The dearest deeds to Allah Ta’ala are to perform the obligatory Salah at the appointed time and to abstain from sinful deeds. Many activities can be done to get nearness to Allah after the obligatory prayers. One of them is to perform the Nafl (additional) prayer at night. And it is also very important to perform Nafl prayers regularly at night and to keep one’s good deeds hidden from people. One of the Nafl prayers at night is the Tahajjud Salah. Surely it (Prayer at Night) is an act towards which Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) has encouraged his ummah very much. There are many rules and regulations of Islam involved in it.
So I will tell you about Tahajjud Salah and various important things related to it. And I will try to mention some rules and regulations of Islam on every subject of the Night Prayer. So let’s first know what Tahajjud Salah (Prayer at Night) in Islam is?
What is Tahajjud Salah (Prayer at Night) in Islam?
In this regard, Imam Al Khatib Al Shirbini (Rh) has mentioned in his book that “Tahajjud Salah is a nafl Salah (additional prayer) of the night after waking up.” [Mughni Al-Muhtaj, volume 1, page 463]
Remember, the night prayer is a broad semantic word, which includes all the Nafl prayers which are performed from after the Isha Salah until the time for the Fajr Salah begins. Such as Witr prayer, Taraweeh prayer, Tahajjud prayer, and any Nafl prayer before going to bed at night or the Nafl prayer after waking up from sleep, etc.
I mean, the Witr prayer is one kind of night prayer. Taraweeh prayers are also one kind of night prayer. Tahajjud prayer (Prayer at Night) is one of the night prayers. Even performing any Nafl Salah in the middle of the night is considered a night prayer. And in this regard, in the famous reliable book of Fiqh, Al-Mausu’ah Al Fiqhiyyah has been mentioned that,
“And the night prayer; is performed after the Isha Salah, Sometimes sleep comes before it (i.e., sometimes night prayer is performed after sleep). And sometimes sleep does not come before it (i.e., sometimes night prayer is performed before sleep). But Tahajjud prayer; is not performed but (only) after sleep.” [Al-Mausu’ah Al Fiqhiyyah, volume 14, page 86]
Generally, the purpose of the night prayer is only Tahajjud Salah (Prayer at Night). In this regard, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “O people! Spread (the greeting of) Salam, feed others, uphold the ties of kinship, and pray during the night when people are sleeping, and you will enter Paradise with Salam (safely).” [Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 3251]
What is the ruling on Tahajjud Salah (Prayer at Night)?
Tahajjud Salah is an important Sunnah deed for all Muslims. Since Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) used to perform it regularly, he never gave it up intentionally. And Amr bin Abasah (RA) reported that he heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say:
“The Lord (Allah Ta’ala) becomes closest to the servant in the middle of the night. Hence, if you are able to be of those who remember Allah in that hour, then do so.” [Jami’ at-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 3579]
Remember, the Tahajjud prayer is a Nafl (additional) prayer. If a Muslim abandons this prayer, he will not be worthy of punishment. But of course, he will be deprived of high status and great rewards. Verily, Allah Ta’ala said about the Tahajjud prayer (Prayer at Night):
“And from (part of) the night, pray with it (i.e., arise from sleep for prayer and recite the Quran in Salah. And this Salah is) as additional (worship) for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station.” [Surah Al-Isra’, verse 79]
When does Tahajjud prayer time begin?
Usually, the time of Tahajjud prayer begins after the Isha prayer and it remains valid till the time of the Fajr prayer begins. In this regard, Shaikh Al-Sayyid Sabiq (Rh) has mentioned in his book that,
“Time of Tahajjud: It is permissible to perform the night prayer at the beginning of the night, in the middle of the night, and at the end of the night, as long as the time for prayer continues after the Isha prayer.
Anas (RA) said about the narration of the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): Every time we wanted to see the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) praying at night, we saw him, and every time we wanted to see him sleeping, we saw him. He (peace be upon him) used to fast in the month till we spoke he would not stop fasting at all in that month, and He (peace be upon him) used to not fast in the month till we spoke that he would not fast in that month.
Narrated it by Ahmad, Al-Bukhari, and Al-Nasa’i.
Hafiz (Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani) said: There was no fixed time for the Tahajjud prayer of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). Rather, whenever it was easy for him to perform the prayer, he performed the prayer in that accordingly.” [Fiqh-Us-Sunnah, volume 1, page 203]
However,
the best time to perform the Tahajjud prayer is from midnight until the time for the Fajr prayer begins. In this regard, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
“When half of the night or two-thirds of it is over. Allah, the Blessed, and the Exalted descends to the lowest heaven and says: Is there any beggar so that he be given? Is there any supplicator so that he be answered? Is there any beggar of forgiveness so that he be forgiven? (And Allah continues it saying) till it is daybreak.” [Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 758 c]
The virtue of Tahajjud prayer in Islam
There are many sayings of Allah Ta’ala and His Messenger (peace be upon him) in this regard. Some of the notable sayings are: –
Allah Ta’ala said: “Their sides part separates (i.e., they arise) from (their) beds; they supplicate their Lord in fear and aspiration, and from what I have provided them, they spend. And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes (i.e., satisfaction) as reward for what they used to do.” [Surah As-Sajdah, verses 16 – 17]
“Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing (in prayer), fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, (like one who does not)? Say, Are those who know equal to those who do not know? Only they will remember (who are) people of understanding.” [Surah Az-Zumar, verse 9]
“Indeed, the righteous will be among gardens and springs, Accepting what their Lord has given them. Indeed, they were before that doers of good. They used to sleep but little of the night. And in the hours before dawn, they used to ask forgiveness.” [Surah Adh-Dhariyat, verse 15 – 18]
And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
“The most excellent prayer after the obligatory prayers is the Prayer offered in the middle of the night, and the most excellent fast after (fasting) in the month of Ramadan is the fast in Allah’s month Al-Muharram.” [Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 1163 b]
“Hold fast to night prayer, for it is the practice of the righteous before you, it is a means of nearness to Allah for you, an expiation for bad deeds, and a means of prevention from sin.” [Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn, Hadith No. 1156]
The number of rak’ah of Tahajjud Salah (Prayer at Night)
The minimum rak’ah of Tahajjud prayers is two rak’ahs. In this regard, Abu Huraira (RA) reported Allah’s Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying: “When any one of you gets up at night, he should begin the prayer with two short rak’ahs.” [Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 768]
Tahajjud prayer is an additional prayer and Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) did not determine the maximum number of rak’ahs for this prayer. Verily, Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “The prayer is a good deed that has been formed (by the order of Allah). So whoever wants to increase it, he should increase it.” [Al-Mu’jam Al-Awsat, Hadith No. 243]
However, most of the time, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to offer eight rak’ahs of Tahajjud prayers. In this regard, Ayesha (RA) said:
“Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) never exceeded eleven rak’ah in Ramadan or in other months (at night); he used to offer four rak’ah (of Tahajjud)– do not ask me about their beauty and length, then four rak’ah (of Tahajjud), do not ask me about their beauty and length, and then he used to offer three rak’ah (of Witr).” [Sahih Bukhari, Hadith No. 1147]
And when Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) used to add two rak’ahs of Nafl prayers with eleven rak’ahs, then it would have been thirteen rak’ahs of Tahajjud with Witr. [Nail Al-awtar Sharh Muntaqa Al-akhbar, volume 3, page 73]
Allah Ta’ala gives us the grace to perform the regular Tahajjud prayers (Prayer at Night) properly, to keep our good deeds secret, and to do good deeds only for the pleasure of Allah. Ameen.
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