Tahajjud:Nightly Prayers
Nightly prayers is one important religious exercise, which is not obligatory but highly recommended to Muslims since Prophet Muhammad(saw) kept on performing this type of prayer, which is also know as Tahajjud prayer.
In the beginning this prayer was obligatory for all Muslims;
O thou folded in garments!
Stand (to prayer) by night, but not all night,-
Half of it,- or a little less,
Or a little more; and recite the Qur’an in slow, measured rhythmic tones. AL-Muzammil(73/1-4)
This was before the fard of 5 times daily prayers. After that this nightly prayer was instructed to the prophet himself(saw) only but since its importance and value has been suggested by him, Muslims try to follow his example.
All scholars have agreed upon the merits and virtues of this nightly prayer. It is performed usually in the middle of the night, after having some sleep. This type of behavior is praised in Holy Quran:
Their limbs do forsake their beds of sleep, the while they call on their Lord, in Fear and Hope: and they spend (in charity) out of the sustenance which We have bestowed on them. (As-Sajda 32/16)
This tahajjud prayer is also called as Salatul Leyl. Leyl means night in Arabic and salat is special prayer in Islam which performed both mentally and bodily.
Tahajjud means waking up after sleeping. The word Hajud has been derived from this root, to indicate a person who wakes up in middle of the night to remember Allah(j.j)
After a quick contemplation, one can easily understand the harmony and appropriateness in this since night time is where the soul is by itself and opens to every kind of mischievous thoughts. In such segment of the daily, one’s self is free from daily hum-drum and prosaic activities and can focus on his inner-self and feel closer to his Creator. Therefore especially in tasawwuf, tahajjud prayer is highly praised.
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