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What is Tahajjud? When to pray Tahajjud? And what is the reward of praying Tahajjud?

Tahajjud: The secrets of an amazing worship, its influence on man's life and on his relation to Allah the Most Merciful!

An article of Mr. Amr Khaled, published in Almara’a Alyawm Magazine (The Woman Today), issued on 11^th November 2003.

Allah, be He Exalted and Glorified, says what can be translated as, “And in some parts of the night (also) offer the Salât (prayer) with it (i.e. recite the Qur’an in the prayer), as an additional prayer (Tahajjud optional prayer- Nawâfil) for you (O Muhammad). It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqâm Mahmud (a station of praise and glory, i.e. the honor of intercession on the Day of Resurrection)”(TMQ, 17:79)[1]. Come on dear brother, what are you waiting for? “And in some parts of the night offer Salât (prayer), as an additional prayer for you”.

Allah, SWT, teaches us that those who keep awake and pray all or most of the night can never stand on equal footing with those who sleep soundly during the night while others pray. Allah says what can be translated as, “Is one who is obedient to Allâh, prostrating himself or standing (in prayer) during the hours of the night, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the Mercy of his Lord (like one who disbelieves)? Say: Are those who know equal to those who know not?” (TMQ, 39:9). Now think about those who are meant by, “Is one who is obedient to Allâh, prostrating himself or standing (in prayer) during the hours of the night” and try to imagine the happiness that is felt by those who live this moment. Specially at the last third of the night, when Allah, be He Exalted and Glorified, gloriously and magnificently descends to worldly heaven, and says what can be translated as, “Who is there seeking My forgiveness and I shall forgive him? Who is there seeking repentance and I shall pardon him?” ‏

Only those who have lived that moment do know. Indeed they are the ones who are described in Qur'an as “the ones who know”. Whereas those who are described as “the ones who do not know” are probably being occupied at that moment watching T.V. or surfing the Internet. Do they know the Prophet's (PBUH) Hadith, “There is an hour during the night, if concurred by any Muslim asking Allah for good in this world and the Hereafter he will be granted what he prays for by Allah?

A Muslim is always watching out for his afterlife and wishes to be granted Allah's mercy. This is always the state of concurrence anywhere and anytime, and there is only one way of attaining it i.e. performing night prayer.

One day two of the Companions went to Lady Aisha and said, “O mother of believers! Tell us what was the most amazing thing that the Prophet (PBUH) ever did”, she said, “What can I tell you? He was amazing in everything he did”

She then started to narrate an incident, “One night he (PBUH) came to my room, went into the bed and started to cover himself with the quilt. When he almost did that he told me, “Let me worship my Lord for sometime”. I told him, “I love to be near you but I would rather leave you to enjoy your passion.” He went to pray and began to cry while praying. He went on like this till his tears dropped over the mat; he went on praying and shedding tears until Bilal came to call for the Morning Prayer. Bilal asked him, “ O messenger of Allah! Why do you cry and you know that Allah has forgiven your previous and future sins? The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Woe unto you Bilal! A verse was revealed to me tonight and woe unto those who read it and do not contemplate it”. He then recited the words of Allah, be He Exalted and Glorified, what can be translated as, “Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): “Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You! (Exalted are you above all that they associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire!” (TMQ, 3:191).

The Prophet (PBUH) then followed that by saying: “Woe unto those who read it and do not contemplate it”.

Just try to perform it for two weeks and you will find that you have developed a passion for vigil prayer and standing before Allah, be He blessed and exalted. Only then you will be born anew, praise to Allah, vigil prayer is like “a magical baton” that you can utilize to do anything you wish.

The Prophet (PBUH) used to pray at night till his feet got swollen. Muslims asked him: “Has not Allah forgiven your past and your future sins?” He (PBUH) answered, “True, but should not I be a thankful worshipper?” He used to lean on one foot at a time, out of fatigue and exhaustion.

The Messenger of Allah really enjoyed night prayer. How could not he not, when he was standing before his Lord?

This is the believer's motto: “should not I be a thankful worshipper”. Make sure to take it as your motto too.

You should weep and be sorry for your stand toward such amazing matters and actions. Al-Bukhari narrated in his verified book that the Prophet (PBUH) once felt so sick that he could not perform vigil prayer for one night or two nights. Have you got my point here? Al-Bukhari shows that it was just an exceptional case, as the Prophet was keen on performing this prayer daily!

How miserable you are! You should feel sorry for yourself, you should be determined to get closer to Allah and maintain vigil prayer.

Just consider how keen the Prophet (PBUH) was on performing vigil prayer and how he embedded such a concept in the minds of his Companions (May Allah be pleased with them all) to perform it. Once he met Abdullah Bin Amr bin Al'as and told him, “O Abdullah! Do not be like that who used to perform vigil prayer then abandoned it”. Dear brother try to imagine that the Prophet's (PBUH) advice was given to you. Do you remember when you persisted in performing vigil prayer in Ramadan and then you quit it when Ramadan ended? It is as if the prophet meant you by his words.

How do you feel about it? What a difficult situation to be in before the Prophet (PBUH). Now, imagine if you are in the better situation and that you are persistent in performing vigil prayer, how proud the Prophet (PBUH) would be of you!

The Prophet (PBUH) said, “What an excellent worshipper Abdullah Bin Omar would be if he only performs vigil prayer”. It has been reported that Abdullah never abandoned vigil prayer after this. He hardly slept, and used to get very sad and upset to know that one of the Companions had quit it.

Let's set Abdullah Bin Omar as a model for all of us. Be as determined as he was, intend to do it and let this article mark the conclusion of the era of laziness and sleeping passion.

What a highly aspired conscientious man he was, where are you Abdullah? We need a plenty of devoted worshippers like you.

One night the Prophet (PBUH) went to awaken his daughter Fatema and her husband Ali to perform vigil prayer. He knocked the door (apparently they were asleep) and asked them “Won't you pray?” Ali answered, “Our souls are in Allah's hand. If He wishes to awaken us, He would. The Prophet (PBUH) angrily left them, and as Ali said, “I found him beating his thigh with his fist on his way, and repeating the Qura'nic verse “But, man is ever more quarrelsome than anything”.

Don't you always claim that you set the alarm everyday but cannot wake up, “what else can I do about it, I did my best?”

I have nothing to comment on this except what the Prophet (PBUH) said, “But, man is ever more quarrelsome than anything”. No more excuses! Let's start anew.

The Prophet (PBUH) woke up one night and found all his wives sleeping, so he said, “Who would wake the ladies of the rooms? Many a covered woman in this world becomes naked in the Judgment Day”. Our Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) wanted to awaken his household to perform vigil prayer and enjoy the happiness and the bliss of that time, but he found them asleep.

So he managed to incite them to get up at once and abandon sleeping, by simply saying, “Many a covered woman in this world becomes naked in the Judgment Day”. It is true that this incident happened with women, but assuredly you can not just retreat claiming that it was meant for women only. Wake up Muslims!

When “Zat Arik'a” battle ended, Muslims camped in a certain place to rest. The Prophet (PBUH) appointed a number of his Companions for guarding, among them was Ammar Bin Yasser and Abbad Bin Beshr (May Allah be pleased with them all). Abbad asked Ammar to let him shoulder the first guarding shift while he would go and sleep. Abbad then stood to pray in the darkness, amidst the rocks and silence. When he got totally absorbed in his worship, enjoying the closeness to Allah and the pleasure of standing before Him, the enemies threw him in the darkness with an arrow, which hit his upper arm. He took it off and continued his prayer before they threw him with another arrow, which he also took off, bowed and prostrated then reached out to awaken his friend. Ammar was astonished to see his Muslim brother bleeding, so Abbad told him, “I got injured since I started my prayer but I did not want to interrupt it. If it had not been for the fortified borderline city I was ordered to guard, I would have rather died than to interrupt the verses I was reciting”.

You may not be touched because you have not experienced it yet. But you may know well the feeling when one forgets the whole world when he meets his beloved and stands before him seeking his love and satisfaction!

[1] TMQ=Translation of the Meaning of the Qur'an. This translation is for the realized meaning, so far, of the stated (Surah:Ayah) of the Qur'an. Reading the translated meaning of the Qur'an can never replace reading it in Arabic, the language in which it was revealed.

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