The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), who knows the sorrows of the
Ummah, has given glad tidings of great reward on small deeds. He has
encouraged the Ummah to enliven their nights with worship and prayer and has
made clear the importance of doing so:
Translation: It is narrated on the authority of
Hadhrat ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (May
Allah be well pleased with them) that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam) said: 2 Raka’at that a slave offers in the last part of the night are better
than the world and all that it contains. If I didn’t fear of this being hard on my
Ummah, then I would certainly have made this 2 Raka’at obligatory on them. (At
Targheeb Fee Fadhaail Al A’amaal Li Ibn Shaheen, Hadith No. 559)
Exhortation to spend the night in worship
Thus, there is much importance and excellence of offering Salaat in the night,
even though a short one that takes only some time. To exhort us to do so, the
Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has given us sinners such leniency that
even if one offers Salaat after Salaat Ul ‘Isha, that person will be granted the
blessings of night worship. As mentioned in this Hadith:
It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Ayaas bin Mu’awiya Mizni (May Allah
be well pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:
Be it for the time taken to milk a goat, but do offer Salaat in the night. The
supererogatory (Nafl) offered after Salaat Ul ‘Isha is also included in this.
(Mo’jam Kabeer Tabarani, Hadith No. 785; At Targheeb Wat Tarheeb, Vol. 1, Pg.
No. 431)