Continuation of the explanation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “They used to sleep but a little of the night.”

The reciter: He said -may Allah have mercy on him-: “Chapter on the virtue of standing in prayer at night:
Allah the Exalted said:

They used to sleep but little of the night,

كانوا قليلا من الليل ما يهجعون

[Adh-Dhariyat 51:17]

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Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand in prayer at night until his feet would swell. I said to him: Why do you do this, O Messenger of Allah, when Allah has forgiven you your past and future sins? He said: Should I not be a grateful servant?

كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقوم من الليل حتى تتفطر قدماه ، فقلت له : لم تصنع هذا يا رسول الله ، وقد غُفر لك ما تقدم من ذنبك وما تأخر ؟ قال : أفلا أكون عبدا شكورا

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author said in his book *Riyad al-Saliheen*: “Chapter on the virtue of standing in prayer at night”: He mentioned three verses, and we have discussed two of them, and this is the third, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted: : This is among the descriptions of the righteous, for whom Allah has prepared gardens and springs. Among their descriptions is that they used to sleep but a little of the night, because they were occupied with standing in prayer, tahajjud, reciting the Qur'an, and other things. Allah the Exalted said: , so they would stand in prayer at night, and then when they finished standing, they felt that they had fallen short, so they would seek forgiveness from Allah, Mighty and Majestic: , and He said in Surat al-Imran: meaning: in the last part of the night.
Then he mentioned the hadiths regarding this, among which is the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): : because the blood descends in them, so they swell. It was said to him regarding this: : So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) made these acts part of thanking the blessing of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. This indicates that gratitude is performing the obedience of the Bestower of blessings. It is not that a person says: “I thank Allah,” and that is gratitude with the tongue, but that is not sufficient. It is necessary to have gratitude with the limbs by performing the obedience of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
And in this is evidence of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) endurance of worship and his love for it, because no one can do that except with intense love. For this reason he said: : So prayer is the most beloved of deeds to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
And Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) stood with him in prayer at night from among his Companions. He stood with him one night, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) prolonged the standing. Abdullah said: : and he was young, younger in age than the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and yet he was unable to be like the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). But if someone were to say: Is it better in the night prayer to prolong the standing or to prolong the prostration and bowing? We say: Look at what is best for your heart. A person may be more humble and more present in heart in the state of prostration, and he may be in the state of standing reciting the Qur'an and reflecting on the Qur'an, and he may obtain from the subtleties of the Book of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, what he does not obtain in the state of prostration. But the best is to make his prayer balanced; if he prolongs the standing, he prolongs the bowing and prostration, and if he shortens the standing, he shortens the bowing and prostration, so that it is balanced like the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). And Allah knows best.