Standing in Prayers at Night - Characters of ‘Ibad ur Rahman’

This is one of the salient features of “slaves of Ar Rahman" (Ibad ur Rahman) that are defined in this series of beautiful ayaat of Surah Al Furqan.

So how to be among them? This is the most important practical question.

Almost all of us want to do that but there are limitations because of work, family responsibilities, busy professional routines, and other commitments which also cannot be neglected.

What to do, to be among these people of Ar Rahman who are pointed out in this ayah?

There is something minimal that almost every one of us can do alongside our all commitments.

The timings of night prayers are extended from after the isha prayer till the fajr prayer. We can pray two raka after the isha with the intention of night prayer and make dua for waking up within the last hour of the night before fajr to pray in that precious time as well.

Our beloved Prophet ﷺ used to wake up and pray in between. During some nights he used to wake up even two to three times, stand to pray, and practice to sleep again. He used to pray at the last third of the night and take a brief nap period before fajr. This was his normal nighttime routine. Despite of the fact of his busy daytime routine and also his age, he was consistent in standing for his regular night prayers.

Another important thing that comes to confuse us very often is the science of sleep which advertises and advocates to sleep straight for six to eight hours.

First of all, we need to reassure ourselves that there is no such command from ALLAH that is not in our favor. We must be very sure about it. ALLAH subhanahu wa ta’ala cares for us more than everyone else.

Recently we are getting a new trend of segmented sleep and scientists are finding it atleast as healthy and productive as straight hours of sleep. Yes, the combined duration of sleep should make a total of 6-8 hours.

Also as we know, we have sleep patterns divided into several cycles and different kinds of sleep (light, deep, REM). These divisions give us a clue that segmented sleep when done in roughly consistent timings is not hazardous for health. We can simply sleep again after our prayers and start with a new cycle of sleep.

In addition, our beloved Prophet ﷺ used to practice a daytime nap interval in the early noon hours, which is said to give extra stamina to wake up at night for prayers. Also, this practice is good to keep us refreshed throughout the day. We can even take more than one short nap in a day, but preferable to take them before the asir prayer.

So, let us remind ourselves to stand for night prayers as much as we can. Let us remind ourselves that we have to be among ‘Ibad ur Rahman’ by fulfilling these salient features ALLAH has declared in Surat l Furqan. (in sha ALLAH).

Let us promise to ourselves to stick to the minimal effort of praying two raka additional after the isha prayer and then in sha ALLAH by the grace of ALLAH, He will accept us for regular night prayers even in later hours of the night and ease for us the way. Aameen.