833 — Abu Tawbah al-Rabi' ibn Nafi' narrated to us, saying: Abu Ishaq — meaning al-Fazari — informed us, from Humayd, from al-Hasan, from Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah, who said: We used to pray the supererogatory prayer, supplicating while standing and sitting, and glorifying [Allah] while bowing and prostrating.

834 — Musa ibn Isma'il narrated to us, saying: Hammad narrated to us, from Humayd, something similar, except he did not mention "supererogatory."
He said: Al-Hasan used to recite in the noon and afternoon prayers, whether as an imam or behind an imam, the Opening of the Book, and he would glorify, declare the greatness of Allah, and declare His oneness for the duration of [reciting] "Qaf" and "Adh-Dhariyat."

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The chain of Ibn Hibban includes al-Fadl ibn Muwaffaq, about whom Abu Hatim al-Razi said: He was a righteous man but weak in hadith. In the chain of Abu Nu'aym there is Khalid ibn Nizar, from whom a group narrated, and Ibn Hibban mentioned him in "Al-Thiqat" and said: He narrates unfamiliar reports and errs. We say: However, by the combination of these chains, the hadith becomes acceptable.

His saying: "He said thus with his hand" means he gestured with it. In some narrations, he clenched it. He said in "'Awn al-Ma'bud": The apparent context is that the one gesturing is the one being addressed, meaning: I preserved what you said to me and grasped hold of it, so I will not lose it.

(1) Its chain is weak due to its discontinuity — al-Hasan, who is al-Basri, did not hear from Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah. Abu Ishaq al-Fazari is Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn al-Harith, and Humayd is Ibn Abi Humayd al-Tawil.
It was also narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah 10/443-444, and al-Bayhaqi 2/88, via the chain of Mu'adh ibn Mu'adh, from Humayd al-Tawil, from him.
He said in "'Awn al-Ma'bud": The hadith indicates that supplication suffices in the supererogatory prayer, and that recitation is not obligatory in it. However, it is a stopped narration (mawquf) and moreover it is discontinuous. Additionally, it is contradicted by the hadith of Habib ibn al-Shahid, "There is no prayer without recitation," narrated by Muslim (396) via Abu Usamah from him, and by the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit, "There is no prayer for one who does not recite the Opening of the Book" (preceded under number 822), and his saying, peace be upon him: "There is no prayer" is general, encompassing both supererogatory and obligatory prayers.