Sunan Abi Dawud 421
سنن أبي داود#421Sahihحَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ عُثْمَانَ الْحِمْصِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا حَرِيزٌ، عَنْ رَاشِدِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ حُمَيْدٍ السَّكُونِيِّ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ مُعَاذَ بْنَ جَبَلٍ، يَقُولُ ارْتَقَبْنَا النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي صَلاَةِ الْعَتَمَةِ فَأَخَّرَ حَتَّى ظَنَّ الظَّانُّ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ وَالْقَائِلُ مِنَّا يَقُولُ صَلَّى فَإِنَّا لَكَذَلِكَ حَتَّى خَرَجَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالُوا لَهُ كَمَا قَالُوا فَقَالَ لَهُمْ " أَعْتِمُوا بِهَذِهِ الصَّلاَةِ فَإِنَّكُمْ قَدْ فُضِّلْتُمْ بِهَا عَلَى سَائِرِ الأُمَمِ وَلَمْ تُصَلِّهَا أُمَّةٌ قَبْلَكُمْ " .
Narrated Mu'adh ibn Jabal: We waited for the Prophet (ﷺ) to offer the night prayer. He delayed until people thought that he would not come out and some of us said that he had offered the prayer. At the moment when we were in this condition the Prophet (ﷺ) came out. People said to him as they were already saying. He said: Observe this prayer when it is dark, for by it you have been made superior to all the peoples, no people having observed it before you
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
In-book reference: 2:31