Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ((And those who spend the night prostrating and standing before their Lord)).

The Shaykh : Allah the Exalted said: Is this the third attribute, or the fourth? They spend the night prostrating and standing for Allah. Reflect on why He placed before His saying: ? It is an indication of their sincerity that they do not stand for showing off or for reputation. Rather, they stand for Allah alone. . Now, do they only prostrate and stand, or do they also bow? They bow and sit. The prayer includes bowing, standing, sitting, and prostration. So why were standing and prostration specifically mentioned? They were mentioned because standing is the most noble in terms of what is recited, and prostration is the most noble in terms of its form. Standing is the most noble in terms of what is recited, because the person who stands reads the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. The best speech is the speech of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. So, because of the nobility of what is recited during standing, standing was mentioned. Prostration is the most noble in what? In its form, because the prostrator is at his closest to his Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He. So standing was mentioned for the nobility of what is recited in it, and prostration for the nobility of its form. Tell me, my brother: what do you place on the ground when prostrating? I place the forehead and the nose, the face. The most noble part of a person and the highest part of a person descends until it is at the level of the feet, in humility for whom? For Allah, Mighty and Majestic. If a sword were placed on the neck of a believer to make him prostrate for so-and-so or so-and-so, he would not prostrate. But when he hears the caller: "Hasten to prayer, hasten to success," he responds quickly. So, among the attributes of these people is that they spend the night prostrating and standing before their Lord. Do they prolong the standing? Do they prolong the prostration? As long as their night vigil is of this description, it means they prolong the standing and the prostration. And their imam, peace and blessings be upon him, Muhammad, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, prolongs the standing. He prolongs the standing until his feet crack from the length of the standing. . Look, Allah is the Greatest! And Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman prayed with him one night. So he began with al-Baqarah after al-Fatihah. Hudhayfah says: . Before the final arrangement. Initially, al-Nisa' was before al-Imran, then in the final arrangement, al-Imran came before al-Nisa'. How much did the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, recite? Five parts and a quarter. Hudhayfah said: . Look how it is. If we recite five parts, for example, in an hour and a half. How long would it take the Messenger to recite them with proper recitation, and supplication when mercy is mentioned, and seeking refuge when punishment is mentioned, and glorification when glorification is mentioned? It would be long hours. And in prostration, he, peace and blessings be upon him, also prolongs the prostration. But a person might feel discouraged when hearing such things. He would say: "What is this for me? I cannot do it." Then he would say to himself: "Sleep until the Fajr adhan." So we say, my brother: all good is in what the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, guided to. He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: meaning: Do not burden yourselves with what you cannot bear. And he informed, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, that . Meaning: what a person can maintain, even if it is little. Meaning, if it happens to you in the last part of the night, half an hour before Fajr, you get up, perform ablution, and recite what should be recited upon waking, and you pray, even if it is three rak'ahs of Witr, and you persist in this, then it is better, praise be to Allah. But begin the night prayer after sleeping with two light rak'ahs. Begin it with two light rak'ahs, because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to do that and commanded it, to begin the night prayer with what? With two light rak'ahs. The wisdom of this is that when a person sleeps, Satan ties three knots on the crown of his head here. Then when he wakes up from his sleep and remembers Allah, one knot is untied. Then when he performs ablution, the second knot is untied. Then when he prays, the third knot is untied. So it should be that the first thing he prays after sleeping is what? Two light rak'ahs. This is easy. Meaning, if you persist in doing this half an hour before the Fajr prayer, this deed will be the most beloved to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. The most beloved thing is to persist in righteous deeds.
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: This is the third attribute.