Night Prayers

[N. Truth Seeker]

Night Prayers

Night prayers can be put into 3 categories:

1) Isha which is obligatory or fard
2) Salaat-al-Leyl or Qiyam-al-Leyl which is nafl, not fard
3) Tahajjud, which is also nafl, and not fard

Salaat-al-Isha
I'm sure we all know what Isha prayers mean.  Isha salaat is the last of the 5 obligatory prayers.  The Isha time starts about one hour and 15 minutes after Maghrib salaat.  Isha can be offered uptil half an hour prior to Fajr.  However, delaying Isha prayer for that long is not at all advisable.  The best time to offer Isha is before midnight.

Qiyam-al-Leyl and Tahajjud Prayers
First, let's not forget that though Qiyam al-Leyl and Tahajjud are not fard, they carry enormous blessings or 'sawab.' 

Regarding Qiyam al-Leyl and Tahajjud, one often wonders what the difference is.  This is particularly important to know since the month of Ramadan is just around the corner and people usually prefer to sleep less on Ramadan nights by keeping up for extra or nafl prayers.

If, after Isha prayers you don't go off to sleep and keep yourself busy with some kind of worship like reading the Quran or reciting Zikr for 2 or 3 hours or more, and then around 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. you decide to offer nafl prayers, this would be known as Qiyam al-Leyl or Salaat-al-Leyl, meaning the night prayer.   But if you go off to sleep after offering the obligatory Isha prayers, and then wake up to offer the nafl night prayers around 2 a.m. or at anytime prior to Fajr, then this will be called Tahajjud.   The term "Tahajjud" means "to struggle," referring to the effort one makes waking up from sleep and remembering Allah.    "Tahajjud" also includes the meaning of "keeping vigil," referring to a person who forsakes his sleep and keeps vigil by remembering Allah. 

Therefore, Tahajjud prayer is an optional prayer which is supposed to be offered a bit late, after Isha. It is required that a person must sleep a little before getting up for the Tahajjud prayer. It can be performed anytime between Isha and Fajr.  If a person prays nafl or obligatory night prayers anytime between Isha and Fajr without going to sleep, then it's Qiyam al-Leyl or Salaat-al-Leyl or simply late night nafl prayer.  Both Tahajjud and Qiyam al-Leyl, though not obligatory, carry infinite blessings.   Tahajjud is still more valuable because waking up from sleep requires greater effort and sacrifice.

Method
Method for offering Tahajjud or Qiyam-al-Leyl is exactly the same as the 5 obligatory prayers we offer daily at fixed hours throughout the day. 

Of course, one has to perform wudu (ablution) after waking up from sleep.  For Qiyam al-Leyl, if a person has maintained his or her Isha wudu properly, then they may proceed for Qiyam prayers without a fresh wudu.  But for Tahajjud, a fresh wudu is absolutely necessary. 

One then needs to make one's niyyah before starting to offer the prayer, just like we do for regular obligatory prayers. 

For Tahajjud and Qiyam, the minimal number of rakats to be offered are 4, and maximum number of rakats are 12.   Offering du'a or specific supplications after finishing the Tahajjud or Qiyam prayer is very much advisable because the quiet of the night is a very important time to concentrate on Allah and beg for His forgivness, mercy and bounty. 

Qaza for Tahajjud and Qiyam
Now, I don't know how far this is correct, but scholars say that if it is not possible for someone to offer Tahajjud or Qiyam at night, then it can be prayed in the morning or any part of the day with the niyyah (intention) of "Qaza."  'Qaza' is the term used when a salaat is being offered late or after its prescribed time.  They say that if you are offering late or 'Qaza' night prayers, it's better to offer it during the daytime than early at night before or soon after Isha.  Qaza prayer is said to consist of only 2 rakats, but one can offer more if desired.

Additional early morning prayer
This also brings to my mind an additional, not obligatory but nafl, morning prayer to be offered after the obligatory or fard Fajr prayer.  It is called 'Ishraaq.'  Ishraaq Salat is offered about 15 minutes after sunrise.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Thanks my brother.   You have clarified a very useful point - the difference between Tahajjud and Qiyam.  I had wondered about it so many times.  I was under the impression that Qiyam and Tahajjud are the same, that is, to be offered only after waking up from sleep in the middle of the night.  Very often, on days when everyone in my household is tired and retires to bed early except me, I offer my Isha around 11 p.m. and then proceed to offer nafl.  I usually offer night nafls soon after Isha.   I would simply call it nafl.  But now I'll call it Qiyam.  

So this means that the suggestion and view-point as expressed in an earlier post that Isha prayers should preferably be offered before midnight stands correct.  If Isha prayers are delayed too much, say until 2 a.m. or so, then it might make Tahajjud impossible to offer.  There just won't be enough time gap between Tahajjud and Fajr.  And if Isha is delayed beyond 3 a.m. then there also might not be enough time between Qiyam and Fajr.  In order to offer Tahajjud or Qiyam, we first must make sure that we've offered Isha.  Without offering the obligatory, nafl might not serve its full purpose.