Definition

DEFINITION

• DEFINITION

• EXCELLENCE OF THE NIGHT PRAYERS

• ETIQUETTE OF PERFORMING THE NIGHT PRAYERS

• NATURE AND NUMBER OF RAKATS FOR WITR, TAHAJJUD AND TARAWEEH

Qiyam: standing

• Qiyam: standing

• Qiyam ul-Layl: standing at night

• Shariah definition of Qiyam ul-Layl: voluntary night prayers performed anytime after Isha until Fajr

• Witr (odd-numbered)
• Tahajjud (from ‘hajada’: remaining awake at night)
• Taraweeh (resting)
• Salat ul-Layl (The night prayer)
• There is one Nafl prayer at night, with different names to describe it

Best of the voluntary prayers

• Best of the voluntary prayers

• “The best of prayers, after those prescribed, are those prayed in the depth of the night.” [Muslim and Ahmad]
• Means of entering Jannah
• The Prophet said: “O people, spread the salutations, feed the people, keep the ties of kinship, and pray during the night while the others sleep and you will enter paradise in peace.” [al-Hakim, Ibn Majah, and at-Tirmidhi]
• Acceptance of Supplications
• The Messenger of Allah said:   “Our Lord descends every night to the lowest heaven, when only one third of the night has remained. He says: “Who will invoke Me, so that I may give him? Who will seek My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

Earns the praises and complements of Allah SWT

• Earns the praises and complements of Allah SWT
• وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا وَالَّذِينَ يَبِيتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّدًا وَقِيَامًا
• “The slaves of the Beneficent are they who walk upon the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them, they say: 'Peace' and they who spend the night prostrating before their Lord and standing”
• [Surat al-Furqan: 63-64]

Practice of the believers

• Practice of the believers

• تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
• “Only those believe in Our revelations who, when they are reminded of them, fall down prostrate and hymn the praise of their Lord and they are not scornful: who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope and spend of what We have bestowed on them. No soul knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do.” [Surat as-Sajdah 32:16]

Upon going to sleep, one should make the intention to perform the tahajjud prayers

• Upon going to sleep, one should make the intention to perform the tahajjud prayers

• Abu ad-Darda' relates that the Prophet said: "Whoever goes to his bed with the intention of getting up and praying during the night, and sleep overcomes him until the morning comes, he will have recorded for him what he had intended, and his sleep will be a charity for him from his Lord.“ [an-Nasa'i and ibn Majah]
• Upon waking, one should wipe one's face, use a toothstick, and look to the sky and make du’aa

• Then, one should recite the last ten Ayat of Surat al-Imran

Then one should say:

• Then one should say:

• “O Allah, to You belongs the praise. You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and what is therein. And to You belongs the praise. You are the truth and Your promise is true. And the meeting with You is true. And the paradise is true. And the Fire is true. And the prophets are true. And Muhammad is true. And the Hour is true. O Allah, to You have I submitted. And in You have I believed. And in You have I put my trust. And to You have I turned. And by You I argue. And to You do I turn for my decisions. Forgive me of my former and latter sins, and those done in private and those done in public. You are Allah, there is no God besides You.”

One can begin Qiyam al-Layil with two quick rakat and then one may pray whatever one wishes after that

• One can begin Qiyam al-Layil with two quick rakat and then one may pray whatever one wishes after that

• One should wake up one's family for tahajjud

• One should stop praying tahajjud and sleep if one becomes very sleepy

Salatul Layil is performed after Salat ul-Isha, and may be performed in the first, second, or third part of the night

• Salatul Layil is performed after Salat ul-Isha, and may be performed in the first, second, or third part of the night

• Aisha reports: “Out of the entire night, the Messenger of Allah would sometimes perform the witr prayer during the early portion; sometimes he would perform it during the middle portion; and sometimes in the latter portion of the night, just before dawn.” [Related by the group]

• It is best to delay this prayer to the last third portion of the night

• Abu Hurairah reports that the Messenger of Allah said: “Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven during the last third of the night, inquiring: 'Who will call on Me so that I may respond to him? Who is asking something of Me so I may give it to him? Who is asking for My forgiveness so I may forgive him?”' [Related by the group]

Prayed in sets of 2

• Prayed in sets of 2

• “The night prayer is in sets of two [rakat]”

• Minimum number of 1 Rakat

• The Prophet said: “The night prayer is sets of two rakat. If one fears the coming of the dawn, he should perform one rakah, thereby making all of them odd [witr].”

• Maximum number of 11 Rakat

• Aishah said: “The Messenger of Allah never prayed more than eleven rak'at, during Ramadan or otherwise. He would pray four rak'at, and don't ask about how excellent they were or how lengthy they were. Then, he would pray four rak'at, and don't ask about how excellent they were or how lengthy they were. Then, he would pray three rak'at. I asked: 'O Messenger of Allah, do you sleep before praying witr?' he replied: 'O 'Aishah, my eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep.”' [Bukhari and Muslim]

Permissibility of praying any number of rakat from one to eleven

• Permissibility of praying any number of rakat from one to eleven

• The Prophet said, “Witr is true (as a recommended act of worship). Anyone who wishes to pray five rakat; and anyone who wishes may pray three; and anyone who wishes may pray one.” [Tahawi, al-Hakim and others]
• Abdullah bin Abi Qays reported that he asked Aisha, “How many rakat did Allah’s Messenger pray witr?” She replied, ‘He prayed witr four and three rakat, or six and three, or ten and three; he would not pray witr less than seven, nor more than thirteen.” [Abu Dawud, Ahmad, and others]

Qiyam al-Layil may be prayed in a variety of ways, which can all be traced back to the Prophet.

• Qiyam al-Layil may be prayed in a variety of ways, which can all be traced back to the Prophet.

• It is permissible to perform the witr by praying two rak'at [and concluding them] and then praying one rak'ah with a tashahud and taslim.
• One may pray a number of rak'at, one after another, without making any tashahud, except in the one before the last rak'ah in which case one makes the tashahud and then stands to perform the last rak'ah where one will make another tashahud and end the prayer with the taslim.
• One may also make only one tashahud and the taslim, in the last rak'ah of witr.

If praying 3 rakat Witr, it should not resemble the Maghrib prayer

• If praying 3 rakat Witr, it should not resemble the Maghrib prayer

• “Do not pray witr as three rakat resembling the Maghrib prayer.” [Tahawi, Daraqutni and others]

• One may pray Witr in the earlier part of the night then Qiyam al-Layil in the latter part of the night, although praying them together in the end is better

• “Whoever fears that he will not wake up in the later part of the night, then let him perform Witr in the first part of it and whoever expects to wake up in the later part of the night, let him pray it then. Indeed, the prayer of the night is witnessed (by the angels), and that is better.” [Abd ur-Razzaq]

Recitation in the Witr

• Recitation in the Witr

• Al-Qunut in the Witr

• “The Messenger of Allah taught me the [following] words to say in the witr prayer: ‘O Allah, guide me among those whom You have guided. Grant me safety among those whom You have granted safety. Take me into Your charge among those whom You have taken into Your charge. Bless me in what You have given me. Protect me from the evil that You have decreed, for You decree and nothing is decreed for You. And there is no humiliation for whom You take as a ward. Blessed and Exalted are You, our Lord.’” [Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and others]

• Prohibition of two Witr prayers in one night

• Missing Witr / Making Qada

Virtues of the Taraweeh Prayer

• Virtues of the Taraweeh Prayer

• “Whoever prays during the nights of Ramadan [taraweeh] with a firm belief and hoping for reward, all of his previous sins would be forgiven.” [Related by the group]
• 'Aishah says: "The Prophet offered salah in the mosque and many people prayed with him. The next day he did the same and more people prayed with him. Then the people gathered on the third night but, the Prophet did not come out to them. In the morning, he said to them: 'Surely I saw what you did, and nothing prevented me from coming out to you, save that I feared that [that prayer] would be made obligatory upon you.' And that was during Ramadan." [Related by the group except for at-Tirmidhi]

Aisha’s reports

• Aisha’s reports

• Aishah said: “The Messenger of Allah never prayed more than eleven rakat, during Ramadan or otherwise.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
• Aishah said: “The Messenger of Allah's prayer during the night would be ten rak'at and then he would make witr with one rakah.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
• Aishah said: “Allah’s Messenger prayed at night, in Ramadan and other months, thirteen rakat, of which were the two rakat of Fajr.” [Muslim]
• Aishah said: “Allah’s Messenger rayed thirteen rakat at night. Then after hearing the call for fajr prayer, he would pray two short rakat.” [Bukhari]

Jabir’s reports

• Jabir’s reports

• Jabir bin Abdullah reported: “The Messenger of Allah led us one night during Ramadan, praying eight rakat and witr. On the following night, we gathered in the Masjid hoping that he will come out again to lead the prayer. We stayed there until the morning. The we entered and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Last night we gathered in the Masjid hoping that you would lead us in the prayer.’ To which he replied, ‘Indeed I feared that it would become an obligation on you’”[Tabarani]

Ibn Abbas’s Report and Its Weakness

• Ibn Abbas’s Report and Its Weakness

• Al-Hafidh ibn Hajar comments: “As for what was recorded by Ibn Abu Shaybah, from the hadith of Ibn Abbas that ‘Allah’s Messenger used to pray in Ramadan twenty rakat and witr,’ it has a weak isnad; furthermore it contradicts Aisha’s hadith in the two Sahihs. And she knows better than other people about the affairs of the Prophet at night.’” [Fath ul-Bari]
• Al-Hafidh az-Zayla’i stated, “The hadith of Ibn Abbas is very weak, as stated by as-Suyuti. It’s problem arises from Abu Shaybah Ibrahim Bin Uthman, whose narrations are rejected.”
• Al-Bukhari said, “The scholars of hadith do not transmit his narrations.”
• Ibn Main said, “He is not trustworthy.”
• Al-Jawzajani said, “He is deposed.”

Reports from Omar

• Reports from Omar

• “Omar bin al-Khattab commanded Ubayy bin Ka’b and Tamim ad-Dari to lead the people in Qiyam with eleven rakat. The reciter would read one hundred ayat in each rakah until we had to lean on canes because of the long standing. We would not finish except with the arrival of fajr.” [Malik]

The Night Prayers: Qiyam and Taraweeh

• The Night Prayers: Qiyam and Taraweeh

Jazakum Allah Khayran

• Jazakum Allah Khayran