Fatwa ID: 08349
Answered by: Maulana Yusuf Badshah
Question:
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is the best example and did not pray all night, every night. Some of the pious predecessors did not do this – they prayed every night, all night. Why was this?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Answer:
While the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did not pray all night every night, we know he would pray for at least a third of the night every night, and there were some instances such as during the last ten nights of Ramadhan where he would stay awake the entire night [1]
Which of the pious predecessors do you refer to when you claim they prayed all night every night? Humans require sleep, which means to accomplish this they would need to sleep during the day, every day. While feasible for some and perhaps conducive to certain lifestyles such as in those countries where the day is intensely hot or for those individuals who work night shifts, for most this is generally not practical or optimal [2].
Thus, if it can be demonstrated authentically that the individuals in question did so, we can assume that there must have been some aspect of their lifestyle, schedule or constitution that meant this way of life was easier and more conducive for them, whatever that may be.
References:
[1] Surah Al-Muzzammil 20:
{ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَقُومُ أَدْنَىٰ مِن ثُلُثَيِ اللَّيْلِ وَنِصْفَهُ وَثُلُثَهُ وَطَائِفَةٌ مِّنَ الَّذِينَ مَعَكَ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يُقَدِّرُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ …}
Sahih Al-Bukhari 2024:
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ أَبِي يَعْفُورٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الضُّحَى، عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ قَالَتْ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا دَخَلَ الْعَشْرُ شَدَّ مِئْزَرَهُ، وَأَحْيَا لَيْلَهُ، وَأَيْقَظَ أَهْلَهُ
[2] Surah Ghafir 61:
{ اللَّهُ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ ۞}
Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.
Written by Maulana Yusuf Badshah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
