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The Night Prayer — A Special Ramadan Session with Shaykh Ammar Shukri

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Welcome everyone to The Late Night Top 10 with Miftaah Institute. It's been a busy Ramadan. We ask Allah to accept and make our Ramadan amongst those that earn our forgiveness and emancipation from the fire of Jahannam.

Tonight is an odd night, and it is Thursday night, which is Friday night. Alhamdulillah, we are alive. Allah has given us tawfiq to pray and to stand in front of Him. And these are the moments we want to take advantage of and ask Allah to give us the full essence. It's not just the prayer or the tear or the supplication — it's about what can transpire after we make these sincere forms of worship and supplications. InshaAllah, Allah will accept.

We have one of our dear friends, honorable brother, out of Houston, Texas. He is, mashaAllah, doing so much great work for Al-Maghrib Institute and so many other institutions. Shaykh Ammar, my sons, my family — all of us look up to him so much, his work, his spoken word, and his du'a that he has online on YouTube. Something very special.

Opening Reflections: The Spirit of Competition in Ramadan

Alhamdulillah wa salamu ala Rasulillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallim. It's always a pleasure to be with you all at Miftaah Institute. May Allah accept from you all your seeking of knowledge and your teaching of knowledge.

It is a topic that is really important. I remember thinking to myself a number of years ago that I haven't come across any books in English on the night prayer in particular — qiyam al-layl. And even though it's something that's so beloved to the Prophet ﷺ, to Allah, and something that the Prophet ﷺ practiced consistently throughout his life. I had prepared a short e-book on the night prayer a couple of years ago, and I was just thinking that this might be a great night to delve into some of the meanings of this prayer that the Prophet ﷺ never left and that Allah commanded.

Before we go further — it's five days left of Ramadan. The importance of competition. The importance of having a spirit of competition. This is our playoffs. Ramadan is our playoffs. It's our finals. It's our World Cup. It's win or go home. It's Ramadan Madness. And we have a spirit of competition that the Prophets had, that the Sahaba definitely practiced, and that the Ummah had after them.

The Prophet ﷺ's Desire to Have the Largest Ummah

If we look at the Prophets, the Prophet ﷺ says:

Marry women that are loving and who bear many children, for I will boast of your great numbers before the nations on the Day of Judgment. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 2050; Sunan al-Nasa'i, Hadith 3227)

And there are other hadith that indicate the Prophet ﷺ and Musa ﷺ and others having this spirit of — who has the most followers on the Day of Judgment. The Prophet ﷺ meets Musa ﷺ and Musa ﷺ cries. When asked why, Musa ﷺ says: this young man came so many years after me and he has more followers than me. SubhanAllah.

Ibn Hajar comments on that statement of Musa in Fath al-Bari and he says: no one should think that this is from hasad. That is removed from the righteous among human beings, so far, far less from the Prophets. In fact, what does Musa ﷺ do? When the Prophet ﷺ comes back, Musa says to him, how many prayers did your Lord command you with? Fifty prayers. No, no, go back — your ummah cannot take that. And so Musa ﷺ is giving this incredible, sincere advice to Rasulullah ﷺ and to the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ. This shows you the sincerity of the Prophets.

The Sahaba's Spirit of Competition in Charity

The Sahaba — their competition is well documented. Umar رضي الله عنه is chasing Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr isn't chasing anybody.

As far as I know, there is no scenario where the poor companions ever complained about the rich companions having more wealth, more family, more houses, farms, horses, or businesses — never. The only time they ever complained was when they came to Rasulullah ﷺ and said:

O Messenger of Allah, the wealthy have taken all of the reward. They pray as we pray, they fast as we fast, and they give charity from the surplus of their wealth. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1006)

And so Allah says:

Those who are able to conquer the stinginess of their own soul — those are the ones who will succeed. And as Allah says:

Shaytan promises you poverty. Wealth does not necessarily mean that a person is going to give, but at least you're in a position where you can give. The poor came to the Prophet ﷺ complaining, and the Prophet ﷺ said, don't you have something that you can give too? Every time you say subhanAllah — sadaqah. Every time you say alhamdulillah — sadaqah. Allahu Akbar — sadaqah. La ilaha illallah — sadaqah.

And so the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم went back and they started practicing that. And then the rich found out about that too, and they started doing it as well. And the poor came back again and complained to Rasulullah ﷺ. And the Prophet ﷺ said: that is the fadl of Allah. He gives it to whomever He wishes.

The Story of 'Ulba ibn Zayd: Giving What You Have

Allah says about those who could not find a means to go out in His path:

There are some people who are looking for opportunities to compete. So when 'Ulba ibn Zayd came to the Prophet ﷺ in Tabuk wanting to go out, and the Prophet ﷺ said, لَا أَجِدُ مَا أَحْمِلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ — I can't give you any ride, I'm sorry — this brings us back to the discussion of qiyam al-layl.

So it says in the narration: فَاسْتَيْقَظَ فِي اللَّيْلِ، فَقَامَ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ — he gets up in the middle of the night and he prays. And he says:

O Allah, You commanded us with jihad and made us desire it, and yet You have not given the Prophet ﷺ anything to carry me with, and You have not given me anything I can use to strengthen myself in this path to serve Islam. So then he said:

This is my sadaqah — I forgive everyone who has harmed me, intruded upon me, or trespassed on my rights, in any form of physical or emotional harm they've done to me.

The next morning at Fajr, the Prophet ﷺ said: أَيْنَ الْمُتَصَدِّقُ الْبَارِحَةَ؟ — Who is the biggest donor from last night? Nobody stands up. The Prophet ﷺ repeats it again, and the third time this man stands up. The Prophet ﷺ said: قَدْ قُبِلَتْ صَدَقَتُكَ — Your charity has been accepted. That was accepted. The competitiveness and the nature to wake up at night — that spirit, that competitive nature — that is what it is. This is the season to either make it or break it.

Laylat al-Qadr: A Divine Consolation for the Ummah's Competitive Spirit

Even Laylat al-Qadr was given as a consolation to the feeling of the companions and their competitive spirit. The Prophet ﷺ informed them of a man from the people who lived before us who used to go out in the path of Allah every single day and used to pray qiyam every single night — and he did that for a thousand months.

The Sahaba رضي الله عنهم were not only competing with themselves. They wanted to compete with every people who ever lived. They really wanted to be the greatest of all time. And so they said, Ya Rasulullah, one of us doesn't even live that long. We don't even get a thousand months of adulthood. The Prophet ﷺ says:

The lifespans of my ummah are between sixty and seventy years. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3550)

And so Allah then reveals:

We have brought it down in the Night of Power, and what will let you know what the Night of Power is — the Night of Power is better than the worship of a thousand months. We are an ummah whose lifespans were made short, so we were given seasons of goodness as a means of support. Allah gave us this as a consolation to that spirit of competition that the Sahaba had.

SubhanAllah. That's why we have the night prayer of Laylat al-Qadr. It's that opportunity where we stand up one night of worship. And the idea isn't just one night of worship — it's that through this night of worship we're able to build a habit of praying every single night, connecting with Allah.

The Night Prayer in the Qur'an: Surah al-Muzzammil

Rasulullah ﷺ, from the time he was newly appointed as a messenger of God, was tasked with being the final messenger to humanity. He would meet people, be injured, and be ridiculed. And when he goes to Waraqah ibn Nawfal, Waraqah says, I wish that I was with you when your people expel you. The Prophet ﷺ says, أَمُخْرِجِيَّ هُمْ؟ — Are they going to expel me? This was something unheard of. You were born into a tribe; they would die for you, they would fight beside you. And he's from Quraysh, from Banu Hashim.

And so Rasulullah ﷺ — this message that would create enemies — for it he would need to be strengthened. He would need to go through a training ground. More important than any physical training would be the spiritual training, the strength he would need to bear this responsibility and carry the weight of the message he was entrusted with. And the divine instructions would come to prepare him and train him. And quite simply, he would have to stand the night.

O you who is wrapped in a garment, stand the night except for a little — half of it, or a little less than that, or increase more than that — and recite the Qur'an with a beautiful, measured rhythm. We are going to cast upon you words heavy in their weight.

And so the Prophet ﷺ is being commanded to pray the night so that he would be able to carry these words that are so heavy in their weight. This is really incredible — spiritual strength that needs to be developed. And it becomes even more pronounced when you realize that Surah al-Muzzammil was among the first chapters of the Qur'an to be revealed, being placed as early as the third revelation, after the first five verses of al-'Alaq and al-Qalam.

If you and I were to try to pray half the night, we'd think we'd need a third of the Qur'an memorized — maybe five ajzab at least. But the Prophet ﷺ is being commanded to pray half the night with such little Qur'an. A few chapters. And yet we find, with the few verses that were revealed, the spiritual training is beginning for him. He's repeating these verses again and again and again, and the small band of believers around that time is doing the same.

This regiment of standing in the stillness of the night — powered by paced and measured recitation of the Qur'an — is a necessary ingredient for this journey of da'wah. This journey of sacrifice. This journey of seeking and communicating to people the message of Islam.

The scholars debated the meaning of قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا — weighted words. Some said it is the weight of the legislation and the shari'ah itself. Some said it is the reward of the recitation — the reward is heavy. Some said it is the exhaustion and fatigue of standing in the night after exhausting oneself during the day. But Allah knows best. The first two positions may be stronger, because Allah did not describe the prayer itself as heavy. He described it as:

The prayer is difficult or challenging except for the people of khushu'. For them, the prayer is light. The prayer is a cause of relief, a cause of comfort. The Prophet ﷺ used to say: أَرِحْنَا بِهَا يَا بِلَالُ — O Bilal, give us rest through it.

The Prophet ﷺ's Night Prayer: His Arrival in Medina

So the night prayer is the most beloved prayer to Allah after the five obligatory prayers. When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Medina — after thirteen years in Mecca, having been expelled — he was coming to a believing society that would support him. And his initial address as he entered into Medina:

O people, spread the salam, feed the poor, maintain the ties of kinship, and pray in the night while the people are asleep — you will enter Paradise in peace. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2485; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1334)

Abdullah ibn Salam reported this. And we see qiyam al-layl here being highlighted and showcased as one of the great actions that a person can do.

How the Prophet ﷺ Prayed: The Night of Hudhayfa

The Prophet ﷺ used to say: جُعِلَتْ قُرَّةُ عَيْنِي فِي الصَّلَاةِ — My comfort and delight has been placed in the prayer. And this is what happened with Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman.

Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman prayed next to the Prophet ﷺ and the Prophet ﷺ recited Surah al-Baqarah. Hudhayfa said: I thought he was going to make ruku' at the hundredth verse. A hundred verses of Baqarah — that's long. A hundred verses of Baqarah at the pace of the Prophet ﷺ, and your legs would be shattered and you would be done, and you would tell that story for the rest of your life. But he completed it.

Then the Prophet ﷺ recited Surah an-Nisa'. Hudhayfa still said: I thought he was going to bow down at a hundred — and he completed Surah an-Nisa'. Then he began Aal 'Imran. And he thought he was going to bow at a hundred verses and he completed it. So all of this is in one raka'ah of the Prophet ﷺ — al-Baqarah, an-Nisa', and Aal 'Imran.

The Prophet ﷺ was reciting the Qur'an as Allah commanded him:

And that's why Aisha رضي الله عنها, when asked about the qiyam of the Prophet ﷺ and how many raka'ahs he prayed, she said don't ask about حُسْنِهِنَّ وَطُولِهِنَّ — don't ask about how beautiful they were and how long they were.

And this is also a beautiful reminder for when we're leading Taraweeh in our own families — beautifying your prayer even in the company of your family. Sometimes when we're at the masjid, we might beautify our prayer, but when we're leading our kids in salah, we just hit them with no tajweed, no tarteel, no nothing. You can still recite a short surah, but beautify it.

Aisha رضي الله عنها said: مَا مَرَّ بِآيَةٍ فِيهَا تَخَوُّفٌ إِلَّا اسْتَعَاذَ — Every time he came across a verse of Jahannam, he asked for protection. And every time he came across a verse of mercy, he was soaking in the verses. Whenever he came across a du'a like:

He was enjoying it. It wasn't like he just wanted to get it done. Sometimes we think: I want to get Surah al-Kahf done on Friday, I've got 20 minutes — let me just get it done. No. He was soaking in every single ayah.

And the voluntary prayers allow for more interaction with the Qur'an. When you're praying behind the imam in Taraweeh or Tahajjud, you might catch this now if you're paying attention — when the imam recites a verse speaking about Jannah, you might hear them saying in the microphone: I'm asking You for Jannah. Or reciting a verse about the Hellfire and seeking Allah's protection. This is a way that you interact with the Qur'an.

And that's what Abdullah ibn Mas'ud told us to do. He said: when you recite the Qur'an, stop at its aja'ib — stop at its amazing points, stop at the beauty of the verses and reflect over them. Don't recite it like the reciting of poetry, just speed reading. The Qur'an has the aja'ib — الَّذِي لَا تَنْقَضِي عَجَائِبُهُ — its wonders never cease. Only if we can appreciate the amazing words, the ayat, and the structure — it's something people would just soak in.

Imagine you're driving down the Pacific Coast Highway in California, driving from San Jose to LA, and you only care about getting to LA so you're speeding through — not even looking to the right and seeing this amazing view, not pausing, not slowing down. And we're going through the Qur'an from cover to cover and not pausing anywhere, just trying to get to the end. It's a lost opportunity. Giving yourself the ability to be inspired, pausing, reflecting — there might be one verse that you decide to repeat again and again because it's striking to you, and that becomes more valuable than completing the surah.

Aisha's Most Amazing Moment: A Night with the Prophet ﷺ

Urwah came to Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha رضي الله عنها and said:

O Mother of the Believers, tell me the most amazing thing you witnessed from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

You know, Aisha رضي الله عنها — she's like a computer. She has an archive of unbelievable moments of the Prophet ﷺ. Every moment of Aisha and the Prophet ﷺ was unforgettable. And Aisha رضي الله عنها says: أَيُّ شَيْءٍ لَمْ يَكُنْ عَجَبًا؟ — What wasn't amazing about this great man, the Prophet ﷺ?

And then she says: the Prophet ﷺ — دَخَلَ بَيْتِي ذَاتَ لَيْلٍ — one night he comes into my home, and وَدَخَلَ فِي فِرَاشِي حَتَّى مَسَّ جِلْدُهُ جِلْدِي — he comes into my bed, his skin touches my skin. He was right next to the daughter of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq رضي الله عنهما. And he says: يَا بِنْتَ الصِّدِّيقِ، ذَرِينِي أَتَعَبَّدُ رَبِّي — O daughter of as-Siddiq, allow me to worship my Lord.

And Aisha رضي الله عنها says: there is nothing in the world I want more than the Prophet ﷺ — but I gave away my wish for his wish. And here comes the Prophet ﷺ. You might think it's two minutes, five minutes of salah — he was exhausted from the day, receiving delegations, sending delegations. But:

He stood and performed wudu, then he made takbir and wept, then he bowed and wept, then he prostrated and wept. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1130; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3187)

The Prophet ﷺ stood and cried, went into prostration and cried. He cried the entire salah — until Bilal called the adhan for Fajr.

And so many times Aisha رضي الله عنها would say:

Why do you do this to yourself, O Messenger of Allah? Allah has already forgiven all your sins. And in one narration the Prophet ﷺ said: قَدْ نَزَلَتْ عَلَيَّ اللَّيْلَةَ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ، وَيْلٌ لِمَنْ قَرَأَهَا وَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرْ فِيهَا — This verse was revealed to me tonight. Woe to the person who reads it and does not ponder over it. Of course, the verse is from Surah Aal 'Imran:

That was one night of the Prophet ﷺ — that was his ibadah. And I feel like if people like us, in the month of Ramadan, can build this addiction — just hooked onto Tahajjud, two raka'ahs before sleeping, waking up in the middle of the night — it is such a therapeutic feeling.

Developing the Habit of Qiyam al-Layl

Allah says in the Qur'an:

And those who spend the night in prostration to their Lord in sujood and standing. So Allah is praising them. What's the limit for a person to be included in this category? Ibn Abbas says: whoever prays two raka'ahs after Isha — فَقَدْ بَاتَ لِرَبِّهِ سُجَّدًا وَقِيَامًا — they have spent the night in prostration and standing before their Lord.

So when we're talking about developing habits, let's be realistic and let's be hopeful. We want to get better for sure, but we also recognize: if I don't have a qiyam habit, let me start with two raka'ahs. Let me pray Isha, then pray two raka'ahs. And Allah's bounty is great.

And the Prophet ﷺ in another hadith says: whoever recites ten verses in the night, they will not be written from al-ghafilin — the people of heedlessness. Ten verses — you're talking about Surah ad-Duha, al-'Adiyat, the middle chapters of Juz 'Amma.

And then the Prophet ﷺ says: whoever recites a hundred verses, they are written from al-qanitin — those in devout worship to Allah. And then the Prophet ﷺ says: whoever recites a thousand verses — that's like two ajza', Juz 'Amma and Juz Tabarak — a qintar of reward is written for them. A qintar is like a mountain of good deeds.

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 1398; authenticated by al-Albani)

And you can even be smart and figure out which surahs have a lot of verses — like Surah as-Saffat, for example, which isn't that long but has 182 verses. Try to incorporate surahs with many verses. The virtues are incredible, and you can get so much out of just two or four raka'ahs, developing a habit.

Abdullah ibn Abbas on Long Recitation vs. Long Sujood

Abdullah ibn Abbas was asked: what's better in qiyam al-layl — to stand for a long time in recitation, or to make sujood for a long time? He said: everyone is the shepherd of themselves. Meaning, you know best in that moment what spiritual nourishment you need to graze yourself with. There will be some nights where you're in the zone and you feel the recitation — that's where you find your iman and your presence of mind. And there will be some nights where that's not there, so you go into sujood and you have a lot to make du'a for. Change it up. That variety and flexibility is there for you depending on how you feel in that particular moment.

Qiyam al-Layl Repels Illness

Qiyam al-layl repels illness. The Prophet ﷺ said:

Hold fast to the night prayer, for it is the practice of the righteous before you. The night prayer is a means of nearness to Allah, a means of prevention from sin, an expiation for bad deeds, and a barrier for the body against disease. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3549 — the last portion regarding illness has been classified as weak by some scholars)

The last line — a barrier of the body against disease — has been classified as weak by some scholars, but the meaning is undoubtedly sound. In a time where we're in quarantine and everybody is more sedentary than ever before, inactivity can lead to so many health problems. Increasing one's standing in a day can have very positive long-term effects — there's a lot of research on this. If a person is developing a habit where they're standing for 15, 20, 25, or 30 minutes a day, it's very clear how it can be a cause of prevention from disease. And Allah knows best.

Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir: A Night of Ibadah and Serving One's Mother

Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir said: one night my brother spent the night in qiyam al-layl, and I spent the night massaging the feet of my mother. And I would not trade my night for his.

SubhanAllah. And so always be cognizant — our family members are not going to be with us forever. Anytime that you have the chance to sit with them and benefit from them, especially if you don't live near them, that is something we value very much. May Allah bless us all with our families and have mercy on those who have passed away.

Closing Poem: He Stands

A spoken word poem on the night prayer by Shaykh Ammar Shukri:

He stands.
He stands because he must.
He stands with two hands clasped over his heart
lest it bust or burst
with a variety of emotions —
calm, fear, courage,
the need to fulfill his trust.
It weighs on his shoulders,
so he stands,
his feet sinking in the carpet
in a small room
in a seemingly smaller apartment,
enveloped by the darkness.
But his eyes are familiar with the night,
so he sees the dancing of the shadows clearly,
and he recites verses he loves dearly:

Entire nations on his mind —
they will not be harmed, not from his side.

And so he stands
as he has stood
five times a day at the same post,
and in the middle of the night at the same post,
with his hands by his sides.
He calls out, pleading for their assistance,
because he believes in angels
and knows that they arrive in an instant.

And so he raises his hands —
he is without arms, so he raises his hands by his sides —
and he begins the conversation.
Again and again he confides.
Again and again he cries:

Entire nations on his mind —
they will not be harmed, not from his side.

And he falls.
He falls so that a nation can rise.
He falls, facilitating a tyrant's demise,
into the sweetness of prostration, he falls,
begging forgiveness for any transgression
that would impede the journey of the arrows
that he is sending
from his window to their target,
from his small room
in a seemingly smaller apartment,
enveloped by the darkness.
Enveloped by the darkness.

SubhanAllah. JazakAllah khair to Shaykh Ammar Shukri. May Allah reward him, bless him, bless his mother, and bless his family. May Allah accept from all of us in these last blessed nights of Ramadan. May we all walk together on the path of the straight — الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ — and inshaAllah one day, عَلَى سُرُرٍ مُّتَقَابِلِينَ يَا رَبّ.