NIGHTTIME
IS THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO MAKE “A SACRED CONVERSATION” WITH ALLAH SWT, THE CREATOR
by
Syarif Hidayat
A
silent night is an appropriate time to make “a sacred conversation” with Allah
SWT, the Creator through Tahajjud prayer
(salat). The only nawafil (sunnah) salat mentioned in Quran is Tahajjud. A
servant gets closer to Allah through tahajjud salat. Allah (SWT) chooses those
who performs tajajjud salat regularly (every night) as his companion. Angels
also becomes his companions.
The best time for tahajjud prayer is
last part of the night (i.e. after two-third part of the night). The tahajjud
is prayed in two raka'ats each. Instead of praying more raka'at it is better to
recite long Surahs from Quran after reciting Surah Fathiha.
The
last part of the night is the time when Allah (SWT) accepts duas. So, it is
good to spend time for dua also after tahajjud salat.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the
Merciful. “And in some parts of the night (also) offer the Salat (prayer)
with it (i.e. recite the Qur'an in the prayer), as an additional prayer
(tahajjud optional prayer - Nawafil) for you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم). It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqam Mahmud (a
station of praise and glory, i.e. the honour of intercession on the Day of
Resurrection.)”
(Al-Qur’an, Al-Isra, Chapter 17, Verse
79)
“Verily, the rising by night (for tahajjud
prayer) is very hard and most potent and good for governing oneself, and most
suitable for (understanding) the Word (of Allah).” (, Al-Qur’an, Al-Muzzammil,
Chapter 73, Verse 6)
“And during night, prostrate yourself
to Him (i.e. the offering of Maghrib and 'Isha' prayers), and glorify Him a
long night through (i.e. tahajjud prayer).” (Al-Qur’an, Ali-Insan,
Chapter 76, Verse 26)
The
latter part of the night
- Perform Tahajjud Salaat
in the latter part of the night.
- After having gone to
bed, you should rise late in the night and perform Tahajjud Salaat.
-
The minimum number of raka'ts in Tahajjud is four and the maximum is twelve
raka'ts.
-
Tahajjud can also be performed in two raka't or four raka't units.
-
The niyyat for Tahajjud is simply to intend that you are performing Tahajjud.
-
There are no specific Surahs to recite in Tahajjud.
-
Any Surah may be recited in any raka't.
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It is said that if one lacks the courage to get up late in the night then one
should at least make an effort to perform four raka'ts with the niyyat of
Tahajjud after the two Sunnatul Muakkadah of Ishaa.
-
Although the thawaab will not be the same as Tahajjud being performed in its
proper time.
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-
Of all the Nafl Salaat, the greatest in rank is the "Tahajjud
Salaat".
-
The Ahaadeeth speak much about the great significance of Tahajjud Salaat.
-
Tahajjud Salaat has always been the practice of all the great and pious people.
-
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said that Tahajjud Salaat is a very
great and efficacious medium of gaining nearness to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
A
Sacred Conversation
There is a time of night when the
whole world transforms. During the day, chaos often takes over our lives. The
responsibilities of work, school, and family dominate much of our attention.
Other than the time we take for the five daily prayers, it is hard to also take
time out to reflect or even relax. Many of us live our lives at such a fast
pace, we may not even realize what we’re missing.
But there is a time of night when work
ends, traffic sleeps, and silence is the only sound. At that time—while the
world around us sleeps—there is One who remains awake and waits for us to call
on Him. We are told in the hadith qudsi: “Our Lord descends during the last
third of each night to the lower heaven, and says: ‘Is there anyone who calls
on Me that I may respond to him? Is there anyone who asks Me that I may give
unto him? Is there anyone who requests My Forgiveness that I may forgive him?’”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
One can only imagine what would happen
if a king were to come to our door, offering to give us anything we want. One
would think that any sane person would at least set their alarm for such a
meeting. If we were told that at exactly one hour before dawn a check for
$10,000,000 would be left at our doorstep, would we not wake up to take it?
Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is
He) has told us that at this time of night, just before dawn, He will come to
His servants. Imagine this. The Lord of
the universe has offered us a sacred conversation with Him. That Lord waits for
us to come speak with Him, and yet many of us leave Him waiting while we sleep
in our beds. Allah (swt) comes to us and asks what we want from Him. The
Creator of all things has told us that He will give us whatever we ask.
And
yet we sleep
There will come a day when this veil
of deception will be lifted. The Qur’an says: “[It will be said], You
were certainly in unmindfulness of this, and We have removed from you your
cover, so your sight, this Day, is sharp.” (Al-Qur’an 50:22).
On that Day, we will see the true
reality. On that Day, we will realize that two rak`at (units) of prayer were
greater than everything in the heavens and the earth. We will realize the
priceless check that was left on our doorstep every night as we slept. There
will come a day when we would give up everything under the sky just to come
back and pray those two rak`at.
There will come a day when we would
give up everything we ever loved in this life, everything that preoccupied our
hearts and minds, every mirage we ran after, just to have that conversation
with Allah. But on that Day, there will be some from whom Allah (swt) will turn
away… and forget, as they had once forgotten Him.
The Qur’an says: “He will say,
‘My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?’ [Allah] will
say, ‘Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot them; and thus will you
this Day be forgotten.’” (Al-Qur’an, 20:125-126) In Surat al-Mu’minoon,
Allah says: “Do not cry out today. Indeed, by Us you will not be helped.”
(Qur’an, 23:65)
Can you imagine for a moment what these
ayat (verses) are saying? This is not about being forgotten by an old friend or
classmate. This is about being forgotten by the Lord of the worlds. Not
hellfire. Not boiling water. Not scalded skin. There is no punishment greater
than this.
And
as there is no punishment greater than this, there is no reward greater than
what the Prophet ﷺ
describes in the following hadith:”When those deserving of Paradise would
enter Paradise, the Blessed and the Exalted would ask: Do you wish Me to give
you anything more? They would say: Hast Thou not brightened our faces? Hast
Thou not made us enter Paradise and saved us from Fire? He would lift the veil,
and of things given to them nothing would be dearer to them than the sight of
their Lord, the Mighty and the Glorious.” [Sahih Muslim]
But one does not need to wait until
that Day to know the result of this nighttime meeting with Allah (swt). The
truth is, there are no words to describe the overwhelming peace in this life
from such a conversation. One can only experience it to know. Its effect on
one’s life is immeasurable.
When you experience qiyam, the late night
prayer the rest of your life transforms. Suddenly, the burdens that once
crushed you become light. The problems that were irresolvable become solved.
And that closeness to your Creator, which was once unreachable, becomes your
only lifeline.
Spiritual
balance
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani in his article titled “Spiritual
balance: Leaving that which doesn’t concern one” published in www. Qibla.com,
writes The question of balance in life
between the spiritual and the mundane is an important one.
The Qur’an tells us that the
believer’s goal is seeking the good in this life and the next. This is
encapsulated in the Qur’anic supplication:
“Our
Lord! Give unto us in the world that which is good and in the Hereafter that
which is good, and guard us from the doom of Fire.” [Al-Qur'an, 2.201]
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless
him and give him peace) told us, “Be in this world as a stranger or wayfarer.”
[Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja, and Ahmad]
The wayfarer or stranger does not avoid
comfort, enjoyment, or interests related to their journey or place of sojourn.
However, they realize that their destination is more important than their
fleeting journey or sojourn. Thus, they prioritize. They realize that this
worldly life is a means to the next life. We seek the good in it, as a means to
the good in the next life, not as an end in itself.
We have been instructed by the Prophet
(Allah bless him and give him peace) that, “From the excellence of a man’s
Islam is to leave that which does not concern him.” [Tirmidhi]
Some early Muslims said, “Whoever
busies themselves with that which does not concern them misses out on much of
that which does concern them.”
Mulla Ali al-Qari (Allah have mercy on
him) mentioned in his expansive commentary on Mishkat al-Masabih:
“The
Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, ‘From the
excellence of a man’s Islam is leaving that which does not concern him.’ That
is, to leave that which is not important or befitting of him, whether in
speech, actions, or thought.”
Thus, “the excellence of a man’s
Islam” is its perfection, such that one remains steadfast in the submission to
the commands and prohibitions of Allah, and surrenders to His rulings in
accordance to His destiny and decree (qada wa qadr).
This is the sign of the heart having
been expanded by the light of its Lord, and the descent of quietude (sakina)
into the heart. The reality of “that which does not concern him” is that which
is not needed for a worldly or next-worldly benefit, and does not aide in
attaining his Lord’s good pleasure, such that it is possible to live without
it. This includes excess acts and unnecessary speech.
This hadith may well be taken from
Allah Most High’s saying, “And who shun all vain things.” (Al-Qur’an,
23: 3 – changed from Pickthall’s ‘vain conversation’, for laghw is, as Baydawi
explains: “that which does not concern them of speech and actions”).
And it has been related in a Prophetic
hadith that, “The people of the Garden will not remorse except for moments that
passed them by without remembering Allah.” (Tabarani from our master Mu`adh
-may Allah be pleased with him-).
So glad tidings to one who takes
himself to account (hasaba nafsahu) before he is taken to account. Allah Most
High has said, “O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah. And let
every soul look to that which it sendeth on before for the morrow. And observe
your duty to Allah! Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do. And be not ye as those
who forgot Allah, therefore He caused them to forget their souls. Such are the
evil-doers.” (Al-Qur’an, 59: 18)
Al-Awza`i said, “Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz
wrote to us, ‘Whoever is frequent in remembering death is content with but a
little of this world. And whoever counts his speech from his actions speaks
little except in that which benefits him.”’ [from: Sufism and Good
Character, translated by Faraz Rabbani, ' White Thread Press, www.whitethreadpress.com]. (HSH)
Bibliotheque:
1. http:// www.yaminmogahed.com
4. http://www.whitethreadpress.com/Bibliotheque:
1. http:// www.yaminmogahed.com
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