Part of Riyad as-Salihin — Gardens of the Righteous (series completed)
· Lesson 122 of 190
Riyadh Al-Salehin | Episode (132) | Chapter on the virtue of praying at night
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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Riyad al-Salihin from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Chapter: The Desirability of the Prostration of Gratitude (Sujud al-Shukr) upon the attainment of an apparent blessing.
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Or the averting of an apparent calamity.
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On the authority of Sa‘d Ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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We set out with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, from Makkah, intending to go to Madinah.
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When we were near ‘Azwara’,
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He dismounted, then raised his hands,
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And supplicated to Allah for a while.
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Then he fell down in prostration,
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And remained so for a long time.
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Then he stood up and raised his hands for a while.
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Then he fell down in prostration.
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He did this three times.
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And he said:
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"I asked my Lord and interceded for my Ummah,
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And He granted me one-third of my Ummah.
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So I fell down in prostration to my Lord in gratitude.
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Then I raised my head,
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And asked my Lord for my Ummah,
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And He granted me one-third of my Ummah.
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Then I raised my head,
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And asked my Lord for my Ummah,
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And He granted me the final third.
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So I fell down in prostration to my Lord."
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Narrated by Abu Dawud.
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‘Azwara’ is a place near Makkah.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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This hadith is weak.
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However, the prostration of gratitude upon the attainment of an apparent blessing,
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Or the averting of an apparent calamity,
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Is established from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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And the righteous salaf practiced it.
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Among these instances:
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The hadith of Abu Bakra, may Allah be pleased with him,
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That the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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Whenever a matter came to him that pleased him,
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He would fall down in prostration.
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And the hadith of Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him,
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That the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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Was given glad tidings of a need being met,
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So he fell down in prostration.
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And the hadith of ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn ‘Awf, may Allah be pleased with him,
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That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"I met Jibril, peace be upon him,
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And he gave me glad tidings, saying:
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'Your Lord says to you:
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Whoever sends blessings upon you, I will send blessings upon him,
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And whoever sends peace upon you, I will send peace upon him.'
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So I prostrated to Him in gratitude."
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And among the actions of the righteous salaf:
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The prostration of ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him,
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When he found Dhu al-Thudayya among the Khawarij.
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And the prostration of Ka‘b Ibn Malik in gratitude to Allah,
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When he was given glad tidings of Allah accepting his repentance.
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The prostration of gratitude is a single prostration,
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Like the prostration of recitation (Sujud al-Tilawah).
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And it is recommended to prolong it.
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Chapter: The Virtue of Standing in Prayer at Night (Qiyam al-Layl).
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Allah the Exalted says:
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“And some part of the night awake for it, a largess for thee. It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a praised estate.” (17:79)
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“And some part of the night awake for it, a largess for thee. It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a praised estate.” (17:79)
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And He the Exalted says:
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“Who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope, and spend of that We have bestowed on them.” (32:16)
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And He the Exalted says:
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“They used to sleep but little of the night,” (51:17)
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On the authority of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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Used to stand in prayer at night until his feet would swell.
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So I said to him:
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"Why do you do this, O Messenger of Allah,
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When Allah has forgiven your past and future sins?"
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He said:
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"Should I not be a grateful servant?"
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Agreed upon.
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And on the authority of ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him,
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That the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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Came to him and Fatimah at night,
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And said:
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"Will you not pray?"
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Agreed upon.
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"Came to him" (taraqahu),
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Meaning he visited him at night.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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An explanation of the virtue of night prayer.
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And waking up one’s family and relatives for it.
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And on the authority of Salim Ibn ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with them,
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On the authority of my father,
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That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"‘Abd Allah is an excellent man,
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If only he would pray at night."
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Salim said:
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So after that, ‘Abd Allah would not sleep at night except for a little.
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Agreed upon.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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Standing in prayer at night wards off punishment.
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As indicated by the context of the hadith.
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For on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, he said:
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A man in the lifetime of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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When he saw a dream,
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Would narrate it to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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So I wished to see a dream and narrate it to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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I was a young man,
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And I used to sleep in the mosque during the time of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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I saw in my sleep
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As if two angels took me and brought me to the Fire.
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It was built like the structure of a well,
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And it had two horns.
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And I saw in it people I recognized.
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So I began to say:
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"I seek refuge in Allah from the Fire."
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He said:
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Then we met another angel who said to me:
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"Do not be afraid."
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I narrated it to Hafsah,
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And Hafsah narrated it to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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He said:
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"‘Abd Allah is an excellent man,
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If only he would pray at night."
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The desirability of aspiring to goodness and knowledge.
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The permissibility of praising a man,
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If it leads to the obedience of Allah,
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And an increase in righteous deeds.
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The worshiper gives everyone their due right;
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Standing in prayer has its time,
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And rest has its time.
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The responsiveness of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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To the goodness he guides them toward.
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And on the authority of ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Amr Ibn al-‘As, may Allah be pleased with them, he said:
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"O ‘Abd Allah, do not be like so-and-so;
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He used to pray at night,
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Then he abandoned the night prayer."
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Agreed upon.
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And on the authority of Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, he said:
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It was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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That a man slept through the night until morning.
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He said: "That is a man in whose ear the Shaytan has urinated,"
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Or he said: "In his ear."
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Agreed upon.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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An explanation of the time of the Shaytan’s urination.
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The Shaytan urinates,
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And this is literal.
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For whoever needs to eat, eats,
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And whoever needs to drink, drinks,
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Must necessarily need to expel all of that.
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The Shaytan uses all his methods
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To distance the servant from obedience and distract him from it.
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Standing in prayer at night is a protection from the Shaytan.
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And on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,
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That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"The Shaytan ties three knots on the nape of the neck of one of you
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When he sleeps.
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He strikes every knot, saying:
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'You have a long night ahead, so sleep.'
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If he wakes up and remembers Allah the Exalted,
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One knot is untied.
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If he performs wudu’, another knot is untied.
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If he prays,
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All his knots are untied,
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And he wakes up energetic and in good spirits.
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Otherwise, he wakes up in a foul mood and lazy."
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Agreed upon.
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The nape of the neck is the back of the head.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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The Shaytan’s three knots
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Correspond to the three acts of obedience.
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Therefore, when the servant wakes up
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And performs these acts of obedience,
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He unties a knot with every act.
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The Muslim servant rejoices when Allah grants him success
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To perform a deed He loves and is pleased with.
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There is a wondrous secret in the night prayer
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Regarding the spirit’s well-being and the expansion of the chest,
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Even if the one praying does not consciously contemplate
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Anything of what was mentioned.
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And likewise the opposite.
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Whoever does that—praying at night—
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Then returns to sleep,
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The Shaytan does not return to him.
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The Shaytan, through the aforementioned knots,
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Causes heedlessness and aversion to obedience;
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This is the act and beautification of the Shaytan.
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And on the authority of ‘Abd Allah Ibn Salam, may Allah be pleased with him,
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That the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"O people, spread the greeting of peace,
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Feed the hungry,
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And pray at night while people are asleep,
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You will enter Paradise in peace."
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Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
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And on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, he said:
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"The best fasting after Ramadan
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Is the month of Allah, al-Muharram.
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And the best prayer after the obligatory prayer
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Is the night prayer."
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Narrated by Muslim.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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The virtue of voluntary fasting in the month of Allah, al-Muharram,
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Especially on the days of Tasu‘a and ‘Ashura.
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And that it follows the obligatory fast in virtue.
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The best of prayers after the prescribed ones
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The night prayer (qiyam al-layl).
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On the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both),
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that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"The night prayer is performed two units by two units.
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If you fear the dawn is approaching,
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then pray one unit to conclude with witr."
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Agreed upon.
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On the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), he said:
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The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to pray at night two units by two units,
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and would conclude with a single unit of witr.
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Agreed upon.
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Among the benefits of this hadith:
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The night prayer is performed in sets of two units.
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The permissibility of performing the witr prayer as a single unit.
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On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would refrain from fasting during the month,
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until we thought he would not fast at all during it.
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And he would fast until we thought he would not refrain from it at all.
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If you wished to see him praying at night, you would see him,
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and if you wished to see him sleeping, you would see him.
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Narrated by al-Bukhari.
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Among the benefits of this hadith:
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The state of the Prophet (peace be upon him) regarding voluntary fasting and night prayer was variable.
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Sometimes he would pray at the beginning of the night,
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sometimes in the middle,
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and sometimes at the end.
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Just as he would sometimes fast at the beginning of the month,
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sometimes in the middle,
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and sometimes at the end.
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So, whoever wished to see him standing in prayer at any time of the night,
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or fasting at any time of the month,
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would inevitably find him standing or fasting exactly as they wished to see him.
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The recommendation of voluntary fasting every month.
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Absolute voluntary fasting is not restricted to any specific time, except for what has been prohibited.
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not fast every day of the year, nor did he spend the entire night in prayer.
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On the authority of ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her),
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that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to pray eleven units,
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meaning at night.
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He would remain in prostration for a duration equivalent to one of you reciting fifty verses,
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before raising his head.
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He would also pray two units before the dawn prayer,
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then lie down on his right side,
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until the caller came to him for the prayer.
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Narrated by al-Bukhari.
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Among the benefits of this hadith:
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The recommendation of prolonging the prostration during the night prayer.
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Maintaining the two units of the Sunnah of the dawn prayer.
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The permissibility of lying down after the two units of the Sunnah of the dawn prayer.
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The mu'adhdhin is the one who informs the Imam that the time for establishing the prayer is near.
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Riyad al-Salihin.
14:17
Riyad al-Salihin.