The Night Prayer (Qiyam al-Layl)
Taken from www.muslimmatters.com website
All Praise is due to Allāh, Who has made ṣalāh a relaxation for the believer, a refuge for the fearful, and a guidance for the savage. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon the leader of those who perform ṣalāh, perform tahajjud, and make rukoo and sujood. And also upon his family, companions, and those who follow them in the right way until the day of judgement.
As for what follows:
Night prayer is the diligence of the righteous, the transaction of the believers, and the action of the victorious. At night the believers are alone with their Lord – they turn towards their Creator complaining about their situations and asking of His bounties. They are standing in front of their Lord, devoted to the confidential talk with their Shaper, gently breathing the fragrances, taking from the lights of the good deeds, and seeking and begging for the greatest of gifts.
Night Prayer as mentioned in the Qurʾān
Allāh the Most Exalted said: “They arise from [their] beds” [As Sajda 32:16] Mujahid and AlHasan said: “it means night prayer”.
Ibn Kathir explained the verse: “The meaning is night prayer, leaving sleep and rest upon a soft and flat furnishing.
Allāh the Exalted mentioned about the people who make tahajjud: “They used to sleep but little of the night, And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness” [Dhaariyaat 51:17-18] AlHasan said: “They burdened themselves with the night. They extended the ṣalāh until the early dawn, then they sat making du‘ā’ and seeking forgiveness.”
Allāh said: “ 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 .” [Zumur 39:9] In other words: Is the one whose character is this, similar to the one who sleeps at night and wastes himself? Can he be anything other than one who is knowledgeable about Allāh's rewards but ignorant of His punishments?
Night Prayer as mentioned in the Sunnah
My dear Muslim brother/sister: The Prophet SAWS encouraged making night prayer and arousing interest in it.
“It is upon you to perform night prayer, because it was the practice of the righteous people before you. It is a means of obtaining closeness to Allāh the Exalted, it erases sins, it prevents wrondoings, and it drives away sicknesses from the body .” [Narrated by Ahmad, AlTirmidhi, and graded saheeh by AlAlbaani]
The Prophet SAWS said about the condition of Abdullah ibn Umar: “How excellent Abdullah is! If only he would pray ṣalāh at night ” [Agreed upon] Saalim ibn Abdillah ibn Umar said: “After that, Abdullah slept very little at night.”
The Prophet SAWS said: “There is a room in Jannah where the exterior is seen from the interior, and the interior is seen from the exterior. “
Someone said: “Who is it for, Messenger of Allāh?”
He said: “It is for the one whose speech is pleasant, he feeds others, and he spends the night standing while the people are asleep ” [Narrated by AlTabarani, AlHaakim, and graded saheeh by AlAlbaani]
The Prophet SAWS said: “Jibreel came to me and said: 'Oh Muḥammad: Live as you wish for you will die. Love whom you will for you will be separated. Do as you will for you will be recompensed for it. Know that the most honored of the believer is his standing at night, and his prestige is in not needing anything from the people ” [Narrated by AlHaakim and AlBaihaqi. It has been graded hasan by AlMundhiri and AlAlbaani]
He SAWS said: “Whoever stands at night and recites ten ayaat is not recorded among the heedless. Whoever stands at night and recites one hundred ayaat is recorded among the pious. Whoever stands and recites one thousand ayaat is recorded among those who received a huge quantity of good deeds .” [Narrated by Abu Dawood and graded saheeh by AlAlbaani]
Someone told the Prophet SAWS about a man who slept the night until morning time. He said “That is a man in whose ear the Shaytan urinated! ” [Agreed upon]
The Prophet SAWS said: “The best prayer after the obligatory ones is night prayer” [Narrated by Muslim]
The Night Prayer of the Prophet SAWS
Allāh the Most Exalted ordered His Prophet to perform night prayer in the following: “O you who wraps himself [in clothing], Arise [to pray] the night, except for a little – Half of it – or subtract from it a little. Or add to it, and recite the Qur'an with measured recitation. ” [AlMuzzammil 73:1-4]
And He said: “And from [part of] the night, pray with it as additional [worship] for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station .” [Israa 17:79]
Aisha, may Allāh be pleased with her, said: “The Prophet would stand at night until his feet became cracked. I said to him: Why do you do this oh Messenger of Allāh, while all of your sins past and future have been forgiven? He said: Shouldn't I be a thankful slave? ” [Agreed upon]
This proves that thankfulness is not only by the tongue. It is only done by the heart, the tongue, and the limbs. The Prophet SAWS established the duties of worship in the most complete manner, and in the most perfect form. He did all of this despite the fact that he had to spread the Islamic Aqeedah, teach the Muslims, exert himself in the path of Allāh, and fulfill the duties of his family and children.
Hudhaifa said: “I prayed with the Prophet one night. He started with AlBaqara, so I thought that he will make rukoo after that. Then he started AlNisaa and recited it. Then he started Aal-Imraan and recited it. He would recite slowly; when he came to an ayaa with Tasbeeh, he would make Tashbeeh. When he came to a request, he would request. When he came to a seeking of refuge, he would seek refuge…. ” [Narrated by Muslim]
Ibn Masood said: “I prayed one night with the Prophet. He continued standing until I thought of a bad idea. Someone said: What did you think of doing? He said: I thought to sit down and leave him! ” [Agreed upon] Ibn Hajar said: “In this hadeeth is proof that the Prophet SAWS chose to prolong the night prayer. Ibn Masood was strong-willed in preserving his emulation of the Prophet SAWS. He did not think of sitting down until the prayer was much longer than he was used to.”
Night prayer in the lives of the early Muslims
Imām AlHasan AlBasri said: “I did not find any worship more powerful than ṣalāh in the middle of the night”.
Abu Uthman AlHindi said: “I was the guest of Abu Huraira for seven [days]. He, his wife, and his servant would divide the night into three parts, praying one part and staying awake for another part”.
Tawus would strongly awaken his family, then he would make wudhu and face the qibla until morning. He would say “The sleep of the worshippers has caused them to completely stop remembering the hell-fire!”
Zum'a al-Aabid would pray long hours of the night. When dawn would approach, he would raise his voice and announce: “Oh riders of the beds, are you going to sleep and waste away the entire night? Will you not get up and leave the bed!” He would then hear crying from one place, a person making du‘ā’ from another place, and someone making wuḍūʼ from another place. When fajr time would come, he would say: “At the morning time, the people are thankful for the announcement”
The levels of the early Muslims with regards to Night Prayer
Imām Ibnul Jawzi said: You should know that the early Muslims were at one of seven levels with regards to night prayer:
Imām Abu Hamid AlGhazali mentioned some external and internal factors that make Night Prayer easy.
External factors are four:
1: That the individual should not eat or drink too much. Then sleep will overpower him, and waking up will be difficult.
2: The person should not tire himself in the daytime with things of no benefit.
3: He should not avoid the mid-day nap because it helps with regards to waking up.
4: He should not make sins in the daytime because that will prevent him from night prayer.
Internal factors are four:
1: The heart should be free from these: malice towards the Muslims, bid'as, and excessive worldly interests.
2: The heart should have a lot of fear and not too much hope.
3: He should know the benefits of night prayer.
4: The best motivation: Love of Allāh, and having strong īmān that in his prayer every letter that he utters is freeing him from the punishment of his Lord.
All Praise is due to Allāh, Who has made ṣalāh a relaxation for the believer, a refuge for the fearful, and a guidance for the savage. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon the leader of those who perform ṣalāh, perform tahajjud, and make rukoo and sujood. And also upon his family, companions, and those who follow them in the right way until the day of judgement.
As for what follows:
Night prayer is the diligence of the righteous, the transaction of the believers, and the action of the victorious. At night the believers are alone with their Lord – they turn towards their Creator complaining about their situations and asking of His bounties. They are standing in front of their Lord, devoted to the confidential talk with their Shaper, gently breathing the fragrances, taking from the lights of the good deeds, and seeking and begging for the greatest of gifts.
Night Prayer as mentioned in the Qurʾān
Allāh the Most Exalted said: “They arise from [their] beds” [As Sajda 32:16] Mujahid and AlHasan said: “it means night prayer”.
Ibn Kathir explained the verse: “The meaning is night prayer, leaving sleep and rest upon a soft and flat furnishing.
Allāh the Exalted mentioned about the people who make tahajjud: “They used to sleep but little of the night, And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness” [Dhaariyaat 51:17-18] AlHasan said: “They burdened themselves with the night. They extended the ṣalāh until the early dawn, then they sat making du‘ā’ and seeking forgiveness.”
Allāh said: “ 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 .” [Zumur 39:9] In other words: Is the one whose character is this, similar to the one who sleeps at night and wastes himself? Can he be anything other than one who is knowledgeable about Allāh's rewards but ignorant of His punishments?
Night Prayer as mentioned in the Sunnah
My dear Muslim brother/sister: The Prophet SAWS encouraged making night prayer and arousing interest in it.
“It is upon you to perform night prayer, because it was the practice of the righteous people before you. It is a means of obtaining closeness to Allāh the Exalted, it erases sins, it prevents wrondoings, and it drives away sicknesses from the body .” [Narrated by Ahmad, AlTirmidhi, and graded saheeh by AlAlbaani]
The Prophet SAWS said about the condition of Abdullah ibn Umar: “How excellent Abdullah is! If only he would pray ṣalāh at night ” [Agreed upon] Saalim ibn Abdillah ibn Umar said: “After that, Abdullah slept very little at night.”
The Prophet SAWS said: “There is a room in Jannah where the exterior is seen from the interior, and the interior is seen from the exterior. “
Someone said: “Who is it for, Messenger of Allāh?”
He said: “It is for the one whose speech is pleasant, he feeds others, and he spends the night standing while the people are asleep ” [Narrated by AlTabarani, AlHaakim, and graded saheeh by AlAlbaani]
The Prophet SAWS said: “Jibreel came to me and said: 'Oh Muḥammad: Live as you wish for you will die. Love whom you will for you will be separated. Do as you will for you will be recompensed for it. Know that the most honored of the believer is his standing at night, and his prestige is in not needing anything from the people ” [Narrated by AlHaakim and AlBaihaqi. It has been graded hasan by AlMundhiri and AlAlbaani]
He SAWS said: “Whoever stands at night and recites ten ayaat is not recorded among the heedless. Whoever stands at night and recites one hundred ayaat is recorded among the pious. Whoever stands and recites one thousand ayaat is recorded among those who received a huge quantity of good deeds .” [Narrated by Abu Dawood and graded saheeh by AlAlbaani]
Someone told the Prophet SAWS about a man who slept the night until morning time. He said “That is a man in whose ear the Shaytan urinated! ” [Agreed upon]
The Prophet SAWS said: “The best prayer after the obligatory ones is night prayer” [Narrated by Muslim]
The Night Prayer of the Prophet SAWS
Allāh the Most Exalted ordered His Prophet to perform night prayer in the following: “O you who wraps himself [in clothing], Arise [to pray] the night, except for a little – Half of it – or subtract from it a little. Or add to it, and recite the Qur'an with measured recitation. ” [AlMuzzammil 73:1-4]
And He said: “And from [part of] the night, pray with it as additional [worship] for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station .” [Israa 17:79]
Aisha, may Allāh be pleased with her, said: “The Prophet would stand at night until his feet became cracked. I said to him: Why do you do this oh Messenger of Allāh, while all of your sins past and future have been forgiven? He said: Shouldn't I be a thankful slave? ” [Agreed upon]
This proves that thankfulness is not only by the tongue. It is only done by the heart, the tongue, and the limbs. The Prophet SAWS established the duties of worship in the most complete manner, and in the most perfect form. He did all of this despite the fact that he had to spread the Islamic Aqeedah, teach the Muslims, exert himself in the path of Allāh, and fulfill the duties of his family and children.
Hudhaifa said: “I prayed with the Prophet one night. He started with AlBaqara, so I thought that he will make rukoo after that. Then he started AlNisaa and recited it. Then he started Aal-Imraan and recited it. He would recite slowly; when he came to an ayaa with Tasbeeh, he would make Tashbeeh. When he came to a request, he would request. When he came to a seeking of refuge, he would seek refuge…. ” [Narrated by Muslim]
Ibn Masood said: “I prayed one night with the Prophet. He continued standing until I thought of a bad idea. Someone said: What did you think of doing? He said: I thought to sit down and leave him! ” [Agreed upon] Ibn Hajar said: “In this hadeeth is proof that the Prophet SAWS chose to prolong the night prayer. Ibn Masood was strong-willed in preserving his emulation of the Prophet SAWS. He did not think of sitting down until the prayer was much longer than he was used to.”
Night prayer in the lives of the early Muslims
Imām AlHasan AlBasri said: “I did not find any worship more powerful than ṣalāh in the middle of the night”.
Abu Uthman AlHindi said: “I was the guest of Abu Huraira for seven [days]. He, his wife, and his servant would divide the night into three parts, praying one part and staying awake for another part”.
Tawus would strongly awaken his family, then he would make wudhu and face the qibla until morning. He would say “The sleep of the worshippers has caused them to completely stop remembering the hell-fire!”
Zum'a al-Aabid would pray long hours of the night. When dawn would approach, he would raise his voice and announce: “Oh riders of the beds, are you going to sleep and waste away the entire night? Will you not get up and leave the bed!” He would then hear crying from one place, a person making du‘ā’ from another place, and someone making wuḍūʼ from another place. When fajr time would come, he would say: “At the morning time, the people are thankful for the announcement”
The levels of the early Muslims with regards to Night Prayer
Imām Ibnul Jawzi said: You should know that the early Muslims were at one of seven levels with regards to night prayer:
- Level one: These would stay up the entire night. Some of them would pray Fajr with the same wuḍūʼ as Isha.
- Level two: These would pray half of the night.
- Level three: These would pray one-third of the night. The Prophet SAWS said: ” The most beloved ṣalāh to Allāh The Exalted is the ṣalāh of Dawud. He would sleep half of the night, pray one-third, and sleep one-sixth“. [Agreed upon].
- Level four: These would pray one-sixth of the night or one-fifth.
- Level five: These would not specify an amount of the night. He would only pray until he became sleepy, and would then sleep. When he woke up, he would pray.
- Level six: These would pray two or four rakah.
- Level seven: These would stay awake between the two Isha times [the early time for Isha and the later, recommended time], and they would sweeten their mornings [with du‘ā’]. This way, they would join the night and morning. The Prophet SAWS said: ” Indeed in every night is a time wherein if the worshipper asks Allāh for something good, He will give it. And this is in every night.” [Narrated by Muslim]
Imām Abu Hamid AlGhazali mentioned some external and internal factors that make Night Prayer easy.
External factors are four:
1: That the individual should not eat or drink too much. Then sleep will overpower him, and waking up will be difficult.
2: The person should not tire himself in the daytime with things of no benefit.
3: He should not avoid the mid-day nap because it helps with regards to waking up.
4: He should not make sins in the daytime because that will prevent him from night prayer.
Internal factors are four:
1: The heart should be free from these: malice towards the Muslims, bid'as, and excessive worldly interests.
2: The heart should have a lot of fear and not too much hope.
3: He should know the benefits of night prayer.
4: The best motivation: Love of Allāh, and having strong īmān that in his prayer every letter that he utters is freeing him from the punishment of his Lord.