Reconciling Night Prayer with Daytime Work
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How can a Muslim reconcile standing in night prayer with daytime work, given that sleep overcomes him during the day if he prolongs his standing in the night?
If it is difficult for him to stand much in the night and work during the day, he should reconcile the two by reducing his tahajjud. If he is occupied with religious matters, let him perform witr at the beginning of the night and sleep until morning; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) to perform witr before sleeping; because he (may Allah be pleased with him) was devoted to memorizing hadith in the early part of the night, so he would sleep late and not stand for prayer until the dawn appeared.
If it is difficult for him to stand much in the night and work during the day, he should reconcile the two by reducing his tahajjud. If he is occupied with religious matters, let him perform witr at the beginning of the night and sleep until morning; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) to perform witr before sleeping; because he (may Allah be pleased with him) was devoted to memorizing hadith in the early part of the night, so he would sleep late and not stand for prayer until the dawn appeared.