرَجَ مِنَ اللَّيْلَةِ الثَّالِثَةِ فَصَلَّى فَصَلَّوْا بِصَلَاتِهِ فَأَصْبَحَ النَّاسُ يَتَحَدَّثُونَ بِذَلِكَ فَكَثُرَ النَّاسُ حَتَّى عَجَزَ الْمَسْجِدُ عَنْ أَهْلِهِ فَلَمْ يَخْرُجْ إِلَيْهِمْ فَطَفِقَ النَّاسُ يَقُولُونَ الصَّلَاةَ فَلَمْ يَخْرُجْ إِلَيْهِمْ حَتَّى خَرَجَ لِصَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ فَلَمَّا قَضَى صَلَاةَ الْفَجْرِ أَقْبَلَ عَلَى النَّاسِ فَتَشَهَّدَ ثُمَّ قَالَ «أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يَخْفَ عَلَيَّ شَأْنُكُمُ اللَّيْلَةَ وَلَكِنِّي خَشِيتُ أَنْ تُفْرَضَ عَلَيْكُمْ صَلَاةُ اللَّيْلِ فَتَعْجِزُوا عَنْ ذَلِكَ» وَكَانَ يُرَغِّبُهُمْ فِي قِيَامِ رَمَضَانَ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَأْمُرَهُمْ بِعَزِيمَةٍ يَقُولُ «مَنْ قَامَ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ» قَالَ فَتُوُفِّيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَالْأَمْرُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ ثُمَّ كَذَلِكَ كَانَ فِي خِلَافَةِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَصَدْرٍ مِنْ خِلَافَةِ عُمَرَ حَتَّى جَمَعَهُمْ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ عَلَى أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ فَقَامَ بِهِمْ فِي رَمَضَانَ وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ أَوَّلَ اجْتِمَاعِ النَّاسِ عَلَى قَارِئٍ وَاحِدٍ فِي رَمَضَانَ»