حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ حَدَّثَنَا أَيُّوبُ عَنْ نَافِعٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ قَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ تَأْمُرُنَا أَنْ نُصَلِّيَ مِنْ اللَّيْلِ قَالَ يُصَلِّي أَحَدُكُمْ مَثْنَى مَثْنَى فَإِذَا خَشِيَ الصُّبْحَ صَلَّى وَاحِدَةً فَأَوْتَرَتْ لَهُ مَا قَدْ صَلَّى مِنْ اللَّيْلِ
مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 4492
It was narrated that Ibn 'Umar said: A man said: O Messenger of Allah, how do you instruct us to pray at night? He said: "Let one of you pray two (rak'ahs) by two, then if he fears That dawn is approaching , he should pray one rak’ah , which will make what he has prayed during the night odd numbered.”
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020