What is the best time for the late-night voluntary prayer?
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Question:
He says: I hope you will guide me regarding the late-night voluntary prayer, as I pray it at eleven at night and recite the Qur'an aloud in it. Is there a specific time for it other than that?
Answer:
Praying in the middle of the night, and at the end of the night, is better. If you pray it at the beginning of the night before you sleep, there is nothing wrong with that. Praying in the middle of the night is better, and at the end of the night is better and better. If you pray it after the night prayer before you sleep, fearing that you will not be able to get up, there is nothing wrong with that.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. He says...
The Shaykh: Repeat, repeat... Repeat the question.
The presenter: He says: I hope you will guide me regarding the late-night voluntary prayer, as I pray it at eleven at night and recite the Qur'an aloud in it. Is there a better time than that?
The Shaykh: The end of the night is better. The middle of the night is good, but the end of the night is better, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): narrated by Muslim in his Sahih; and due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Sunan Abi Dawud 4733Sahih (Al-Albani) And in another wording, He says (Exalted and Majestic is He): This is in the last third, and this is the best of times for the late-night voluntary prayer and worship.
And this descent befits Allah; it does not resemble the descent of created beings. This descent is established in the authentic, mass-transmitted hadiths, and it is a descent that befits Allah, like rising above the Throne, and like anger, and satisfaction; all of these befit Allah. He does not resemble His creation in His rising above His Throne, nor in His anger, nor in His satisfaction, nor in His speech, nor in His love, nor in the like of that. And so is the descent: a descent that befits Allah, and none knows its modality except He (Glorified and Exalted is He), but He does not resemble His creation in any of His attributes, due to His saying (Mighty and Majestic): [Surat al-Shura: 11] and His saying (Mighty and Majestic): [Surat al-Nahl: 74] and His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): [Surat al-Ikhlas: 4] (peace and blessings be upon him). And this is a principle among the people of the Sunnah and the community: the principle that all the names of the Lord, and all His attributes, befit Him. All His names are descriptions... all are attributes: The Most Merciful... The Bestower of Mercy... The All-Knowing... The Wise... The All-Hearing... The All-Seeing. They are names, and they are descriptions, and attributes, all of which befit Allah. It is obligatory to affirm them for Allah with an affirmation free from likening Allah to creation, and it is obligatory to purify Allah (Mighty and Majestic) from resembling His creation with a purification free from denial of the divine attributes.
So the people of truth from the people of the Sunnah and the community affirm the attributes of Allah and His names, and pass them over as they came, with belief in them and the conviction that they are true in the manner befitting Him (Mighty and Majestic). He does not resemble His creation in any of His attributes (Exalted and Majestic is He). This is the statement of the people of truth from the people of the Sunnah and the community, from the Companions, and their followers, and the generation after the Companions, and the followers of the generation after the Companions, like Malik, and al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad, and Abu Hanifa, and al-Thawri, and others of the imams of Islam. All of them held this creed, following in that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and being pleased with them. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
He says: I hope you will guide me regarding the late-night voluntary prayer, as I pray it at eleven at night and recite the Qur'an aloud in it. Is there a specific time for it other than that?
Answer:
Praying in the middle of the night, and at the end of the night, is better. If you pray it at the beginning of the night before you sleep, there is nothing wrong with that. Praying in the middle of the night is better, and at the end of the night is better and better. If you pray it after the night prayer before you sleep, fearing that you will not be able to get up, there is nothing wrong with that.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. He says...
The Shaykh: Repeat, repeat... Repeat the question.
The presenter: He says: I hope you will guide me regarding the late-night voluntary prayer, as I pray it at eleven at night and recite the Qur'an aloud in it. Is there a better time than that?
The Shaykh: The end of the night is better. The middle of the night is good, but the end of the night is better, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whoever fears that he will not be able to get up at the end of the night, let him pray the odd-numbered night prayer at the beginning of the night. And whoever hopes to get up at the end of the night, let him pray the odd-numbered night prayer at the end of the night, for the prayer at the end of the night is witnessed, and that is better.
من خاف ألا يقوم من آخر الليل؛ فليوتر أوله، ومن طمع أن يقوم آخر الليل؛ فليوتر آخر الليل، فإن صلاة آخر الليل مشهودة وذلك أفضلOur lord gets down every night to the heaven of this world when a third night remains and says: (Is there anyone) who prays to Me so that I may accept his prayer? (Is there anyone) who asks of Me so that I may give him? (Is there anyone) who asks for my forgiveness so that I may forgive him?
ينزل ربنا إلى سماء الدنيا كل ليلة، حين يبقى ثلث الليل الآخر، فيقول: من يدعوني فأستجيب له، من يسألني فأعطيه، من يستغفرني فأغفر لهIs there anyone asking, that he may be given what he asks for? Is there anyone seeking forgiveness, that he may be forgiven? Is there anyone repenting, that he may be accepted in repentance?
هل من سائل فيعطى سؤله، هل من مستغفر فيغفر له، هل من تائب فيتاب عليهAnd this descent befits Allah; it does not resemble the descent of created beings. This descent is established in the authentic, mass-transmitted hadiths, and it is a descent that befits Allah, like rising above the Throne, and like anger, and satisfaction; all of these befit Allah. He does not resemble His creation in His rising above His Throne, nor in His anger, nor in His satisfaction, nor in His speech, nor in His love, nor in the like of that. And so is the descent: a descent that befits Allah, and none knows its modality except He (Glorified and Exalted is He), but He does not resemble His creation in any of His attributes, due to His saying (Mighty and Majestic):
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُSo do not assert similarities to Allah
فَلا تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الأَمْثَالَ(1) Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One, (2) Allah, the Eternal Refuge. (3) He neither begets nor is born, (4) Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌSo the people of truth from the people of the Sunnah and the community affirm the attributes of Allah and His names, and pass them over as they came, with belief in them and the conviction that they are true in the manner befitting Him (Mighty and Majestic). He does not resemble His creation in any of His attributes (Exalted and Majestic is He). This is the statement of the people of truth from the people of the Sunnah and the community, from the Companions, and their followers, and the generation after the Companions, and the followers of the generation after the Companions, like Malik, and al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad, and Abu Hanifa, and al-Thawri, and others of the imams of Islam. All of them held this creed, following in that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and being pleased with them. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.