In the Name of Allāh.
Verily, while some of us already know how powerful and important standing for the night prayer (Qiyām al-Layl or Tahajjud) is, many still don’t. The benefits of Qiyām al-Layl are: It’s a means of entering Jannah, a sign of sincerity, and it also reveals the hypocrisy of people because a hypocrite will never get up for it, and it’s a means of protection, etc. Shaykh Muḥammad Ibn Sāliḥ al-‘Uthaymīn (Raḥimahullāh) said: “From the means of protection from the trials and tribulations is (praying) the night prayer.” [Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 9/501]
However, sadly, even on Qiyām al-Layl, Shayṭān still tries to play his tricks on us. Abu Hurayrah reported: Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “During your sleep, Shayṭān knots three knots at the back of the head of each of you, and he breathes the following words at each knot; ‘The night is long, so keep on sleeping.’ If that person wakes up and celebrates the Praises of Allāh, then one knot is undone; and when he performs ablution, the second knot is undone; and when he prays, all the knots are undone, and he gets up in the morning lively and in good spirits, otherwise he gets up in low spirits and lethargic.” [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3269]
Dear brethren, let’s hear this warning of the malicious handiwork of Shayṭān. As we sleep, he works to bind our soul, to knot our resolve, to plunge us deeper into the abyss of lethargy. But, the Prophet (ﷺ) has hinted us about the keys to unlocking Shayṭān‘s grip, undoing his knots, unraveling his web, and awakening our spirits.
The above Ḥadīth sets out for us the plans of action to achieve success: Wake up at the third part of the night, praise Allāh, perform ablution, and pray. What a blessing! Being lively and in good spirits are the perfect ingredients to having a productive day, and this is what one achieves when this Sunnah is done.
Therefore, let’s always rise from our beds, from our sleep of heedlessness, and embrace Qiyām al-Layl, at that sweet time in the darkness when our souls are most receptive to the Light of Allāh. Let us banish the lethargy, the heaviness, that Shayṭān seeks to impose upon us. With that, we can also easily stand to observe the Fajr prayer with a heart filled with praise, with gratitude, with devotion.
I beseech Allāh to protect us from Shayṭān‘s plots and to grant us His Guidance, Mercy, and Light to banish the darkness, to undo the knots that bind us. Aameen
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