revelations, but it is expressly stated to be voluntary. The following verses may be noted in this connection:
“O thou covering thyself up! Rise to pray by night except a little, half of it, or lessen it a little or add to it, and recite the Holy Qur’ān in a leisurely manner … The rising by night is surely the firmest way to tread and most effective in speech” (73:1 — 6).
“Thy Lord knows indeed that thou passest in prayer nearly two-thirds of the night, and (sometimes) half of it, and (sometimes) a third of it, as do a party of those with thee” (73:20).
“And during a part of the night, keep awake by it, beyond what is incumbent on thee; maybe thy Lord will raise thee to a position of great glory” (17:79).
As the above quotation from the 73rd chapter shows, the Holy Prophet used to pass half or even two-thirds of the night in prayer. His practice was to go to sleep immediately after the ‘Ishā’ prayers, and then he generally woke up after midnight and passed almost all this latter half of the night in Tahajjud prayers, sometimes taking a short nap, which would give him a little rest, just before the morning prayer. This practice he kept up to the last. While in the congregational prayers the recitation of the Holy Qur’ān was generally short, in consideration of the children, women and aged people among the audience, the recitation in the Tahajjud prayers was generally long, and it is related in ḥadīth that he used to stand so long reciting the Holy Qur’ān that his feet would get swollen67 (Bu. 19:6).
The Tahajjud prayer consists of eight rak‘ahs, divided into a service of two at a time, followed by three rak‘ahs or witr. To make it easier for the common people the witr prayer, which is really a part of Tahajjud, has been made a part of the voluntary portion of ‘Ishā’ or night prayer, and therefore, if the witr prayer has been said with ‘Ishā’, Tahajjud would consist of only eight rak‘ahs. But if there is
67 It is nothing but a distortion of facts to call such a person a voluptuary, simply because he took certain widows under the shelter of his roof and made them share the honour of partnership with him in matrimonial life. The man who passed half and even two-thirds of the night in prayer and who strenuously worked during the day-time for the all-round welfare of a whole nation, could not possibly have time for the indulgence of his passions. It is also a noteworthy fact that the only thing which kept him awake was a recitation of the Holy Qur’ān, or the glorification of the Divine Being, and it is impossible to fathom the depth of his love for God and his love for the word of God, when it is borne in mind that only the greatest attraction could keep a man awake during the night and enable him to conquer sleep.