Hi all readers! Are you looking for an explanation of “how to pray Tahajjud step by step?”? If your answer is “Yes”, congratulations! Now you are reading the right article. Why? Because that is what I will explain in this article. As Muslims, we must understand that. That’s why I wrote this article. So, you should read it to the end!
Specifically, there are seven important things about “how to pray Tahajjud step by step?” which I will explain in this article. The seven important things I mean are as follows:
- What Is the Tahajjud Prayer?
- Why Do Muslims Need to Pray Tahajjud?
- Sleeping Before Tahajjud Prayer.
- How to Pray Tahajjud Step by Step?
- Niyyat for Tahajjud Prayer.
- How Many Rakats for Tahajjud Prayer?
- What Is the Best Dua After Tahajjud Prayer?
What Is the Tahajjud Prayer?
The first important thing about “how to pray Tahajjud step by step?” what I will explain now is “what is the Tahajjud prayer?”. I want you to understand that first before you read any further explanations in this article because that is one of the basic questions in this discussion that should be well understood.
Tahajjud prayer is the translation of the sentence “Salat at-Tahajjud”. Salat at-Tahajjud is an Arabic sentence. The writing is صَلَاةُ التَّهَجُّدِ. So, there are two words in the sentence that must be understood properly: صَلَاةُ and التَّهَجُّدِ.
Salat (Salat or صَلَاةُ) are utterances and deeds that begin with Takbir and end with Salaam.
Tahajjud (at-Tahajjud or التَّهَجُّدِ) is a sunnah prayer at night after sleep (التَّهَجُّدُ التَّنَفُّلُ لَيْلًا ).
So, if you ask me, “what is the tahajjud prayer?”, the answer is “sunnah prayer performed at night after sleeping.” That’s the answer.
That is a brief explanation of “what is the Tahajjud prayer?”. As Muslims, we must understand that.
Why Do Muslims Need to Pray Tahajjud?
The second important thing about “how to pray Tahajjud step by step?” What I will explain now is “why do Muslims need to pray Tahajjud?”. I want you to understand that now so that you understand the urgency of our discussion now.
Before I give you the answer to that question (why do Muslims need to pray Tahajjud?), I will quote a hadith about Tahajjud prayer that specifically relates to this question. The hadith about the Tahajjud prayer that I mean is as follows:
عَنْ سَهْلٍ بْنِ سَعْدٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : جَاءَ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَقَالَ : يَا مُحَمَّدُ ، عِشْ مَا شِئْتَ فَإِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ ، وَأَحْبِبْ مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ فَإِنَّكَ مَفَارِقُهُ ، وَاعْمَلْ مَا شِئْتَ فَإِنَّكَ مَجْزِيٌّ بِهِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : يَا مُحَمَّدُ شَرَفُ الْمُؤْمِنِ قِيَامُ اللَّيْلِ وَعِزُّهُ اسْتِغْنَاؤُهُ عَنِ النَّاسِ
From Sahal bin Sa’ad radliyallahu anhu, he said, “Jibril alaihi as-Salaam came to the Prophet (Muhammad) sallallahu alaiahi wa sallam. Jibril then said, “O Muhammad, live as you please because in fact you will die. Love the person you love because you will actually leave him. Do whatever you want because indeed you will get a reward.” Then Gabriel said, “O Muhammad, the glory of a believer is praying at night and his strength is to refrain from asking people.”
قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : نِعْمَ الرَّجُلُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ، لَوْ كَانَ يُصَلِّي مِنَ اللَّيْلِ، فَكَانَ بَعْدُ لَا يَنَامُ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ إِلَّا قَلِيلاً
Allah’s Messenger (Prophet Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “The best of people are servants of Allah, if he prays at night, after that he does not sleep at night except for a short time.”
All readers! If we understand the two hadiths above, we can conclude several things as follows (these are all some answers to the question):
One: the first hadith explains that praying at night (tahajjud prayer is one of the prayers at night) is a sign of glory. The point is that the Muslims who perform the Tahajjud prayer are noble people.
Two: the second hadith explains that one of the signs of a good person is the Tahajjud prayer. Why? The answer is because the person is worshiping Allah at night when many people are sleeping.
That is a brief explanation of “why do Muslims need to pray Tahajjud?”. As Muslims, we must understand that.
Sleeping Before Tahajjud Prayer
The third important thing about “how to pray Tahajjud step by step?” what I will explain now is sleeping before Tahajjud prayer. I want you to understand that because it is one of the important things about Tahajjud prayer that must be well understood.
Before I explain a lot about sleeping before Tahajjud prayer, I will quote a hadith about it. The hadith about sleeping before Tahajjud I mean is as follows:
وَقَالَ سَلْمَانُ لأَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ رَضِىَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا : نَمْ . فَلَمَّا كَانَ مِنْ آخِرِ اللَّيْلِ قَالَ : قُمْ . قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : صَدَقَ سَلْمَانُ
Salman said to Abu Darda radliyallahu anhuma, “Go to sleep”. At the end of the night he said, “Get up.” The Prophet (Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Salman is right.”
عَنِ الأَسْوَدِ، قَالَ : سَأَلْتُ عَائِشَةَ رَضِىَ اللهُ عَنْهَا : كَيْفَ صَلاَةُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِاللَّيْلِ ؟ قَالَتْ : كَانَ يَنَامُ أَوَّلَهُ وَيَقُومُ آخِرَهُ ، فَيُصَلِّي ثُمَّ يَرْجِعُ إِلَى فِرَاشِهِ ، فَإِذَا أَذَّنَ الْمُؤَذِّنُ وَثَبَ ، فَإِنْ كَانَ بِهِ حَاجَةٌ اغْتَسَلَ ، وَإِلاَّ تَوَضَّأَ وَخَرَجَ
From al-Aswad, he said, “I asked Aisha “How is the night prayer of the Prophet?” She replied, “He used to sleep early at night, and get up in its last part to pray, and then return to his bed. When the Mu’adh-dhin pronounced the Adhan, he would get up. If he was in need of a bath, he would take it; otherwise he would perform wudu and then go out (for the prayer).”
All readers! If we understand the two hadiths above, we can conclude that sleeping before Tahajjud prayer is obligatory. In other words, we have to sleep first if we want to perform the Tahajjud prayer.
That is a brief explanation of sleeping before Tahajjud prayer. As Muslims, we must understand that.
How to Pray Tahajjud Step by Step?
The fourth important thing about “how to pray Tahajjud step by step?” what I’m going to explain now is a specific answer. So, I really hope that you understand the explanation below very well.
In general, if we read some Islamic legal literature on the Tahajjud prayer, we will find five things to do before the Tahajjud prayer and during the Tahajjud prayer. That’s how to do the Tahajjud prayer step by step.
The five things I mean are as follows:
One: cleansing the body of minor hadas and major hadas.
Two: wearing holy clothes to perform Tahajjud prayer.
Three: looking for a holy place to perform Tahajjud prayer.
Four: saying niyyat for Tahajjud prayer at the same time as Takbir Ihram.
Five: perform all the obligations in Tahajjud prayer. If you want to do sunnah in Tahajjud prayer, that’s better.
That’s a brief explanation of “how to pray Tahajjud step by step?”. As Muslims, we must understand that.
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Niyyat for Tahajjud Prayer
The fifth important thing about “how to pray Tahajjud step by step?” what I will explain now is niyyat for Tahajjud prayer. I want you to understand that now because it is one of the pillars of Tahajjud prayer that must be understood and memorized well.
Niyyat in Islam is the intention or purpose of an action. That is what distinguishes one action from another. In Islam, everything depends on niyyat. If the niyyat is good, then the deed is good. If the niyyat is bad, then the action is bad. We can find this explanation in the hadith below:
عَنْ عُمَرَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهم عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّةِ وَلِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوِ امْرَأَةٍ يَتَزَوَّجُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ
From Umar radliyallahu anhu, that the Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Action depends on his intention (niyyat), and a person only gets something according to his intention. Whoever emigrated to Allah and His Messenger, then his emigration was to Allah and His Messenger, and whoever emigrated for the sake of the world or because of the woman he wanted to marry, then his emigration was according to where he migrated.”
The niyyat for Tahajjud prayer is as follows:
أُصَلِّى سُنَّةَ التَّهَجُّدِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ مُسْتَقْبِلَ الْقِبْلَةِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى
I intend to perform the Sunnah Tahajjud prayer, two rakats, by facing Qibla, because of Allah Taala.
That is a brief explanation of niyyat for Tahajjud prayer. As Muslims, we must understand that.
How Many Rakats for Tahajjud Prayer?
The sixth important thing about “how to pray Tahajjud step by step?” what I will explain now is “how many rakats for Tahajjud prayer?”. I want you to understand that now because the rakats for the Tahajjud prayer is one of the important things in this discussion that must be well understood.
Before I explain the answer to the question (how many rakats for Tahajjud prayer?), I will quote the hadith about the rakats for the Tahajjud prayer. The hadith I mean is as follows:
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِىَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا , قَالَ : كَانَ صَلاَةُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ثَلاَثَ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً ( يَعْنِي بِاللَّيْلِ)
From Ibn Abbas radliyallahu anhuma, he said, “The prayer of Prophet (Muhammad) sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was thirteen rakats (meaning he prayed at night).”
عَنْ أَبِي الْعَبَّاسِ ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَمْرٍو رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا ـ قَالَ لِيْ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَلَمْ أُخْبَرْ أَنَّكَ تَقُومُ اللَّيْلَ وَتَصُومُ النَّهَارَ ؟ قُلْتُ : إِنِّي أَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ . قَالَ : فَإِنَّكَ إِذَا فَعَلْتَ ذَلِكَ هَجَمَتْ عَيْنُكَ وَنَفِهَتْ نَفْسُكَ ، وَإِنَّ لِنَفْسِكَ حَقٌّ ، وَلأَهْلِكَ حَقٌّ ، فَصُمْ وَأَفْطِرْ ، وَقُمْ وَنَمْ
From Abu al-Abbas, he said, “I’ve heard Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Ash radiyallahu anhuma say, “Once Allah’s Messenger (Prophet Muhammad) sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said to me, “I have been informed that you offer Salat (prayer) all the night and observe Saum (fast) during the day.” I said, “(Yes) I do so.” He said, “If you do so, your eye sight will become weak and you will become weak. No doubt, your body has right on you, and your family has right on you, so observe Saum (for some days) and do not observe it (for some days), offer Salat (for sometime) and then sleep.”
All readers! If we understand the two hadiths above, we can conclude several things as follows:
One: the first hadith explains that Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam prayed at night until thirteen rakats. Witr prayer and Tahajjud prayers are some of the prayers he does at night. So, we can assume that he performed twelve rakats in the Tahajjud prayer and one rakat in the Witr prayer.
Two: the second hadith explains that we should not force ourselves to perform worship that we are unable to do. Likewise, the Tahajjud prayer. We can do any number of rakats for the Tahajjud prayer. But if we are not able to do many rakats, we must not force ourselves to do more than we are capable of.
Now, if you ask me, “how many rakats for Tahajjud prayer?”, the answer is at least two rakats until we can afford it. If we can only do two rakats, we have to do two rakats. If we are able to do four rakats, we can do four rakats, and so on.
That is a brief explanation of “how many rakats for Tahajjud prayer?”. As Muslims, we must understand that.
What Is the Best Dua After Tahajjud Prayer?
The seventh important thing about “how to pray Tahajjud step by step?” what I will explain now is “what is the best dua after Tahajjud prayer?”. I want you to understand that at the end of the discussion in this article it must be understood well.
Before I give you the answer to that question (what is the best dua after Tahajjud prayer?), I will quote a related hadith. The hadith I mean is as follows:
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِىَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ : كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا قَامَ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ يَتَهَجَّدُ قَالَ : اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ أَنْتَ قَيِّمُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَنْ فِيْهِنَّ , وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ ، لَكَ مُلْكُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَنْ فِيْهِنَّ ، وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ , أَنْتَ نُورُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ ، وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ , أَنْتَ الْحَقُّ ، وَوَعْدُكَ الْحَقُّ ، وَلِقَاؤُكَ حَقٌّ ، وَقَوْلُكَ حَقٌّ ، وَالْجَنَّةُ حَقٌّ ، وَالنَّارُ حَقٌّ ، وَالنَّبِيُّونَ حَقٌّ ، وَمُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَقٌّ ، وَالسَّاعَةُ حَقٌّ ، اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ أَسْلَمْتُ ، وَبِكَ آمَنْتُ وَعَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْتُ ، وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْتُ ، وَبِكَ خَاصَمْتُ ، وَإِلَيْكَ حَاكَمْتُ ، فَاغْفِرْ لِي مَا قَدَّمْتُ وَمَا أَخَّرْتُ ، وَمَا أَسْرَرْتُ وَمَا أَعْلَنْتُ ، أَنْتَ الْمُقَدِّمُ وَأَنْتَ الْمُؤَخِّرُ ، لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ ـ ( أَوْ لاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرُكَ )
From Ibn Abbas radliyallahu anhuma, he said, “When the Prophet (Muhammad) sallallahu alaihi wa sallam wakes up at night, he performs the Tahajjud prayer and prays, “O Allah, all praise be to You. You are the ruler of all the heavens and the earth and all the creatures in them. All praise to You. All the kingdoms of heaven and earth and everything in them are yours. All praise to You. You are the light of all heaven and earth. All praise to You. You are the True God. Your promise is true. Meeting You is true. Your word is true. Heaven is true. Hell is True. On the Prophet is true. Muhammad sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam is true. Doomsday is true. O Allah, only to You I surrender. Only in You I have faith. Only to You I put my trust. Only to You I represent. It’s only because of you that I fight. And only to You I ask for justice. Forgive the sins I have committed and have not committed, the sins that I have committed secretly and openly. You are God who puts first and ends. There is no god but You.”
All readers! I want you to pay attention to the hadith above. There are several sentences that I bolded in the hadith above. The sentences that I bolded are the prayer after the Tahajjud prayer which was read by the Prophet Muhammad. In my opinion, that is one of the best prayers after the Tahajjud prayer.
That is a brief explanation of “what is the best dua after Tahajjud prayer?”. As Muslims, we must understand that.
All readers! That’s a brief explanation of “how to pray Tahajjud step by step” and some important things about it. Do you understand? If you want to ask, please ask!
I think that’s enough for this article. May be useful. Amen.
See you again in the next article!
