It Pays To Wake Up at Night and Pray Tahajjud

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Narrated Salim's father:

In the life-time of the Prophet whosoever saw a dream would narrate it to Allah's Apostle. I had a wish of seeing a dream to narrate it to Allah's Apostle, Allah bless him and grant him peace, I was a grown up boy and used to sleep in the masjid in the life-time of the Prophet. I saw in the dream that two angels caught hold of me and took me to the Fire which was built all round like a built well and had two poles in it and the people in it were known to me. I started saying, "I seek refuge with Allah from the Fire." Then I met another angel who told me not to be afraid. I narrated the dream to Hafsa (wife of the Prophet) who told it to Allah's Apostle. The Prophet said, "Abdullah is a good man. I wish he prayed Tahajjud." After that 'Abdullah (i.e. Salim's father) used to sleep but a little at night.

[Bukhari]

وَمِنَ ٱلَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِۦ نَافِلَةً لَّكَ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَّحْمُودًا ﴿٧٩

And from [part of] the night, pray with it as additional [worship] for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station. (79)

[Qur'an Al-Isra' 17:79]

Hadrat Mujaddid Alf Thani, the famous religious revivalist of the first Islamic millenium in India, said that, in this verse, the Holy Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was first given the command to make the prayer of Tahajjud, then he was promised the Praised Station, that is, the Station of Grand Intercession. This tells us that the prayer of Tahajjud serves as a special via media in acquiring the Station of Intercession.

Based on a report from Sayyidna 'Uthman, it appears in Ibn Majah and al-Baihaqi; that the Holy Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: On the Day of Qiyaamah, the blessed prophets will be the first to intercede on behalf of sinners, then the 'Ulama' and then the Shuhada' (martyrs). According to Dailami reporting from Sayyidna Ibn 'Umar, the Holy Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said that the 'Alim will be told that he could intercede on behalf of his disciples, even if their number matches the number of stars.

And Abu Dawud and Ibn Hibban carry a narration of Sayyidna Abu al-Darda', with its chains ascending to the Holy Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said: The intercession made by a Shahid (martyr) will be accepted in favor of seventy people from his family.

The Musnad of Ahmad, al-Tabarani; and al-Baihaqi authentically report Sayyidna Abu Umamah and narrating that the Holy Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: On the intercession of one person from my ummah many people, more than the entire number of the people of the tribes of Rabi'ah and Mudar, will be admitted to Jannah.

The question is when the Holy Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, will himself intercede - and no believer will remain in Hell because of it - why and how will the 'Ulama' and the righteous intercede? The answer appears in Tafsir Mazhari: perhaps, the 'Ulama' and the righteous of the community will present their intercession in favor of whomsoever they wish before the Holy Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, who will then intercede with Allah Ta'ala.

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: (My intercession shall be for people who had committed major sins). This seems to tell us that those involved with major sins will be forgiven particularly through the intercession of the Holy Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. Any angel or any individual from the Muslim community will not be able to intercede in the case of those who have committed major sins. Instead of that, the inter- cession made by the righteous of the Muslim community will be for those who were involved with minor sins.

May Allah grant us tawfiq and the Station of Intercession. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

source: Maariful Qur'an by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Usmani