Tahajjud prayer is an optional/supererogatory prayer performed during the night after waking up from sleep because the meaning of tahajjud is to give up hudud, which means sleep, that is, to give up or leave off sleep.
Many Muslim jurists, however, use tahajjud in the broad sense of prayer performed at night, i.e., after or before sleep. In his commentary to the Khalil’s Abridged Maliki Fiqh Manual, the learned Maliki scholar Al Dardir writes: “(al Tahajjud) – the prayer performed after sleeping at night, and (also) it is said that it is called tahajudd (in the general sense, i.e. After or before sleeping).
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Tahajjud prayers are performed after waking up and before Fajr adhan. According to ‘Amr ibn’ Abasah, he asked the Messenger of Allah: “O Messenger of Allah, which part of the night is most likely for the supplication to be accepted?”
He said: “In the last part, pray as much as you want. The prayer is attended by angels and is recorded until you offer the dawn prayers …” (Sunan Abi Dawud).
The second half of the night, if divided into two parts, with one part for sleeping and the other for standing in prayer, is the better half, as Abu Hurayrah has reported it (may Allah please him), that the Messenger (peace and blessings are upon him) stated,
“Our Lord the Blessed and Exalted descends to the lowest heaven every night when one-third of the evening is left and asks: Who will ask Me so that I can answer him?” Who will ask me so that I can give him? Who will ask me for forgiveness so I can forgive him? Al Bukhari, and Muslim.
Hanafi- and Shafi’i scholars say that if you divide the night into three-thirds and spend one-third in prayer and sleep the other two, the middle third will be better because the people’s heedlessness is more entrenched and complete during this time. Worship is also better during this time, and fewer people are praying.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that a person who remembers Allah amid a crowd of unmindful and heedless people is similar to a tree with green leaves among a bunch of trees that have lost their leaves due to extreme cold.
According to Hanafi Shafi’i Hanbali scholars, the best time for tahajjud is between the fourth and fifth sixth hours of the night. This is because it was reported by Abdullah ibn Amr (may Allah please him) that the Messenger (peace be upon him) had said, “… The prayer Allah loves most is Dawud’s prayer; peace be upon them. He would sleep for half the night and then stand in prayer for a third of the time.
The Maliki scholars say that the best time to perform Tahajjud for someone accustomed to waking up at the end of the night is in the last third. It is best to do Tahajjud in the first third of the night if a person is used to sleeping until dawn and not waking up at night’s end.
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According to the above, the night between the adhan of ‘Isha at 8:25 pm and that of Fajr at 4:25 am is 8 hours. This is 480 minutes. [A half is 240 minutes; a third is 160 minutes, and a sixth is 80 minutes]
- The first half is from 8:25 pm (Isha Adhan) to 12:25 am.
- The second half is from 12:25 to 4:25 (Fajr Adhan).
- The first third is 8:25 pm to 11:05 pm.
- The second third is from 11:05 to 1:45 in the morning.
- The last third is from 1:45 am to 4:25 am.
- The fourth sixth is from 12:25 to 1:45 in the morning.
- The fifth sixth is from 1:45 to 3:05 (80 minutes before Fajr adhan).
According to the discussion above, you may pray Tahajjud at any time during the night as long as you do it after you wake up and before Fajr adhan. According to Hanafi and Shafi’i scholars, praying tahajjud during the second half of the night is better.
If you divide it into thirds or thirds into halves, then you should pay it in the middle third. Hanafi’i, Shafi’i, and Hanmbali scholars agree that praying the tahajjud in the fourth or fifth hour of the night is best.
According to the Maliki scholars, it is best to pray on the fourth and fifth sixth of the night if you are a person who likes to get up at that time. If your habit is sleeping until Subh, it is best to pray in the first third of the evening.
