The 365 · Sunnah · Day 317 · Sleep
Tahajjud: Standing in the Last Third of the Night
The hadith
«يَنْزِلُ رَبُّنَا تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا حِينَ يَبْقَى ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الْآخِرُ، فَيَقُولُ: مَنْ يَدْعُونِي فَأَسْتَجِيبَ لَهُ، مَنْ يَسْأَلُنِي فَأُعْطِيَهُ، مَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرُنِي فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ».
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains. He says: Who is calling upon Me, that I may answer him? Who is asking of Me, that I may give to him? Who is seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?' (Bukhari 1145; Muslim 758)
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'Vår Herre, Välsignad och Upphöjd, stiger ner varje natt till den nedersta himlen när sista tredjedelen av natten återstår. Han säger: Vem är det som kallar på Mig, så att Jag kan besvara honom? Vem ber Mig om något, så att Jag kan ge honom? Vem söker Min förlåtelse, så att Jag kan förlåta honom?' (Bukhari 1145; Muslim 758)
Bukhari 1145; Muslim 758; al-Isrāʾ 17:79
The story
The Prophet ﷺ told us that whoever sleeps without praying any night-prayer, shayṭān ties three knots at the back of his head: 'You have a long night, sleep on.' When he wakes and remembers Allah, one knot is undone; when he performs wudu, the second; when he prays, the third (Bukhari 1142). May we wake with all knots untied.
Why it's here
Allah's nightly descent to the lowest heaven is one of the most astonishing teachings of Islam. He, who has no need, descends to invite our needs. The last third of the night is the believer's most sacred hour. The Prophet ﷺ never abandoned this prayer. The Companions structured their days around it.
Try it today
Set your alarm for the last third of the night (roughly 90 minutes before Fajr). Perform wudu. Pray two to eight rakaʿāt. End with witr (one to three rakaʿāt). Make duʿāʾ in sujūd and after. If you cannot stand, sit. If you cannot sit, lie down. The hour matters as much as the form.
In your day
We spend the last third of the night scrolling. The Sunnah reclaims it for sujood. Begin with just one night a week, two rakaʿāt, ten minutes. The discipline grows. Allah's descent does not depend on how many rakaʿāt; it depends on the showing-up.
A reflection to carry
Allah's last-third descent is the believer's invitation. Few rsvp. Those who do find what the daytime supplicators never quite reach.
Read the longer reflection
The last third of the night is the most economically efficient hour in the believer's spiritual life. Allah descends; the dunyā is quiet; the nafs is still; the heart is unclothed. A single duʿāʾ in sujūd at this hour can do what a hundred prayers in distraction cannot. The Prophet ﷺ structured his life around this hour. The Companions did the same. ʿUmar would wake his family. ʿAli's footprints were known in the masjid before dawn. They knew the secret: Allah's invitation in His own voice, every single night, is the most precious offer in existence. Most of us sleep through it. May Allah wake us to His descent, and may we always rsvp.
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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