(Who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope…) [32:16].
Said Malik ibn Dinar: “I asked Malik ibn Anas about whom this verse was revealed and he said: 'Some of the Companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, used to stand in prayer from after the prayer of Maghrib until the time of the prayer of 'Isha', and so this verse was revealed about them' ”.
Abu Ishaq al-Muqri' informed us> Abu'l-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Daynuri> Musa ibn Muhammad> al-Husayn ibn 'Alawiyah> Isma'il ibn 'Isa> al-Musayyib> Sa'id>> Qatadah> Anas ibn Malik who said: “This verse (Who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope) was revealed about us, the Helpers. We used to perform the Maghrib prayer and did not return to our homes until we performed the 'Isha' prayer with the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace”.
Al-Hasan and Mujahid said: “This was revealed about those who keep the prayer of the night vigil”. This is substantiated by the report with which Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Khashshab informed us> Ibrahim ibn 'Abd Allah al-Asfahani> Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Sarraj> Qutaybah ibn Sa'id> Jarir> al-A'mash> al-Hakam> Maymun> Ibn Abi Shabib> Mu'adh ibn Jabal who said: “While we were with the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, at the Battle of Tabuk, suffering from the heat, people dispersed. I looked around and found that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was the closest person to me. I drew closer to him and asked: 'O Messenger of Allah, tell me about a deed which will cause me to enter the Garden and distance me from hellfire'. He said: 'You have asked about a great matter which is easy to do for whoever Allah, exalted is He, makes it easy: It is that you worship Allah, exalted is He, and not associate anything with Him, perform the prescribed prayers, pay the obligated poor-due, and fast the month of Ramadan. But if you will, I will inform you about all the doors of goodness'. I said: 'Do inform me, O Messenger of Allah!' He said: 'Fasting is a shield; almsgiving expiates sins, and the standing of a man in prayer in the middle of the night, seeking the countenance of Allah, exalted is He'. Then he read this verse: (Who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope)”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou