SIFAT SALAAT AN NĀBI ﷺ* *(The Prophet's Prayer Described From The Beginning To The End As Though You See It) Episode 26 Night prayer (Tahajjud)

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*SIFAT SALAAT AN NĀBI ﷺ*

*(The Prophet's Prayer Described From The Beginning To The End As Though You See It)*

*Episode 26*

*Night prayer (Tahajjud)*

 

He (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) would sometimes recite loudly in it and

sometimes quietly,323 He (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) would shorten his

recitation in this sometimes and lengthen it sometimes, occasionally

making it so exceedingly long that 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood (radi Allaahu

'anhu) once said: "I prayed with the Prophet (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam)

one night, and he carried on standing for so long that I was struck by a

wrong idea." He was asked, "What was this idea?" He said: "I thought I

would sit down and leave the Prophet (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam)!"324

Also Hudhaifah ibn al-Yamaan said: 

"I prayed with the Prophet (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) that night when

he started soorah al-Baqarah (2:286). So I said (to myself), "He will

make rukoo' after one hundred aayaat". But he carried on after that, so I

thought, "He will finish it (the soorah) in two rak'ahs". But he carried on,

so I thought, "He will make rukoo' when he has finished it." Then he

started soorah an-Nisaa' (4:176) and recited it all, then he started soorah

aal-'Imraan (3:200)325 and recited it all. He was reciting slowly; when he

came to an aayah in which there was glorification of Allaah, he glorified

Allaah; at an aayah which had something to be asked for, he asked for it; at

mention of seeking refuge, he sought refuge (with Allaah). Then he made

rukoo' ... " to the end of the hadeeth.326

Also, "one night when he was ill he recited the Seven Long surahs."327

Also, "he would (sometimes) recite one of these surahs in each rak'ah."328

"It was [totally] unknown for him to recite the whole Qur'aan in one

night."329 In fact, he did not recommend it for 'Abdullaah ibn 'Amr (may...

322 ibid. It is also given in Irwaa' (295)

323 Nasaai with Saheeh isnaad.

324 Bukhaari & Muslim.

325 The narration is like this, with Nisaa' (4) before aal-`Imraan (3), and thus it is evidence for (the permissibility of)

departing from the order of surahs found in the `Uthmaani copy of the Qur'aan in recitation. An example of this has

already been seen.

326 Muslim & Nasaa'i .

327 Abu Ya`laa & Haakim, who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed. Ibn al-Atheer says: "... the Seven Long surahs are

Baqarah (2), aal-`Imraan (3), Nisaa' (4), Maa'idah (5), An`aam (6), A`raaf (7) and Tawbah (9)."

328 Abu Daawood & Nasaa'i with a saheeh isnaad.

...Allaah be pleased with him) when he said to him: 

Recite the whole Qur'aan in each month. I said: "I have the power

(to do more than that)." He said: Recite it in twenty nights. I said: "I

have the power to do more". He said: Then recite it in seven days and

do not go beyond that.330 Then "he allowed him to recite it in five

days."331 Then "he allowed him to recite it in three days."332 Further, he

forbade him from reciting it in less time than that333, and he gave a

reason for that by saying to him: Whoever recites the Qur'aan in less

than three days does not understand it.334 In another version: He

does not understand, the one who recites the Qur'aan in less than

three days.335 Also when he said to him: For every worshipper has a

(period of) keenness336 and every (period of) keenness has a

lapse337, either towards a sunnah or towards a bid'ah

(innovation); so he whose lapse is towards a sunnah has found

guidance, and he whose lapse is towards other than that has been

destroyed.338

For this reason, "he (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) would not recite the

whole Qur'aan in less than three days."339

He used to say: Whoever prays at night reciting two hundred aayaat will

be written down as one of the sincere devotees.340 Also, "he used to recite

soorah Bani Israa'eel (17:111) and soorah az-Zumar (39:75) every night."341 He

also used to say: Whoever prays at night reciting a hundred aayaat will

not be written down as one of the heedless.

342 Sometimes "he would recite

330 Bukhaari & Muslim.

331 Nasaa'i & Tirmidhi, who declared it saheeh.

332 Bukhaari & Ahmad.

333 Daarimi & Sa`eed ibn Mansoor in his sunan with a saheeh isnaad.

334 Ahmad with a saheeh isnaad.

335 Daarimi & Tirmidhi, who declared it saheeh.

336 Ar. shirrah: excitement, enthusiasm, keenness, energy. The shirrah of youth is his its beginning and its fervour/zeal.

Imaam Tahaawi says:"This is the zeal/fervour of the Muslims in their actions which bring them nearer to their Lord.

However they are bound to fall short and leave some actions (which they began due to this zeal) so the most beloved

of their actions to Allaah's Messenger (Sallallaahu `Alaihi wa Sallam) were those done otherwise (and kept up), so he

ordered them to carry out righteous deeds which they are able to do continually and keep to until they meet their

Lord-the Mighty and Majestic. It is narrated from him (Sallallaahu `Alaihi wa Sallam) to clarify this that he said: "The

actions most loved by Allaah are those which are the most regular, even if they are little."I say: this hadeeth which he

prefixes with the words "it is narrated" is saheeh, agreed upon by Bukhaari & Muslim from the narration of `Aa'ishah

(Allaah be pleased with her).

337 Ar. fatrah: interval, break, lapse; referring here to a period of reduced enthusiasm.

338 Ahmad & Ibn Hibbaan in his saheeh.

339 Ibn Sa`ad (1/376) & Abu ash-Shaikh in `Akhlaaq Nabi (281).

340 Daarimi & Haakim , who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.

341 ibid.

342 Ahmad & Ibn Nasr with a saheeh isnaad.

 

about fifty aayaat or more in each rak'ah"343, or he "would recite about as much

as soorah al-Muzzammil (73:20)."344

"He (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) would not pray all through the

night"345 except rarely, for once: 

" 'Abdullaah ibn Khabbaab ibn al-Arat - who was present at (the Battle of)

Badr with the Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) - stayed

up the whole night with the Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi wa

Sallam) (in another version: a night when he prayed throughout it) until

it was dawn. So when he finished his prayer, Khabbaab said to him: "O

Messenger of Allaah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you!

Tonight, you have prayed a prayer the like of which I have never seen?"

He said: Yes, it was a prayer of hope and fear; [indeed] I asked

my Lord, Mighty and Sublime, three things; He granted me two,

but refused me one. I asked my Lord that He would not destroy

us the way the nations before us were (in another version: that

He would not destroy my ummah with famine) and He granted me

this; I asked my Lord, Mighty and Sublime, that He would not

impose on us an enemy from outside us, and He granted me this;

and I asked my Lord not to cover us with confusion in party strife,

but He refused me this."

346

Also, one night he stood (in prayer) repeating one aayah until it was

dawn:

"If You do punish them, they are Your servants; if You do forgive them,

You are indeed the Exalted in Power, the Wise." (Maa'idah 5:121) [with it

he bowed, with it he prostrated, and with it he supplicated], [so in the

morning Abu Dharr (radi Allaahu 'anhu) said to him: "O Messenger of

343 Bukhaari & Abu Daawood.

344 Ahmad & Abu Daawood with a saheeh isnaad.

345 Muslim & Abu Daawood. This hadeeth and others make it disliked (makrooh) to stay awake the whole night, whether

always or regularly, for it is against the example of the Prophet (Sallallaahu `Alaihi wa Sallam); for if staying up the

whole night were better, he (Sallallaahu `Alaihi wa Sallam) would have done so, and the best guidance is the guidance

of Muhammad. So do not be deceived by what is narrated from Abu Haneefah (Rahimahullaah) that he prayed Fajr

with the ablution of `Ishaa' for forty years!! (translator's note: see Tablighi Nisab: Virtues of Salaat by Maulana

Zakariyya Kandhalvi for examples of this type of claim) For this narration from him is totally baseless; in fact `Allaamah

al-Fairoozaabaadi says in Ar-Radd `alaa al-Mu`tarid ((44/1): 

"This narration is a clear lie and cannot be attributed to the Imaam, for there is nothing excellent about it, whereas it was

the nature of the likes of the Imaam to do the better thing; there is no doubt that the renewal of purification for each

prayer is more excellent, most complete, and best. This is even if it is correct that he stayed awake the length of the night

for forty consecutive years! This story seems more like a fairy tale, and is an invention of some of the extremely ignorant

fanatics, who say it about Abu Haneefah and others, and all of it is lies."

346 Nasaa'i, Ahmad & Tabaraani (1/187/2); Tirmidhi declared it saheeh.

 

Allaah, you did not stop reciting this aayah until it was morning; you

bowed with it and you prostrated with it] [and you supplicated with it,]

[whereas Allaah has taught you the whole Qur'aan;] [if one of us were to

do this, we would be stern with him?] [He said: Indeed I asked my

Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, for intercession for my ummah: He

granted me it, and it will be possible if Allaah wills for whoever

does not associate any partners with Allaah.347

A man said to him: "O Messenger of Allaah, I have a neighbour who

stands (in prayer) at night and does not recite anything except "Say: He

is Allaah the One and Only" (Ikhlaas 112:4), [repeating it,] [not adding

anything else,] as if he considers it little." So the Prophet (Sallallaahu

'Alaihi wa Sallam) said: By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, it is worth

a third of the Qur'aan.348

347 Nasaa'i, Ibn Khuzaimah (1/70/1), Ahmad, Ibn Nasr & Haakim, who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.

348 Ahmad & Bukhaari