It wasnarrated that Sa’d bin Hisham said: “I asked ‘Aishah: ‘OMother of the Believers! Tell me about the Witr of the Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ).’ She said: ‘We used to keep his tooth stick andwater forablution ready for him. Allah would wake him as He willedto duringthe night, and he would use the tooth stick and performablution, thenhe would pray nine Rak’ah, during which he would notsit until theeighth Rak’ah. Then he would call upon his Lord andremember Allah andpraise Him and supplicate to Him. Then he wouldget up without sayingthe Salam. Then he would stand up and pray theninth Rak’ah. Then hewould sit and remember Allah and praise Him,and supplicate to hisLord and send blessing upon His Prophet. Thenhe would say Salam thatwe could hear. Then he would pray two Rak’ahafter the Salam, while hewas sitting down. That was eleven Rak’ah.When the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) grew older and had gained weight,he would pray Witr with sevenRak’ah and then pray two more Rak’ahafter he had said the Salam.’”
Hadith In Arabic Text :
حدثنا أبو بكر بن أبي شيبة، حدثنا محمد بن بشر، حدثنا سعيد بن أبي عروبة، عن قتادة، عن زرارة بن أوفى، عن سعد بن هشام، قال سألت عائشة قلت يا أم المؤمنين أفتني عن وتر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم . قالت كنا نعد له سواكه وطهوره فيبعثه الله فيما شاء أن يبعثه من الليل فيتسوك ويتوضأ ثم يصلي تسع ركعات لا يجلس فيها إلا عند الثامنة فيدعو ربه فيذكر الله ويحمده ويدعوه ثم ينهض ولا يسلم ثم يقوم فيصلي التاسعة ثم يقعد فيذكر الله ويحمده ويدعو ربه ويصلي على نبيه ثم يسلم تسليما يسمعنا ثم يصلي ركعتين بعد ما يسلم وهو قاعد فتلك إحدى عشرة ركعة فلما أسن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأخذ اللحم أوتر بسبع وصلى ركعتين بعد ما سلم .
Chapter : Establishing the Prayer and the Sunnah Regarding Them – كتاب إقامة الصلاة والسنة فيها