Advice for the One Who Abandons Night Prayer

Question:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. A sister of ours from the Noble Makkah, Umm 'Abd al-Rahman, asks and says: My husband is a committed person, praise be to Allah, and he used to stand in night prayer and pray, but suddenly he abandoned standing in night prayer. I want you to inform us if there are any legitimate reasons, for he asked, and it was said to him that the reason for that is the multitude of your sins, which have stood between you and standing in night prayer. Please guide us, may Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
There is no doubt that abandoning standing in night prayer is a loss in the Muslim's scale. The Muslim should maintain what is easy for him of standing in night prayer, even if it is little; rather, he should have a share of standing in night prayer, especially if he has become accustomed to it, for if he abandons it, he will have suffered a great loss. The reasons for abandoning standing in night prayer are many, among them is laziness, where a person becomes lazy and indulges his self. There is no doubt that his self commands him to rest and remain in the bed, especially if it is in the time of winter and cold, or in the summer with the shortness of the night and his need for sleep. So the self needs striving. Allah has described the believers by His saying: The steadfast ones who call upon their Lord out of fear and hope, and spend out of what We have provided them. It is necessary to strive against the self until it becomes patient and accustomed to that.
And among the greatest things that discourage one from standing in night prayer is Shaytan. Shaytan discourages the son of Adam from standing in night prayer and says to him: Sleep, for you have a long night ahead. And when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was informed about a man who stands in night prayer, he said (peace and blessings be upon him): Shaytan is the greatest deterrent from standing in night prayer, because he knows the benefit for the Muslim in standing in night prayer, and he wants to deprive him of that great benefit.
And thirdly, what the questioner mentioned of sins and disobedience, especially eating what is forbidden, for this deters one from standing in night prayer. Because evil deeds drag one another and break one away from acts of obedience. So it is obligatory for the Muslim not to deprive himself of righteous deeds, for he has nothing that will save him on the Day of Resurrection except his righteous deeds, and he has no capital by which he will exit this world except his righteous deeds. How can he be negligent with this and compete with the laziness of the desires of the self and the obedience of Shaytan, while he wants salvation for himself? Yes.