Prayer is a spiritual act of worship in which a person stands before his Lord. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) has taught us the sunnahs and etiquette of prayer, and has explained to us what is permissible and what is not permissible whilst praying. In this hadith, ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would offer the voluntary night prayers in her apartment, whilst she was sleeping in front of him, at right angles to him on his bed. When he had finished praying tahajjud, he would wake her up, then she would get up, do wudoo’ and pray Witr. According to a report narrated in as-Sahihayn, “at that time there were no lamps in the houses.” This indicates that darkness was the reason why she was in front of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) when he was praying. This hadith indicates that there was no sutrah, but this does not contradict the hadith narrated by Ibn Majah from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade praying behind someone who is talking or sleeping. These hadiths may be reconciled by noting that the prohibition definitely applies if that could distract the worshipper, but if it will not distract him, then the matter is more lenient. The basic principle is that the worshipper should not have anything between him and the qiblah, let alone having in front of him something that could distract him, unless there is a need for that. This hadith affirms the importance of praying Witr and doing so regularly, and indicates that it is recommended to delay Witr until the end of the night. It indicates that the presence of a woman in front of the one who is praying does not invalidate his prayer. It also indicates that it is encouraged to offer supererogatory (nafil) prayers and qiyam al-layl at home..