Miscellaneous topics- Articles for young people- Article 03: Night Prayer is a step in the way of faith

O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.

Dear Young Brothers and Sisters: I have already promised you to speak in March's article about Night Prayer (Qiyam Al-Layl). Allah, the Almighty says in the Noble Quran in surat Al-Isra': 79.
((… 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). It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqaman Mahmuda (a station of praise and glory, i.e. the highest degree in Paradise!)…)).

[Al-Isra’: 79]

It has been narrated on the authority of Abdullah bin Salam that:" when the prophet PBUH came (to Medina), people harried to meet Him, it was said that the prophet PBUH had come. I came to see Him, when I saw His face I realized that His face was not a face of a liar; The first thing that He had ever said is:
"O people! Spread (the greeting of) Salam amongst you, feed others, uphold the ties of kinship, and pray during the night when people are sleeping, and you will enter Paradise with Salam". The prophet PBUH also says:" the closest that the Lord, Allah is to His slave is in the last part of the night, so if you can be among those who remember Allah at that time, then do so". And He says:" the believer’s honor is his/her praying at night, and his/her pride is being independent of people”.

So what are the steps that you should take to make the night prayer easier?
1- You should have a real and sincere intention to do night prayer. This intention stems from your belief in the importance of night prayer and its role in strengthening your belief to be able to firmly face the evil desires and doubts. This intention is located in the heart and motivated by the love of Allah and His Nobel Speech, besides the fear of the serious consequences of your grave sins. Furthermore, this intention for night prayer represents only small part of your duties towards your Lord Who has granted you countless blessings.
2- Go to bed early and ask Allah, the Almighty, to help you to perform night prayer.
3- When you put you head on the billow try to remember one of the recurrent blessings of Allah along with one of the reasons to fear Allah (fear motivates you to get up whereas love pushes you to do Munajat (secret supplication to Allah)).
4- Try to use something that could assist you to get up (alarm clock) but never depend on it. Try to get up immediately whenever you wake up even though you feel the desire to stay in bed.
5- Do not forget to do the prophetic guidance (Azkar) before you sleep.
6- Get up and do Wudu' that is different from the obligatory one you normally do for Salat. A Wudu' that purifies the heart and makes you ready to stand before Allah.
7- Perform your prayer with your heart fully aware of His Greatness and Majesty.
8- Choose from the Nobel Quran the ayat that you most love and try to recite them with beautiful voice in a manner to hear yourself, and try to contemplate upon the meanings of these Ayat.
9- Perform the prayer with long standing, long Ruku' and Sujud. Do the Munajat during your Sujud with sincere tears and ask Allah to fulfill all your wishes in both this Dunya and in the hereafter.
10- Perform of prayer as much as you can and as many Rakat as you want (two, four, six or eight)
11- Tell no one about your night prayer. Qiyam should be sincere and should not be spoken of unless necessary.
12- If you cannot get up during the night alternatively, you can start with some Rakat before you sleep.
Translation : Omar Kashkar