Since God has told us that the Prophet’s practice (peace be upon him) provides guidance for us and that we will do well to emulate what he did in all situations, it is important for us to learn what he did in his night worship and how he approached it. We have seen over the last couple of weeks how the Prophet attended to his night worship, which is voluntary and earns great reward from God, in addition to the benefit one gets out of it in this life, giving him reassurance and contentedness with life.
Ibn Abbas reports: “When the Prophet recited the Qur’an, a person sitting nearby in the mosque might hear him though he was at home.” (Related by Al-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood.) Umm Hani’, the Prophet’s cousin, reports: “I used to hear the Prophet’s recitation at night when I was in my place.” (Related by Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nassaie and Ibn Majah.) These two Hadiths suggest that the Prophet used to read aloud when he offered his night worship. He did this by way of teaching his companions who were nearby. He certainly did not raise his voice too high, because this is contrary to what the Qur’an states. But he wanted his companions to learn how he recited the Qur’an when he prayed in his home at night.
Sometimes, however, he might read privately. Abdullah ibn Abi Qubays states: “I asked Aishah — may God be pleased with her — about the way the Prophet recited the Qur’an in night worship. She said: ‘In all forms. He might read in private or he might read aloud. He did both.’ I said: Praise is due to God for allowing different methods.” (Related by Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nassaie and Al-Hakim.) The fact that the Prophet varied his approach makes it clear that whatever way one prefers is acceptable. Hence the reporter’s comment when the Prophet’s wife told him that the Prophet used different forms.
Another aspect of the Prophet’s night worship is that he used to pray standing until old age caught up with him. Hafsah, his wife, reports: “I never saw God’s Messenger offering his prayers at night in the seated position until one year before his death when he began to pray seated. He would recite a surah in a relaxed manner so that it would sound to be longer than other surahs that are in fact longer.” (Related by Malik and Muslim.)
This Hadith fits in well with the fact that night worship requires strong resolve. It is not easy for anyone to abandon sleep when one has not had sufficient rest in order to spend an hour or two in worship. When such worship means standing up in prayer, it is all the more tiring. Yet the Prophet would stand for hours in night worship. This report confirms that he always preferred the normal standing position, which indicates that his resolve was indeed very strong. However, when he passed 60 years of age, his body weakened. His wife tells us that only one year before his death he started to offer his night worship seated.
It is often asked why the Prophet spent such long hours in voluntary worship when he was fully aware that whatever sin he might have committed, if any, was certainly forgiven by God? In fact, his wife, Aishah, asked him this very question. His answer was: “Should I not be, then, a grateful servant of God?” This gives us a new dimension to night worship, and indeed to all voluntary worship. If one is a sinner, then such worship ensures forgiveness of sin. If one is without a sin, which is hardly ever the case, then night worship is the best form of expressing gratitude for God’s forgiveness.
The same meaning is expressed by Aishah, the Prophet’s wife, who reported that she “never saw God’s Messenger offering night prayer in the seated position until old age caught up with him. He would then read the Qur’an while seated, but when he wanted to bow, i.e. do the ruku’, he would stand up. He would read around 30 or 40 verses before bowing.” (Related by Malik, Al-Bukhari and Muslim.) In another Hadith Aishah is quoted as saying: “By the time of his death, most of the Prophet’s prayers were offered in the seated position.” (Related by Muslim and Al-Tirmidhi.) This report is taken to refer to voluntary, or Sunnah, prayers only. Otherwise, the Prophet always offered obligatory prayers in the standing up position, even when he was ill, until his illness was very severe that he could not stand.
The witr is the last prayer of the day, and its name means “single”, because it is the only voluntary prayer that is composed of an odd number of rak’ahs. The minimum number of rak’ahs in witr is one, although most scholars prefer that this single rak’ah should be preceded by two more, offered separately. In the Hanafi school of thought, all three are preferably offered together, with a short tashahhud after the second rak’ah. It is useful to learn what the Prophet used to read in witr, which he was always keen to offer in all situations. He is reported not to have missed it for any reason, even though it is not an obligatory prayer.
Aishah reports: “God’s Messenger used to read in the two rak’ahs that preceded the witr Surah 87 and Surah 109, and he read the last three surahs, 112-114 in the final rak’ah of witr.” (Related by Al-Hakim.) Another Hadith with a different chain of reporters confirms this but mentions that he read only Surah 112 in the final rak’ah. What do these surahs speak about? The first, i.e. Surah 87, The Most High, is a short surah full of God’s glorification. It begins with: “Extol the limitless glory of the name of your Lord, the Most High, Who creates and proportions well, Who determines and guides, Who brings forth the pasturage...”
Surah 109 is composed of six verses and declares a total dissociation from disbelief in all forms. It reads in translation: “Say: Unbelievers! I do not worship what you worship, nor do you worship what I worship. I shall never worship what you worship, nor will you ever worship what I worship. You have your own religion and I have mine.”
Surah 112 is given the title, “Purity of Faith” and it expresses just that. In four short verses it says: “Say: He is God, the One and only God the Eternal, the Absolute. He begets none, nor is He begotten, and there is nothing that could be compared to Him.”
We see from all this how the Prophet’s emphasis in his night worship was always on extolling God’s praises and glorification, making clear his submission to His will in all situations. This should be our attitude at all times.
