Hadithcore
Sahih Muslim, 307 a
sahih

'Abdullah b. Abu'l-Qais reported:

I asked 'A'isha about the Witr (prayer) of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and made mention of a hadith, then I said: What did he do after having sexual intercourse? Did he take a bath before going to sleep or did he sleep before taking a bath? She said: He did all these. Some- times he took a bath and then slept, and sometimes he performed ablution only and went to sleep. I (the narrator) said: Praise be to Allah Who has made things easy (for human beings).

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا لَيْثٌ، عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ صَالِحٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي قَيْسٍ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ عَائِشَةَ عَنْ وِتْرِ، رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏ فَذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ قُلْتُ كَيْفَ كَانَ يَصْنَعُ فِي الْجَنَابَةِ أَكَانَ يَغْتَسِلُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَنَامَ أَمْ يَنَامُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَغْتَسِلَ قَالَتْ كُلُّ ذَلِكَ قَدْ كَانَ يَفْعَلُ رُبَّمَا اغْتَسَلَ فَنَامَ وَرُبَّمَا تَوَضَّأَ فَنَامَ ‏.‏ قُلْتُ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي جَعَلَ فِي الأَمْرِ سَعَةً ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 3, Hadith 27
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Book 3, Hadith 603 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
In some acts of worship, the Prophet ﷺ used to perform them in various methods, as his guidance regarding the night prayer, witr prayer, and bathing after intercourse. All of his acts were a source of guidance for his nation. In this hadith, Abdullah ibn Qais informed that he asked Aisha, the Mother of the Believers, about how the Prophet ﷺ used to perform Witr prayer. His saying, “He mentioned the hadith” meant that he wanted to summarize the hadith and mention its other part showing the Prophet’s act after having intercourse at night. In Sunan Abu Daoud, Abdullah narrated the first part in which Aisha answered, “He may perform witr prayer at the beginning of the night or performed it at its end.” Abdullah asked, “What about his recitation? Did he recite in a loud or low voice?” She answered, “He used to do all of that. Sometimes he recited in a loud voice and sometimes in a low voice.” The Prophet ﷺ used to perform witr prayer in various ways. He performed it with three, five, seven, nine, and eleven rak’as. He may have recited the Quran during his night prayer in a low voice or a loud voice that those around him could hear. Additionally, Abdullah asked her about the Prophet’s bathing due to intercourse at night. She explained that the Prophet ﷺ may have taken a bath before sleeping or just performed ablution. Abdullah’s saying: “All praise is due to Allah Who has made things easy” may be a comment on all of her answers or her answer about the Prophet’s bath after intercourse. This hadith contains the following benefits: (1) Islam facilitated the rules of bathing due to intercourse, (2) It clarified the Muslim predecessors’ keenness to ask about the rules of Islam and follow the Prophet’s acts, deeds, and cases..
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