How do I pray tahajjud?

What tahajjud is

The scholars define tahajjud as the voluntary prayer offered at night after sleeping. Some said it is any prayer after 'Isha, even before sleep, in which case it is simply another name for qiyam al-layl (the night prayer). On the first meaning it is more specific than qiyam al-layl, because qiyam covers everything from after 'Isha until dawn, while tahajjud is what comes after sleep. This is why the two intentions — qiyam al-layl and tahajjud — do not conflict: whoever prays at night after sleeping is a mutahajjid, and his prayer is part of qiyam al-layl.

Its time runs from after the 'Isha prayer until the true dawn. Within that span, the last third of the night is best.

How to pray it, step by step

1. Pray in pairs of rak'ahs. Each two rak'ahs are completed with their own taslim (closing salutation). This is the established pattern from the Prophet ﷺ.
2. Keep the pairs light at the start. It is recommended to open the night prayer with two short rak'ahs before settling into longer ones.
3. Recite at length, and pause at the meanings. The Prophet ﷺ would recite long passages, and when he passed a verse of glorification he would glorify, at a verse of asking he would ask, and at a verse seeking refuge he would seek refuge.
4. Lengthen the bowing and prostration. This is the sunnah in tahajjud — the bowing and prostration were close in length to the standing.
5. Say the prescribed glorifications. In bowing: Subhana Rabbi al-'Azim; in prostration: Subhana Rabbi al-A'la.
6. Make supplication in prostration. This is one of the places where du'a is most likely to be answered, so ask for your needs of this life and the next.
7. Close with a single rak'ah of witr. After your pairs, pray one rak'ah to make the night prayer odd-numbered.

The opening supplication

It is good to begin with a supplication of opening (du'a al-istiftah), and there are several forms. Among them is what al-Bukhari narrated from Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما, that when the Prophet ﷺ stood at night for tahajjud he would say:

"O Allah, to You belongs all praise; You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. To You belongs all praise; You are the King of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. To You belongs all praise; You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. To You belongs all praise; You are the Truth, Your promise is true, the meeting with You is true, Your word is true, Paradise is true, the Fire is true. To You I have submitted, in You I have believed, upon You I have relied, to You I have turned, and by You I have argued. Forgive me what I have sent ahead and what I have left behind, what I concealed and what I made public. You are the One who brings forward and the One who delays. There is no god but You."— Sahih al-Bukhari 1120, from Ibn Abbas

How many rak'ahs

The scholars agree that the minimum is two light rak'ahs — the Prophet ﷺ said that when one of you stands for the night prayer, he should open it with two short rak'ahs. There is no fixed maximum.

Shaykh Ibn Baz رحمه الله explained that the Prophet ﷺ never set a fixed number: he said "the night prayer is two by two" without limiting it, which shows there is room. He said the best is eleven or thirteen, following the Prophet ﷺ, and that praying more — twenty, forty, or more, then closing with one or three — is all fine and wide. He also noted the Prophet ﷺ sometimes prayed seven, five, or three, and that the least is a single rak'ah after 'Isha and its regular sunnah.

Why the last third is best

The last third of the night is the most virtuous time, because the Prophet ﷺ said:

"Whoever fears he will not rise at the end of the night, let him pray witr at its beginning; and whoever hopes to rise at its end, let him pray witr at the end of the night, for the prayer of the end of the night is witnessed — and that is better."— Sahih Muslim

Shaykh Ibn Baz رحمه الله explained the reason: in the last third, Allah descends to the lowest heaven in a manner befitting Him — a descent that does not resemble His creation, and whose true nature only He knows — and He says: "Who is it that calls on Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?" This is a great opportunity for supplication and worship. If a person prays witr at the beginning of the night, that is sufficient, but the last third is better when it is easy.

If you cannot manage the last third

The concession is built into the practice. If rising at the end of the night is hard for you, pray witr before you sleep, and that is enough. The Prophet ﷺ said the most beloved prayer to Allah is the prayer of Dawud عليه السلام: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third, and sleep a sixth. So praying in the fourth or fifth sixth of the night is excellent, and gathering it all into the last third is best of all.

Consistency matters more than volume

It is recommended to be regular with tahajjud, and to pray only what you can keep up. The Prophet ﷺ was asked which deed is most beloved to Allah and said: "The most consistent, even if it is little." So choose a number you can maintain rather than a large number you pray once and abandon.

Key takeaways

• Tahajjud is voluntary night prayer offered after sleep, prayed two rak'ahs at a time and closed with one rak'ah of witr.
• Its time runs from after 'Isha until the true dawn, and the last third of the night is the best of it.
• The minimum is two light rak'ahs; the best number is eleven or thirteen, and there is no blame in praying more.
• Lengthen the bowing and prostration, and make du'a in prostration, for it is a place where supplication is answered.
• If you cannot rise at the end of the night, pray witr before sleeping — that is sufficient — and be consistent with whatever you can maintain.

Further reading

• al-Mughni, Ibn Qudamah
• Fatawa Nur 'ala al-Darb, Shaykh Ibn Baz
• Fatawa Arkan al-Islam, Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin

And Allah knows best.