The Prophet (saws) used to offer night prayers till his feet became swollen. Somebody said to him, “Allah has forgiven you, your faults of the past and those to follow.” On that, he (saws) said:

“Shouldn’t I be a thankful slave of Allah)?”[1]

So, Allah (swt) in this verse of study, orders the Prophet (saws) to spend a part of the night performing prayer and other acts of worship. It is as if Allah (swt) is saying to him: ‘Leave your bed and your wrapping, rise, stand before Me to pray two thirds of the night and sleep for the remaining third’.

One may ask: ‘Is this order directed to the Prophet (saws) alone? or does it include his nation also?’. This order includes the Islamic nation as well, as ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:

“The Messenger of Allah (saws) had a mat which he would spread in the day and make into a small booth at night to pray in it. The people found out about that and they prayed when he prayed, with the mat in between him and them. He said:

‘Do as much of good deeds as you can, for Allah does not get tired (of giving reward) until you get tired. And the most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are continuous, even if they are few.’

Then he stopped that prayer and did not return to it until Allah took him (in death), and if he started to do something he would persist in it.”[2]

People were in habit of performing the night prayer to the degree that a man used to tie a rope and take hold of it. They continued this way for eight months, until Allah (swt) had Mercy on them, kept obligatory prayers mandatory and the late -night prayer optional.

[1] Sahih al-Bukhari, The Book of Tafseer, Chapter of The Statement of Allah the Exalted: “That Allah may forgive you your sins of the past and the future and complete His Favour on you and guide you on the Straight Path.”(Al-Fath:2), Hadith No. 4863.

[2] Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad an-Nisaa, Musnad ‘Aisha bint as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with them), Hadith No. 24323.