Book 19: The Voluntary Night Prayer (Tahajjud)
Sahih al-Bukhari
Sahih al-Bukhari 1120
قَالَ سُفْيَانُ وَزَادَ عَبْدُ الْكَرِيمِ أَبُو أُمَيَّةَ " وَلاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ ". قَالَ سُفْيَانُ قَالَ سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي مُسْلِمٍ سَمِعَهُ مِنْ طَاوُسٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Ali bin Abdullah (Madini) narrated to us, he said: Sufyan (bin Uyainah) narrated to us. He said: Sulaiman bin Abi Muslim told us. It is narrated from Tawus that he heard Hazrat Ibn Abbas (ra). He said: When the Prophet (saw) got up at night to pray the Tahajjud, he would say: “O Allah, all praise belongs to You. You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and of whatever is in them, and all praise belongs to You alone. To You belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and (of) whatever is in them, and all praise belongs to You alone. You are the light of the heavens and the light of the earth, and all praise belongs to You alone. You are the King of the heavens and of the earth and of whatever is in them, and all praise belongs to You alone. You alone are the Truth, and Your promise is true, and the meeting with You will surely take place, and Your words are true, and Paradise is true, and Hell is true, and all the prophets are true, and Hazrat Muhammad (saw) is true, and the Hour is true. O Allah, I have bowed my neck before You, I have believed in You, in You alone I have put my trust, to You alone I have turned, for Your sake alone I have taken up this contention, and before You alone I have sought judgement. Forgive me for what I have put forward and what I have put back, and also for what I have kept hidden and what I have made known. You alone are the One who brings forward and You alone are the One who puts back. There is none worthy of worship but You,” or (he would say:) “There is none worthy of worship other than You.” Sufyan used to say: And Abu Umayyah Abdul Karim (bin Abil Mukhariq) added this: “There is no power to avoid evil and no strength to do good except with the help of Allah.” Sufyan used to say that Sulaiman bin Abi Muslim said: He heard this from Tawus, Tawus from Hazrat Ibn Abbas (ra), Hazrat Ibn Abbas (ra) from the Prophet (saw).
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1121
Abdullah bin Muhammad (Musnadi) narrated to us, he said: Hisham (bin Yusuf San'ani) narrated to us, he said: Ma'mar told us. … And Mahmud (bin Ghailan) also narrated to me, he said: Abdur Razzaq narrated to us. He said: Ma'mar told us that it is narrated from Zuhri. He narrated from Salim, Salim from his father, that he said: In the lifetime of the Prophet (saw), when anyone saw a dream, he would relate it to the Messenger of Allah (saw). I too wished to see a dream and relate it to the Messenger of Allah (saw). I was a young man, and in the time of the Messenger of Allah (saw) I used to sleep in the mosque. I saw in a dream as though two angels had seized me and taken me towards Hell. What did I see but that it was built inside like a well, and it had two posts (pillars), and what did I see but that there were some people in it whom I recognised. (Seeing this) I began to say: I seek refuge with Allah from the Fire. He said: Then another angel met us, and he said to me: Do not be afraid.
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1122
I related this dream to Hazrat Hafsah (ra). Hazrat Hafsah (ra) related it to the Messenger of Allah (saw). He said: “Abdullah (ra) is a good man; would that he also prayed the Tahajjud prayer at night.” And after that he used to sleep but little at night.
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1123
Abul Yaman narrated to us, he said: Shu'aib told us. It is narrated from Zuhri that he said: Urwah informed me that Hazrat Aishah (ra) told him that the Messenger of Allah (saw) used to pray eleven Rak'ahs at the time of Tahajjud. This was his Tahajjud prayer (Salat). In it he would make the prostration so (long) that one of you could recite fifty verses before he raised his head. Before the morning prayer he used to pray two Rak'ahs, then he would lie down on his right side until the caller to prayer (Mu'adhdhin) came to him for the prayer.
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1124
Abu Nu'aim narrated to us, he said: Sufyan (Thauri) told us. He narrated from Aswad that he said: I heard Hazrat Jundub (ra) (bin Abdullah Bajali). He used to say: The Prophet (saw) fell ill, and he did not get up (for the night prayer) for one or two nights.
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1125
Muhammad bin Kathir (also) narrated to us, he said: Sufyan told us. He narrated from Aswad bin Qais, Aswad from Hazrat Jundub bin Abdullah (ra), that he said: Gabriel (as) held back from coming to the Prophet (saw) (for some time), so a woman of the Quraish said: His Satan has delayed coming to him. At this these verses were revealed: “By the growing brightness of the forenoon, And by the night when it becomes still, Thy Lord has not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased with thee.” (Qur’an 93:2-4)
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1126
(Muhammad) bin Muqatil narrated to us, he said: Abdullah (bin Mubarak) told us. (He said:) Ma'mar told us that it is narrated from Zuhri. Zuhri from Hind bint Harith. Hind narrated from Hazrat Umm Salamah (ra) that one night the Prophet (saw) woke up and said: “Subhanallah (Holy is Allah)! What trials have been sent down tonight, and what treasures have been sent down! Who will wake the women of these apartments? Many are they who are clothed in this world and will be naked in the Hereafter.”
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1127
Abul Yaman narrated to us, he said: Shu'aib told us. It is narrated from Zuhri. He said: Ali bin Husain (Imam Zain-ul-Abidin) informed me that Husain bin Ali narrated to him that Hazrat Ali (ra) bin Abi Talib had told him that one night the Messenger of Allah (saw) came to him and Hazrat Fatimah (ra), who was the daughter of the Prophet (saw), and said: “Will the two of you not pray (Salat)?” I said: O Messenger of Allah (saw)! Our souls are in the hands of Allah, the Exalted. When He wishes to wake us, He wakes us. When I said this, he turned back and gave me no answer. Then, as he was turning his back and going away, I heard him. He was striking his thigh with his hand. He was saying: “but of all things man is most contentious.” (Qur’an 18:55)
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1128
Abdullah bin Yusuf (Tinnisi) narrated to us, he said: Malik told us. He narrated from Ibn Shihab, Ibn Shihab from Urwah, Urwah from Hazrat Aishah (ra). She used to say: The Messenger of Allah (saw) would sometimes leave a deed even though he wished in his heart to do it, for fear that the people might act upon it and it might become obligatory for them. The Messenger of Allah (saw) never prayed the voluntary forenoon prayer (Duha), and as for me, I do pray it.
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1129
Abdullah bin Yusuf (Tinnisi) narrated to us, he said: Malik told us. He narrated from Ibn Shihab, Ibn Shihab from Urwah bin Zubair, Urwah from Hazrat Aishah (ra), the Mother of the Believers, that one night the Messenger of Allah (saw) prayed (Salat) in the mosque. The people also prayed following him. Then he prayed on the second night too, and the people became many. Then on the third or fourth night too they gathered, and the Messenger of Allah (saw) did not come out to them. When morning came, he said: “I had seen what you were doing, and nothing kept me from coming out to you except that I feared lest (the Tahajjud) be made obligatory for you.” And this took place in Ramadan.
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1130
Abu Nu'aim narrated to us, he said: Mis'ar told us. He narrated from Ziyad (bin Ilaqah). He said: I heard Hazrat Mughirah (ra) saying that the Prophet (saw) would stand so long, (or he said:) would keep praying for so long, that his feet, (or he said:) his shins, would swell. When this was said to him, he would say: “Should I not be a grateful servant?”
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1131
Ali bin Abdullah (Madini) narrated to us, he said: Sufyan (bin Uyainah) narrated to us. He said: Amr bin Dinar told us that Amr bin Aus informed him that Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr bin As (ra) told him that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “The prayer (Salat) most beloved to Allah, the Exalted, is the prayer of Hazrat David (as), and the fasting most beloved to Allah, the Exalted, is the fasting of Hazrat David (as). He would sleep for half the night, worship for a third of the night and sleep for a sixth of it. He would fast one day and not fast the next.”
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1132
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلاَمٍ قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو الأَحْوَصِ عَنِ الأَشْعَثِ قَالَ إِذَا سَمِعَ الصَّارِخَ قَامَ فَصَلَّى.
Abdan narrated to us, he said: My father (Uthman bin Jabalah) told me. He narrated from Shu'bah, Shu'bah from Ash'ath. He said: I heard my father (Sulaim bin Aswad). He said: I heard Masruq. He said: I asked Hazrat Aishah (ra): Which deed was most beloved to the Prophet (saw)? She replied: That which is done constantly. I said: At what time would he get up for the Tahajjud? She said: When he heard the crowing of the cock, he would get up. Muhammad bin Salam narrated to us, he said: Abul Ahwas (Sallam bin Sulaim) told us. It is narrated from Ash'ath that he said: When he heard the crowing of the cock, he would get up and pray (Salat).
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1133
Musa bin Isma'il narrated to us, he said: Ibrahim bin Sa'd narrated to us. He said: My father (Sa'd bin Ibrahim) mentioned that it is narrated from Abu Salamah. He narrated from Hazrat Aishah (ra). She used to say: I would find him asleep at the time of Sahur, meaning the Prophet (saw).
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1134
Ya'qub bin Ibrahim narrated to us, he said: Rauh (bin Ubadah) narrated to us. He said: Sa'id (bin Abi Arubah) told us. Sa'id narrated from Qatadah, Qatadah from Hazrat Anas bin Malik (ra), that the Prophet (saw) and Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit (ra) ate the Sahur meal. When both had finished the Sahur, the Prophet (saw) stood up for the prayer (Salat), and both prayed. (Qatadah said:) We asked Hazrat Anas bin Malik (ra): How much time was there between the Sahur and the Fajr prayer? He said: As much as it takes a man to recite fifty verses.
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1135
Sulaiman bin Harb narrated to us that Shu'bah told us. He narrated from A'mash, A'mash from Abu Wa'il, he from Hazrat Abdullah (ra) (bin Mas'ud), that he said: One night I prayed (Salat) with the Prophet (saw). He remained standing so long that I intended something bad. We said: What did you intend? He replied: I intended to sit down and leave the Prophet (saw).
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1136
Hafs bin Umar narrated to us, he said: Khalid bin Abdullah told us. He narrated from Husain (bin Abdur Rahman), Husain from Abu Wa'il, Abu Wa'il from Hazrat Hudhaifah (ra), that when the Prophet (saw) got up for the Tahajjud, he would clean his mouth by rubbing his teeth with the tooth-stick (Miswak).
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1137
Abul Yaman narrated to us, he said: Shu'aib told us that it is narrated from Zuhri. He said: Salim bin Abdullah told me that Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (ra) used to say: A man asked: O Messenger of Allah (saw)! How should the prayer (Salat) of the night be prayed? He said: “Two Rak'ahs at a time. When you fear that dawn is near, make it odd with one Rak'ah.”
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1138
Musaddad narrated to us, he said: Yahya told me that it is narrated from Shu'bah. He said: Abu Jamrah told us. It is narrated from Hazrat Ibn Abbas (ra) that he said: The prayer (Salat) of the Prophet (saw) was thirteen Rak'ahs, that is, at night.
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Sahih al-Bukhari 1139
Ishaq (bin Rahwaih) narrated to us, he said: Ubaidullah narrated to us. He said: Isra'il told us. He narrated from Abu Hasin, Abu Hasin from Yahya bin Waththab, Yahya from Masruq, that he said: I asked Hazrat Aishah (ra) about the night prayer (Salat) of the Messenger of Allah (saw), and she said: (Sometimes) seven Rak'ahs, (sometimes) nine Rak'ahs and (sometimes) eleven Rak'ahs, apart from the two Rak'ahs of Fajr.
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