Tahajjud is the night prayer. You sleep after Isha, wake while it is still dark, and pray before Fajr, when most people are asleep and no one sees you but Allah (﷾). It is not one of the five daily prayers. It is optional, but recommended, and the Prophet (ﷺ) called it the best prayer after the five.
That is a striking thing to say of a prayer no one has to pray. Nobody prays it to be seen, so it shows what a person really wants. And it is easy to begin: two rak’ahs (units of prayer) are enough to begin.
What Tahajjud is
The name comes from the Qur’an. Allah (﷾) told the Prophet (ﷺ):
وَمِنَ ٱلَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِۦ نَافِلَةًۭ لَّكَ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًۭا مَّحْمُودًۭا
And pray in the small watches of the morning: (it would be) an additional prayer (or spiritual profit) for thee: soon will thy Lord raise thee to a Station of Praise and Glory!
The Arabic word for “pray” in this verse is tahajjad, which means to leave sleep, to get up from it. Early scholars such as Alqamah and Ibrahim al-Nakha’i said Tahajjud is the prayer offered after sleeping, and Ibn Kathir notes that the Arabic language itself shows this. So Tahajjud is not just staying up late. It is getting up for Allah (﷾) when you could have stayed in bed.
Any voluntary prayer between Isha and Fajr, before sleeping or after, is night prayer, which scholars call qiyam al-layl, standing at night. Tahajjud is the part of it prayed after sleeping. In Ramadan, the night prayer prayed together in the mosque is called Taraweeh. Tahajjud is night prayer you can keep on any night of the year.
How it differs from the five daily prayers
- It is optional, but recommended: a sunnah the Prophet (ﷺ) kept up.
- There is no adhan and no iqamah, the two calls that begin the obligatory prayers.
- It is usually prayed at home, alone. The Prophet (ﷺ) said a person’s best prayer is the one prayed at home, apart from the obligatory prayers. Sahih al-Bukhari 731
- There is no fixed number of rak’ahs. You pray two at a time, as many as you are able. Sahih al-Bukhari 990
- It ends with witr, a prayer of an odd number of rak’ahs. Sahih al-Bukhari 998
Why it matters
The Qur’an describes the believers by what they do at night:
تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًۭا وَطَمَعًۭا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
Their limbs do forsake their beds of sleep, the while they call on their Lord, in Fear and Hope: and they spend (in charity) out of the sustenance which We have bestowed on them.
And of the righteous it says that “in the hour of early dawn, they (were found) praying for Forgiveness”. Leaving a warm bed costs something, and that is the point. A person who gets up when no one is watching shows whom they are really living for.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that every night, when the last third of the night remains, our Lord descends to the nearest heaven, in a way that befits Him and is unlike His creation, and says: Who is calling on Me, so that I may answer? Who is asking of Me, so that I may give? Who is seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive?
| Allah (﷾) asks | And promises |
|---|---|
| Who is calling on Me? | I will answer |
| Who is asking of Me? | I will give |
| Who is seeking My forgiveness? | I will forgive |
So the last part of the night is no ordinary time. Allah (﷾) Himself invites people to ask, and Tahajjud is how a Muslim answers that invitation. The Prophet (ﷺ) also said that in every night there is an hour in which no Muslim asks Allah (﷾) for anything good, of this world or the next, without being given it.
He prayed this way himself, standing at night until his feet swelled. When he was asked why, he said: Should I not be a thankful servant? So Tahajjud is not only asking. It is also thanks.
When to pray it
Night prayer can be prayed at any time from after the Isha prayer until Fajr begins. Tahajjud is the night prayer after you have slept, and the best time for it is the last third of the night, the time of the call above. The Prophet (ﷺ) usually slept early and got up in the last part of the night to pray.
To find the last third, count the hours from Maghrib to Fajr, divide them by three, and count back one third from Fajr. A prayer times app or your mosque’s timetable gives you both times.
- 6:00 pm
Maghrib
The night begins.
- 7:30 pm
Isha
Once Isha is prayed, the night prayer can begin.
- 2:00 am
The last third begins
12 hours ÷ 3 = 4 hours, so the last third is the four hours before Fajr. This is the best time.
- 6:00 am
Fajr
The time of the night prayer ends. Witr should be prayed before now.
The night from sunset to dawn: Tafsir al-Jalalayn · SeekersGuidance
The Prophet (ﷺ) said the prayer most loved by Allah (﷾) is the prayer of the Prophet Dawud (pbuh). He slept half the night, prayed for a third of it, and slept again for the last sixth. That way the prayer falls in the last part of the night, and you still rise rested for Fajr.
How to pray it, step by step
Tahajjud is prayed like any other prayer of two rak’ahs. If you know how to pray Fajr, you already know how to pray it. Here is the night from start to finish.
Before you sleep
Go to bed early enough to wake, set an alarm, and mean in your heart to get up. If you are not sure you will wake, pray witr before you sleep (see below).
Wake, and remember Allah (﷾)
When the Prophet (ﷺ) woke up, he said:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ
Al-hamdu lillahi lladhi ahyana ba’da ma amatana wa ilayhi n-nushur
All praise is for Allah, who gave us life after He had caused us to die, and to Him is the return.
Begin with two short rak’ahs
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that when you get up at night, you should begin with two short rak’ahs. They are a gentle start before the longer prayer.
Pray two at a time
Pray in pairs, ending each pair with the salam. Recite whatever you know: al-Fatiha and any surah, long or short. You can recite aloud or quietly; the Qur’an asks for a middle way, so keep your voice low enough not to wake anyone.
Ask Allah (﷾)
After the prayer, ask Allah (﷾) for whatever you need, in your own words and in any language. In the last third of the night, Allah (﷾) Himself calls people to ask.
End with witr
Make witr the last prayer of your night, as the Prophet (ﷺ) taught.
- 2
- 2
- 2
- 2
- 2
- 1
- 11 rak’ahs
In one of Aisha’s descriptions, he prayed eleven rak’ahs at night, ending every two with the salam and closing with a single rak’ah of witr. She also described four, then four, then three, and Ibn Abbas reported thirteen. You can pray fewer: start with two rak’ahs and a witr. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that whoever stands in prayer at night reciting ten verses is not recorded among the heedless.
Sahih Muslim 736 Sahih al-Bukhari 1147 Sahih al-Bukhari 1138 Sunan Abi Dawud 1398
Ending the night with witr
Witr means odd. It is a prayer of an odd number of rak’ahs, most often one or three, and it closes the night. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Make witr the last of your prayer at night.
If you fear you will not wake, pray witr before you sleep. If you expect to wake, pray it at the end of the night, because, he said, the prayer at the end of the night is witnessed, and that is better. So no one has to miss witr for fear of oversleeping. And if you prayed witr before you slept and then you wake, you can still pray, two at a time; just do not pray witr again, because the Prophet (ﷺ) said there are no two witrs in one night.
Sahih Muslim 755 Sunan Abi Dawud 1439
Where the schools differ
How witr is prayed. The Hanafi school holds witr to be required (wajib): three rak’ahs joined together like Maghrib, with one sitting after the second and one salam at the end; in the third, before bowing, the hands are raised with a takbir and the qunut is said. The Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali schools hold it to be a strongly recommended sunnah, and three rak’ahs are most often prayed as two, a salam, then one. For the Shafi’i and Hanbali schools one rak’ah alone is also enough. Follow what your mosque or teacher does.
An-Nawawi, Ibn Hajar · Islam Q&A 46544
Two at a time. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that night prayer is two rak’ahs and then two, and most schools pray it this way. The Hanafi school also allows four rak’ahs with one salam at night.
The qunut. Many people say a short dua in witr, called the qunut, which the Prophet (ﷺ) taught his grandson al-Hasan. The schools differ on whether it is said every night, only in part of Ramadan, or not in witr at all, and on whether it comes before or after the bowing.
Starting, and keeping it up
At the beginning of Islam, the night prayer was a duty for the Prophet (ﷺ) and the first believers. Aisha reported that after the opening verses of Surat al-Muzzammil, the Prophet (ﷺ) and his Companions stood at night for a year, until Allah (﷾) revealed the end of the surah and it became voluntary. That verse says:
عَلِمَ أَن لَّن تُحْصُوهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ فَٱقْرَءُوا۟ مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ ٱلْقُرْءَانِ
He knoweth that ye are unable to keep count thereof. So He hath turned to you (in mercy): read ye, therefore, of the Qur'an as much as may be easy for you.
So the duty was lifted, but the door stayed open. You are asked for what is easy for you. What matters most is keeping it up: the Prophet (ﷺ) said the deeds most loved by Allah (﷾) are the ones done regularly, even if they are small. So a little that you keep up is better than taking on more than you can manage. He also told a Companion: do not be like so-and-so, who used to pray at night and then gave it up.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6464 Sahih al-Bukhari 1152
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that while you sleep, Satan ties three knots at the back of your head, saying over each one: the night is long, so sleep on. Each step of getting up undoes one knot:
You wake and remember Allah (﷾): the first knot comes undone.
You make wudu: the second knot comes undone.
You pray: the third knot comes undone.
You begin the day lively and in good spirits.
So the hardest part is the first minute. Once you remember Allah (﷾), each step makes the next one easier.
What helps
- Sleep early, as the Prophet (ﷺ) did. Sahih al-Bukhari 1146
- Set your alarm a little before Fajr. Ten minutes is enough for two rak’ahs and witr.
- Get your prayer mat ready before you sleep, so there is nothing to look for in the dark.
- If sleep or illness made you miss it, the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed twelve rak’ahs in the daytime instead. Sahih Muslim 746
- If you are new to prayer, learn the five daily prayers first. They come before any voluntary prayer.