Salat Al-Layl (Night Prayer) Tutorial

Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim. Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad. As devout Muslims, we try to connect with Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala, in any time we can. We try to seize the opportunity to build that relationship with the Almighty, and the best time for this is when we are exclusively on our own with Him, and that would be in the middle of the night, when everyone else is asleep. We have that quiet and calm and serene environment where I am able to express my love and my building of relationship with the Almighty.

And that's why it's so recommended to recite Salat ul-Layl, otherwise known as Tahajjud or Namaz e-Shab. We have so many ahadith that speak about how good and beneficial this salat is, that it will give you knowledge, it will give you wisdom, it will illuminate your face, it will bring about risq and sustenance. We even have ahadith that say that if you want to be a true Shi'i, then you need to be someone who prays Salat ul-Layl.

It's not difficult to pray Salat ul-Layl, but the only thing you would need is good motivation. The closer you pray it to Salat ul-Fajr, the more recommended it is. All up, there are 11 rakas that you were going to pray. Eight are called nawafilat ul-Layl, and they are four two raka' prayers, so two, two, two two. And after that, you have got a two raka' prayer, As-Salat ul-Shaf'a, and at the end you have a one raka' prayer called Salat al-Witr.

In Salat ul-Shaf'a, you pray the two raka' prayer with in the first raka', Surat ul-Hamd, then Surat At-Tawhid and then after that Surat un-Nas, in the second raka' you pray Surat ul-Hamd, then Surat At-Tawhid and then Surat ul-Falaq.

Then when you finish that, you pray the one raka' prayer of of Salat ul-Witr. In Salat ul-Witr, you do: Surat ul-Fatiha, and then Surat at-Tawhid which you recite three times, and then Surat ul-Falaq and then Surat un-Nas. After that, with your misbaha, or if you want you can use one of these tally counters, you say 'Astaghfirul-Lah Rabbi, wa awtubu ilayh' 70 times. So you're in your qunoot, and you have one hand down with your misbaha and the other hand up.

You're looking at your palm and you are reciting the Istioghfar. After that, in your qunoot, you do du'a and you ask for forgiveness for 40 believers, be it your parents, your grandparents, your siblings, your spouse, your children, your teachers, your elders, your friends, 40 people you need to name. After that, it's recommended for you to say 300 times Al-Afuw, Ilahy al-Afuw or Al-Afuw.

Then it is mustahab for you to say the other supplications that I recommended in the qunoot of Salat ul-Witr. Like, for example, "Hada maqam ul-a'ydi bika min an-Nar", for you to say that seven times, and many of the other du'as that are recommended in the Witr Salah in the qunoot.

And it's as simple as that. Let's say, for example, you've had a hard day, it's difficult. You won't be able to do all of these. Stick with Shaf'a and Witr. Let's say you don't have time just do the Witr. You want to do the eight raka's of Nafila tul-Layl, don't do the second Surah, just limit it to the Fatiha. You don't wake up and you only wake up for Salat ul-Fajr, which means you don't have any time. You can also do it as qadha' during the day.

But a guaranteed change will happen in your life should you carry on with such a wonderful habit to do. Wa Al-Hamdulillahi Rabb Al-Alameen, wa assalat wa assalam ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa alyhi at-tahireen.