Tahajjud (Night Prayer)
The voluntary night prayer performed in the last third of the night.
Tahajjud (Arabic: تهجد) is a voluntary night prayer performed after one has slept and awakened again in the last third of the night, before Fajr. Tahajjud is considered the most meritorious voluntary prayer after the obligatory ones.
The Quran encourages Tahajjud: "And during a part of the night, keep vigil for prayer as an extra devotion for you. It may be that your Lord will raise you to a praised station" (Surah Al-Isra 17:79).
Tahajjud can be prayed with any number of rak'ah, typically 2-12, preferably concluded with the Witr prayer. The last third of the night is considered a particularly blessed time, when Allah is closest to His servants. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven in the last third of the night and says: Is there anyone calling upon Me, so that I may answer?"
Related terms
Salat al-Qada (Makeup Prayer)
Prayers that are made up after their time has expired.
Sunan Abu Dawud (Abu Dawud's Hadith Collection)
One of the six canonical hadith collections in Sunni Islam with a special focus on legal narrations.
Taslim (Concluding Greeting)
The concluding peace greeting that marks the end of the prayer.
Imamat (Divine Leadership)
The doctrine of the twelve divinely appointed Imams who lead the community after the Prophet.
Eid al-Ghadir (The Ghadir Festival)
Shia festival commemorating the Prophet's appointment of Imam Ali as his successor.
Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)
The Islamic legal science that derives practical rules from the Quran and Sunnah.