Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu, Shaykh. Is it true that Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would look at the sky recite a verse of the Quran (3:190) (or another verse if I am mistaken) and then pray his Tahajjud prayer? May Allaah reward you, Shaykh.

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The correct account is that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to recite the last verses of Soorah Aal ‘Imraan (Chapter 3) when he woke up at night to pray Tahajjud, and he would look at the sky, as was reported in Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim, and other books. The wording of Al-Bukhari reads that Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

"I once stayed overnight at the house of (my aunt) Maymoonah (while the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was with her). The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, talked to his wife for a while and then slept. When it was the last third of the night, he sat up and looked at the sky and said: {Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding.} [Quran 3:190] Then he got up, performed ablution, brushed his teeth, and offered eleven units of prayer. Then Bilaal made the call to prayer, so he (the Prophet) offered two units (Sunnah prayer) and went out for the morning prayer." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Allah knows best.