Tahajjud prayer with its virtue and benefits is one of the things that many people may not know, which makes them neglect it. However, with Tahajjud with the goodness that comes with it, it is recommended to perform the Tahajjud prayer every night.
The night prayer is known as spending the night in the Tahajjud prayer or in other acts of worship, and Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with him - said that the night prayer is achieved by performing the evening prayer in a group, and the determination to perform the morning prayer in a group. Allah - the Almighty - desired the Tahajjud prayer as one of the greatest worship/prayers as it carries and made it a lot of virtues. Here are some of the virtues that the scholars counted for Tahajjud prayer, including:
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The Tahajjud is considered part of the night prayer, so every night prayer is considered a form of prayer, but at the same time not every night prayer is a Tahajjud. The Messenger - may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him - used to pray the Tahajjud prayer after being asleep, and this is what is called the Tahajjud prayer. The jurists termed that praying the night means spending it even for an hour with prayer or other, and it is not required for him to spend most of the night for the worshipper if he prayed two rak’ahs after ‘Isha’ with the intention of doing the night prayer. The Sunnah has happened to him, and it does not require lengthening, and the night prayer is much more general than the Tahajud prayer.
The Tahajjud prayer according to the jurists, are agreed that the term of Tahajjud prayer only applies to the voluntary prayer that happens at night after sleeping, and this is supported by what was narrated on the authority of Al-Hajjaj bin Amr bin - may Allah be pleased with him, the companion of the Messenger of Allah, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him - he said: “I think if one of you stood up Who prays at night until it becomes Tahajjud? The Tahajjud is only a person who prays the prayer after a rest, and that was the prayer of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him -.” [Narrated by al-Tabarani in al-Awsat and al-Kabir].
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The opinion of fuqahas’ differed in the number of its rak’ahs. The Shafi’is held that there is no limit to the number of rak’ahs of the Tahajjud prayer, as narrated by Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak: “Prayer is the best subject matter. So, whoever is able to increase, let him have plenty.”. However, the number of perfection according to the guidance of the Prophet - may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him - is when he used to pray eight rak'ahs.
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The time for the Tahajjud prayer falls on the fourth sixth of the night and the fifth if the night is divided into sixths, because the Prophet - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him – said: “The most beloved prayer to God is the prayer of Daud, and the most beloved fasting to God is the fasting of Daud. One-sixth of it, and he fasts for a day, and breaks his fast for a day.” Likewise, if the night is divided into two halves, then the last half is the best, or the last third for someone who divides the night into three parts.
The Tahajjud prayer is a Sunnah on the authority of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him.
