Chicago – March 12, 2024
Qiyam al-layl means spending the night, or part of it, even if it is only one hour, in prayer, reading Quran, remembering Allah (dhikr) and other acts of worship. It is not stipulated that it should take up most of the night.
It says in Maraqi al-Falah: “What is meant by qiyam is spending most of the night in worship, or it was said: spending one hour of it, in reading Quran, listening to hadeeth, glorifying Allah (tasbeeh) or sending blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).” (Al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaitiyyah, 34/117)
What is Tahajjud?
Tahajjud means specifically praying at night, and some scholars limited it to prayers that are offered at night after sleeping.
Al-Hajjaj ibn ‘Amr al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: One of you thinks that if he gets up at night and prays until morning comes that he has done tahajjud. But in fact tahajjud means praying after sleeping, then praying after sleeping. That is how the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah upon him) prayed.
Taraweeh :
With regard to Taraweeh , the scholars use this word to refer to qiyam al-layl in Ramadan at the beginning of the night, which should be made light and not lengthy. It may also be called tahajjud or qiyam al-layl.
That the Messenger, may God’s blessing and peace be upon him, did not exceed eleven rak’ahs in his prayer at night, whether in Ramadan or otherwise. This meaning is confirmed if we realize that the Prophet’s prayer at night, regardless of their different names, does not exceed the number mentioned.
There is no mention of Taraweeh in the Holy Quran but it is mentioned in Hadith. The Prophet SAWW prayed taraweeh in 8 rakahs but it was during Hazrat Umar’s khilafat when people started praying 20 rakahs of taraweeh following an Imam.
He used to pray eight rak’ahs with the first two light rak’ahs in the Qiyaam al-Layl prayer, and this is the first type that is established by Aisha, may God be pleased with her. He used to say “tasleem” in every two rak’ahs and observe witr with one rak’ah to make it eleven raka’ahs.
This statement reflects the guidance of the Messenger, may God’s blessing and peace be upon him, in adopting what is easier and not being impatient. The Muslim takes what is easy for him and does not miss the merit of the Ramadan qiyaam due to the inability to prolong the recitation. Each one takes what he can and continues to do it. And the guidance of the Prophet accommodated all of that.
