The Excellence of Rising in the Night to Pray

In some part of the night, rise from sleep and observe vigil therein (through Prayer and recital of the Qur’an) as additional worship for you; your Lord may well raise you to a glorious, praised station (of nearness to Him, and give you leave to intercede with Him, as He wills, on behalf of His servants, in the Hereafter). (al-Isra 17:79)

568. Salim ibn Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, reported from his father that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Abdullah is an excellent man. If only he would pray during the night.” Salim said, “After that Abdullah spent very little of the night asleep.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Tahajjud, 2; Sahih Muslim, Fadailu’s-Sahaba, 139).

570. Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Satan ties three knots at the back of your necks when you are asleep. He hits every knot saying the words, ‘You have a long night ahead of you so sleep soundly.’ When you wake up and remember Allah, one knot is undone. When you do wudu, one knot is undone. When you pray, one knot is undone. So the morning finds you cheerful and energetic. Otherwise, the morning will find you lazy and foul-tempered.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Tahajjud, 12; Sahih Muslim, Salatu’l-Musafirin, 207).

578. Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah , peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The Prayer which Allah the Almighty loves best was the Prayer of Dawud, and the fast which Allah the Almighty loves best is the fast of Dawud. He used to sleep half of the night and pray one third of it and then sleep a sixth. He used to fast one day and break the fast the next day.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Tahajjud, 7; Sahih Muslim, Siyam, 189).

579. Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say, ‘There is an hour during the night in which whatever good of this world and the Next a man asks Allah the Almighty for, He will give it to him. That happens every night.’” (Sahih Muslim, Salatu’l-Musafirin, 166).

Nawawi, Imam. Riyad As-Salihin; The Gardens of the Righteous: A collection of authentic hadiths. Tughra Books Press, Inc. 2014