Tahajjud


Tahajjud, also known as the "night prayer", is a voluntary prayer performed by followers of Islam. It is not one of the five obligatory prayers required of all Muslims, although the Islamic prophet, Muhammad was recorded as performing the tahajjud prayer regularly himself and encouraging his companions too.

Evidence in the Qur'an

In Fiqh As-Sunnah, Sheikh Sayyid Sabiq elaborates on the subject of Tahajjud as follows:

Evidence in hadith

Next to these Qur'anic verses, there also exist a number of hadiths that reinforce the importance of Tahajjud Prayer. In various hadiths, it has been mentioned as Qiyamul Layl, Salatul Layl and Tahajjud.

Recommended time

To perform tahajjud signifies the act of rising from sleep during the night and then praying.
Tahajjud may be performed in the early part of the night, the middle part of the night, or the later part of the night, but after the obligatory `Isha’ Prayer.
Commenting on this subject, Ibn Hajar says:
"The best time for tahajjud is the last third portion of the night."
`Amr ibn `Absah claimed that he heard Muhammad as saying:

Number of rak`ahs

Tahajjud Prayer does not entail a specific number of rak`ahs that must be performed, nor is there any maximum limit that may be performed. It would be fulfilled even if one prayed just one rak`ah of Witr after `Isha'; however, it is traditionally prayed with at least two rak'at which is known as shif'a followed by witr as this is what Muhammad did. Abdullah ibn Umar narrated that Muhammad said:
"Salatul Layl is offered as two rak'at followed by two rak'at and and if anyone is afraid of the approaching dawn he should pray one rak'at and this will be a Witr for all the rak'at which he has prayed before."
Bukhari, Hadith 990

Impact on health

Tahajjud protects against one of the factors that leads to cardiovascular disease. Sleeping for a long period of time non-stop increases risk of heart disease, especially atherosclerosis, which paves the way for angina attacks.