The 365 · Sunnah · Day 43 · Prayer
Praying Tahajjud · The Best Voluntary Prayer
The hadith
أَفْضَلُ الصَّلَاةِ بَعْدَ الْفَرِيضَةِ صَلَاةُ اللَّيْلِ
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.' (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1163, narrated by Abū Hurayrah.) Cross-ref Q 17:79: 'And in some parts of the night [also] offer the prayer with it as additional [worship] for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a Praised Station.' Optimal time: the latter third of the night.
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'Den bästa bönen efter den obligatoriska är nattens bön.'
The story
The Prophet ﷺ never missed tahajjud, even in travel, even in illness, even when he prayed sitting (towards the end of his life). His feet would swell from standing in tahajjud; ʿĀʼishah ra. asked: 'Why do you do this when Allah has forgiven you all your sins?' He said: 'Should I not be a thankful servant?' (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4837, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2820.) The standard is severe; the principle is that gratitude expresses itself in tahajjud.
Why it's here
Tahajjud is the prayer of the latter third of the night. It is named in the Quran as the time when Allah descends to the lowest heaven and asks: 'Who is calling on Me, that I may answer him? Who is asking of Me, that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?' (Bukhārī 1145, Muslim 758, narrated by Abū Hurayrah.) The latter third of the night is therefore named as the closest hour for direct access. Tahajjud is the believer's response to the divine descent.
Try it today
1. Begin gradually: two rakʿahs in the latter third of the night. 2. Build to four, then six, then eight (the documented Prophetic ceiling apart from witr). 3. Pair with witr (Day 41) as the closing. 4. The latter third of the night is the optimal window: divide the time between Maghrib and Fajr into thirds; the last third is the target.
In your day
Most modern Muslims have lost tahajjud entirely. Recover it gradually. Two rakʿahs at 4:30 AM (assuming 5:00 AM Fajr), once a week to start. Build to twice a week, then nightly. The cumulative effect on the spiritual life is unmistakable.
A reflection to carry
Tahajjud is the night prayer: rising in the last third of the night for prayer. The Prophet ﷺ: 'The best prayer after the obligatory is the night prayer.' (Muslim 1163.) The Quran specifically commands the Prophet ﷺ: Q 17:79.
Read the longer reflection
The Prophet ﷺ described the descent of Allah's mercy in the last third (Bukhārī 1145, Muslim 758): 'Who is calling Me, that I may answer? Who is asking Me, that I may give? Who is seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive?' The structural duʿāʾ-acceptance window is explicit. Cure: sleep early to enable waking; set alarm for last third; perform wuḍūʾ; pray 2 to 8 rakʿahs; close with Witr; spend time in duʿāʾ. Even one night per week of tahajjud structurally elevates the believer's spiritual state. Modern night-time entertainment is structurally counter-tahajjud; the cure includes early sleep-discipline.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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