We were told by Shu'bah, from Ash'ath ibn Sulaym(1), from his father, from Masruq, who said:
I said to 'A'ishah: "Which deeds were most beloved to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?" She said: "The constant ones."
I said: "And at which part of the night did he stand [in prayer]?" She said: "When he heard the rooster crow."(2)

9 - Chapter: Mentioning what one opens the night prayer with
1617 - 'Ismah ibn al-Fadl informed us, saying: Zayd ibn al-Habbab told us, from Mu'awiyah ibn Salih, saying: al-Azhar ibn Sa'id told us, from 'Asim ibn Humayd, who said:
I asked 'A'ishah: "With what did the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, open his night prayer?" She said: "You have asked me about something that no one before you has asked me about. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would say 'Allahu akbar' ten times, 'al-hamdu lillah' ten times, 'subhan Allah' ten times, 'la ilaha illa Allah' ten times, and 'astaghfir Allah' ten times, and he would say: 'O Allah, forgive me, guide me, provide for me, and grant me well-being. I seek refuge with Allah from the constriction of the standing place on the Day of Resurrection.'"(3)--------------------------------------------
(1) In (R) it was corrupted to: Salim.
(2) Its chain of transmission is authentic. Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Basri: he is Ibn Sudran, and Sulaym, father of al-Ash'ath: he is Ibn al-Aswad, and Masruq: he is Ibn al-Ajda'. It is in "Al-Sunan al-Kubra" under number (1318).
It was also transmitted by Ahmad (24628), (24789), and (25143), and al-Bukhari (1132) and (6461), through multiple paths from Shu'bah, with this chain.
It was also transmitted by Ahmad (25671) via Sufyan al-Thawri, and (26390) via Shayban ibn 'Abd al-Rahman, and al-Bukhari (1132), and Muslim (741), and Abu Dawud (1317) via Abu al-Ahwas, all three of them from Ash'ath, with it.
And 'Abdullah ibn Raja' al-Ghudani differed in its text, narrating it—as found in Ibn Hibban (2444)—from Isra'il, from Ash'ath, with it, with the wording: "When did the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, pray the witr?"
Regarding his saying "al-sarikh" (the crier), Ibn al-Athir said in "Al-Nihayah": He means the rooster, because it cries out frequently at night.
(3) Its chain is good (hasan) on account of al-Azhar ibn Sa'id. It is in "Al-Sunan al-Kubra" under number (1319). =