Continuation of the Chapter on the Virtue of Standing in Night Prayer: Allah the Exalted said: “And of the night, [make] tahajjud for it as additional [prayer] for you; perhaps your Lord will raise you to a praised station.”

The Shaykh : He excuses himself by saying that he killed a soul for which he was not commanded to kill it. “Go to Isa.” They go to Isa, Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him), who is the last of the messengers before Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him); there is no prophet or messenger between him and him. But he excuses himself without mentioning anything, yet he directs them to one who is more perfect than him, namely Muhammad (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him)—and I ask Allah the Exalted to include me and you in his intercession. They come to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and he says: , and he goes and prostrates beneath the Throne after permission from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Then he is granted permission for intercession, so he intercedes. The Lord (Mighty and Majestic) descends to judge between His servants, so He judges between them, and they rest from this standing.
This station, my brothers, is the Messenger praised for it? Answer? Yes, without doubt. All the noble prophets and messengers, the men of resolve, all of them excuse themselves, until it reaches the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Look at how this chain was: meaning, had Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) willed, He would have directed them to Muhammad from the very beginning. But this was so that the virtue of this noble Prophet (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) would be manifested, and so that the saying of Allah the Exalted would be realized: . And what a station this is, a praised station. So may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him. And the rest of the discussion on the verses will come, if Allah wills.
The Reader: He said—(may Allah have mercy on him): “The Chapter on the Virtue of Standing in Night Prayer:”
Allah the Exalted said:

And from [part of] the night, pray with it as additional [worship] for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station.

ومن الليل فتهجد به نافلة لك عسى أن يبعثك ربك مقامًا محمودًا

[Al-Isra 17:79]

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And He, the Exalted, said:

They arise from [their] beds; they supplicate their Lord in fear and aspiration, and from what We have provided them, they spend.

تتجافى جنوبهم عن المضاجع يدعون ربهم خوفًا وطمعًا ومما رزقناهم ينفقون

[As-Sajdah 32:16]

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And He said:

They used to sleep but little of the night,

كانوا قليلًا من الليل ما يهجعون

[Adh-Dhariyat 51:17]

“.”

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author al-Nawawi—(may Allah have mercy on him)—said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: “The Chapter on the Virtue of Standing in Night Prayer” :
Then he mentioned the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): : and the discussion on this verse has already preceded.
Then he mentioned the saying of Allah the Exalted: : This is in the context of the saying of Allah the Exalted: : So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) described them with these noble descriptions: When they are reminded of the verses of Allah, they fall down in prostration, meaning: they prostrate in what requires prostration, so they do not become arrogant to the point of refusing to place their foreheads and noses on the ground; rather, they humble themselves before Allah. When commanded to prostrate, they prostrate. It is also possible that the meaning of: is that the intended meaning is the perfection of humility before Allah through worship, whether it is prostration or otherwise. : meaning: they glorify Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). And glorifying Allah means: “declaring Him free from every defect and flaw” . This glorification, when I glorify Allah, means: I declare Him free and absolve Him of every defect and flaw, for He (Exalted and Majestic is He) is perfect in attributes, and all deficiencies are removed from Him. And His saying: , the preposition “ba” indicates accompaniment, meaning: glorify Allah with a glorification accompanied by praise. And praise is: “describing the praised one with perfection along with love and magnification” . This praise, when I praise Allah, means: I believe that He has perfect attributes and I mention that with my tongue. If the praise is repeated, it becomes commendation, as indicated by the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: قسمت الصلاة بيني وبين عبدي نصفين ، فإذا قال : الحمد لله رب العالمين قال : حمدني عبدي ، وإذا قال : الرحمن الرحيم قال : أثنى علي عبدي The prayer has been divided between Me and My servant into two halves. When he says, "All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds," He says, "My servant has praised Me." And when he says, "The Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate," He says, "My servant has extolled Me.".
: meaning they do not become arrogant regarding the worship of Allah. When Allah commands them, they obey the command with humility, submission, a sense of servitude, and a sense of the perfection of the oneness of worship and lordship for Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
And among their descriptions is His saying: . “Tatajafy” means: they move away from the beds: from the sleeping places. So they spend the night in prayer and the remembrance of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And when they complete their prayer, they conclude it with seeking forgiveness, as He said: . Some of the Salaf said: This indicates the perfection of their knowledge of themselves. They stand in night prayer, then they seek forgiveness at the end of the night, fearing that they may have fallen short with Allah (Mighty and Majestic). : They call upon Allah with the call of asking and the call of worship. The call of asking is: that they say, “Our Lord, forgive us; our Lord, have mercy on us; our Lord, enrich us; our Lord, ease our affairs; our Lord, expand our chests.” This is the call of asking. The call of worship is: that they establish the prayer, give zakah, fast Ramadan, perform Hajj to the House, be dutiful to their parents, and maintain family ties, among other acts of worship. And worship was a call, because if you asked the worshipper: “For what do you worship Allah?” he would say: “To attain His pleasure and Paradise.” So he is calling with the tongue of the state, and it may be accompanied by a call with the tongue of speech. For example, in the prayer there is a call; a person calls in the prayer with a call that is a pillar of the prayer. If you do not call in the prayer with this call, your prayer is invalid. In what place? In al-Fatihah: . This is a call, a pillar of worship; if you leave it, your prayer is not valid. So the prayer is worship, worship with the tongue of the state, a call with the tongue of the state and a call with the tongue of speech. For this reason he said: , meaning: they worship Him and ask Him.
: out of fear of His punishment and hope in His reward. For if they commit the forbidden, they will be punished, and if they leave the forbidden and perform the obligatory, they will be rewarded. So they are fearful and hopeful. It was also said: out of fear of their sins and hope in the favor of Allah.
So when a person looks at himself and his sins, he fears, because they are sins heavier than mountains and more numerous than sand grains. We ask Allah the Exalted to treat us with His pardon. And if he looks at the vastness of the mercy of Allah and the vastness of His pardon, and that pardon is more beloved to Him than punishment, and that He rejoices in the repentance of His believing servant more than any joy in this entire world, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: . This “lam” is for beginning and it is for emphasis. He says: . “Khatam” means: its reins. What does he want? What does he want? He wants to say: “O Allah, You are my Lord and I am Your servant.” But out of the intensity of the joy, he said: “O Allah, You are my servant and I am Your Lord.” So Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) rejoices more in the repentance of His servant than this man rejoices in his mount.
So we hope in the favor of Allah. Our sins are many and great, but the favor of Allah is broader and His mercy is broader. If the five daily prayers expiate what is between them, provided no major sins are committed, that is a great favor. So in any case: they call upon Allah out of fear and hope: fear of His punishment and hope in His reward, fear of their sins and hope in His favor. All these interpretations are correct.
. “Min” is for partiality, meaning they spend a portion of what We have provided them, not all of what was provided to them. For it is not befitting for a person to give away all his wealth in charity. For this reason, when Abu Lubabah said: : “A third is sufficient for you.” He gave a third in charity. The scholars even said: “If one vows to give all his wealth in charity, a third suffices him” , because this is what is prescribed. So in this case, “min” is for partiality, meaning they spend something of what We have provided them. It was also said: “min” is for specification, specifying the type. They spend according to their circumstances; they may spend a little or a lot, a third, half, or all, as Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) did. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) once encouraged charity, so Abu Bakr gave all his wealth in charity, and Umar gave half of his wealth, and said: : “Now I will outdo Abu Bakr.” For the Companions compete, not out of envy, but in competition in good deeds. , because Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) has precedents of virtues that neither Umar, nor Uthman, nor Ali, nor anyone below them can catch up to. The important thing is that they spend from what Allah has provided them. So what is the reward? And what is the fruit?
: O Allah, make us among them, O our Lord. “No soul knows what is hidden for them of joy for the eyes.” And that is in the Gardens of Delight. . Do you think that the saying of Allah the Exalted:
No, by Allah. There is nothing in Paradise from what is in this world except the names. It is called pomegranate, but a pomegranate that cannot come to your mind. It is called date, but a date that cannot come to your mind. It is called fruit, but a fruit that does not come to your mind: . We ask Allah the Exalted to make us and you among these righteous, noble, pious people. Indeed, He is Able to do all things.