Those who pray in the night will be allowed to enter
paradise without any reckoning
Those who offer Salaat Ut Tahajjud savor the proximity of Almighty Allah. They
are counted among the beloveds of Almighty Allah. The result of their
worshipping Allah far from the eyes of the people will be that on the Day of
Judgment,
they will be called before one and all and will be given the glad tidings
that they are to enter paradise without any reckoning, as given in this Hadith:
Translation: It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Asma bint Yazeed (May
Allah be well pleased with them) that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam) said: On the Day of Judgment, people will be gathered in a plain. Then a
caller will call out: Where are those people whose flanks were away from their
beds. They will all get up and they will be small number. They will be entered
into paradise without any reckoning. Then the command will be given for
reckoning of all people. (Shua’bul Iman, Hadith No. 3097)
Palaces in paradise for those pray and worship in the
night
Those who sacrifice their comfort and sleep and stand up in worship before the
Lord Almighty are apparently hard-pressed in this world. Their feet swell up
because of standing for long times. Their eyes long for blissful sleep and yet
these persons strive hard to grant the divine vision of the Lord Almighty to their
eyes. As these great people didn’t accept the temporary comforts of the material
world, they are given glad tidings of the bounties of the hereafter. These people
didn’t care for the ease of this world, the opulence of high-rise mansions couldn’t
enchant them, modern marvels of luxury couldn’t dissuade them from spending
their nights in worship of Allah Most High. In lieu of all this, they will be given
pure, transparent palaces in paradise. The material used in their construction
can be seen from the walls and the roof, as if the palaces are made of glass, the
way glass buildings are liked in these days also. Thus, in paradise one will be
rewarded with such bounties that one desires.
There is a Hadith in Sahih Ibn Hibbaan in this regard:
Translation: It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Abu Malik Ash’ari (May
Allah be well pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)
said: There are such palaces in paradise that their exterior is visible from the
interior and their interior is visible from the exterior. Almighty Allah has readied
those palaces for those people who fed others, spread (the greeting of) Salaam
and offered Salaat at the time when others were sleeping. (Sahih Ibn Hibbaan,
Hadith No. 510)
By virtue of its generality, this Hadith includes, apart from those who feed others
and spread Salaam, every person who sacrifices sleep to spend the night in
prayer and worship, be it for a single night only. That one night can be Shab
Meraj as well. this shows that those who spend the night of Sahih Muslim in
worship also will be rewarded with mansions in paradise.
Spending the night in worship – Custom of the pious
It is the custom of the pious to spend the night in worship. By worshipping
Almighty Allah in the night, one tires of sins and through its blessings, those who
do so will be cured of bodily ailments as well. As mentioned in this Hadith:
Translation: It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Bilal (May Allah be well
pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: You
make worship of the night compulsory for yourself! As that has been the custom
of the pious folk before you. Indeed! Worship of the night is a means of
attaining the closeness of Allah Most High, an expiation for sins and an effective
means of driving away disease from the body. (Jame’ Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 3895;
At Targheeb Wat Tarheeb, Hadith No. 557)
Supererogatory Salaat of the night is superior to
supererogatory Salaat of the day
Sincerity and devotion are comparatively more in worship of the night when
compared to worship of the day. For this reason, its excellence also has been
described to be greater than the excellence of worship of the day. There is a
Hadith in this regard:
Translation: It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud (May
Allah be well pleased with him), he says that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam) said: The Salaat offered in the night is superior to the Salaat offered
in the day the way charity given in secret is superior to charity given openly.
(Mo’jam Kabeer Tabarani, Hadith No. 10229; At Targheeb Wat Tarheeb, Vol. 1,
Pg. No. 429)
It is also mentioned in another Hadith that after the Obligatory (Fardh) Salaat, the
most excellent is the Salaat of the night:
Translation: It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be
well pleased with him), he says that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)
said: After Ramadhan, the most excellent month is Muharram, the month of
Allah and after Obligatory Salaat, the most excellent Salaat is the Salaat of the
night. (At Targheeb Fee Fadhaail Al A’amaal Li Ibn Shaheen, Hadith No. 558)