عَن عبد الرَّحْمَن بن عبد الْقَارِي
قَالَ: خَرَجْتُ مَعَ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ لَيْلَةً فِي رَمَضَان إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ فَإِذَا النَّاسُ أَوْزَاعٌ مُتَفَرِّقُونَ يُصَلِّي الرَّجُلُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَيُصَلِّي الرَّجُلُ فَيُصَلِّي بِصَلَاتِهِ الرَّهْطُ فَقَالَ عمر: إِنِّي أرى لَوْ جَمَعْتُ هَؤُلَاءِ عَلَى قَارِئٍ وَاحِدٍ لَكَانَ أَمْثَلَ ثُمَّ عَزَمَ فَجَمَعَهُمْ عَلَى أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْب ثُمَّ خَرَجْتُ مَعَهُ لَيْلَةً أُخْرَى وَالنَّاسُ يُصَلُّونَ بِصَلَاة قارئهم.
قَالَ عمر رَضِي الله عَنهُ: نعم الْبِدْعَةُ هَذِهِ وَالَّتِي تَنَامُونَ عَنْهَا أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الَّتِي تَقُومُونَ. يُرِيدُ آخِرَ اللَّيْلِ وَكَانَ النَّاسُ يقومُونَ أَوله
I went out one night to the mosque with Umar ibn al-Khattab and we saw the people in sections separate from one another, one man praying by himself, and another followed by a group; so Umar said, “If I collected these people behind one reciter it would be better.” He then made up his mind and collected them with Ubayy ibn Kab as imam.
Afterwards I went out with him another night when the people were following the prayer of their reciter, and Umar said, “This is a good innovation, but what you miss through sleeping is more excellent than what you are getting up for, meaning at the end of the night, for the people were getting up during the early part of the night.”