There is nothing that connects a person to Allah
like that time, because Allah Subhanahu Ta'ala mentions
that He descends at that time in a way that befits Him.
A person has not told the truth;
They have lied when they claim to love Me.
But when the night comes, he sleeps on My appointment.
He sleeps when I come down to meet him,
when I'm ready to listen to that person, ready to listen to him or her.
And you say, you love Allah (swt). Allah says,
Isn't it that every lover spends some time with their lover?
And he says, Here I am looking out to my servants.
When the night comes, looking out to my lovers, those that love Allah (swt).
And He says, and tomorrow,
when they come to Me, then I will satisfy their eyes.
I will cool their eyes. I will fill their hearts with my Jannah / Paradise;
Those same people that I love.
You want to be from those who really Allah (swt),
that's that only time.
No distractions, 15 minutes, ten minutes. Something small.
And the greatest thing you can ask.
If a person tastes the sweetness of certain voluntary deeds,
not only can it help them be more consistent with the obligatory deeds,
it can help revive the spirit of those obligatory deeds.
In fact, which is what Ayesha (Ra) said about Surah Al-Muzzammil,
If you read Surah Al-Muzzammil, the third revelation to the Prophet (Pbuh),
it is a page and a half.
The second half is one Ayah, is one Ayah and Ayesha (Ra) says
that Allah withheld the second part of Al-Muzzammil for an entire year from us.
Meaning what?
When Allah first revealed to us?
Allah (swt) revealed to the Prophet (pbuh),
to the ummah by extension, to stand up and pray at night,
to stand up and pray a significant portion
of the night and to recite a significant portion of what was revealed.
Ayesha (Ra) has said for a year,
the obligation upon us was Qiyamullaill, meaning Qiyamullail,
The night prayer was an obligation on the Ummah for an entire year
before the obligation of the five prayers came later on.
Similar to how we have a ... some days that were obligatory for fasting,
but when Ramadan came, they became voluntary,
like the fasting of Arafah and Ashurah and other days like them.
Okay. So with the prayer of Qiyamullaill,
she says that for a whole year and this was the most difficult time
in the life of the Prophet (pbuh) and by the Ummah who was facing persecution
and had no community, which is one of the wisdoms that the scholars mentioned.
They didn't have a community to gather.
They had no masjid..
They had Darul Arqam to sneak into and to study and to do what they could.
But everyone really had to pray by themselves
for a whole year, she said, we all prayed until our feet would swell.
And then Allah (swt)
revealed the second part of it, which rendered the night prayer voluntary.
But the Prophet (pbuh) maintained the habits,
meaning the Prophet (pbuh) still would pray until his feet would swell.
And of course, many of the companions would maintain that habit.
And there was a wisdom to that that when you are struggling,
this practice is not just a means of giving you great
perspective and great connection to your Lord
but it also provides a unique level of relief, of hem, of stress and anxiety.
And that's something that's very unique about this particular habit.
This particular good deed.
When you read about it,
the way that the Companions and the Salafs and the pious predecessors
speak about this act in particular, as being one that removes stress.
You stand up at night, you have a direct connection to your Lord.
It's quiet. You don't have a meeting coming up, right?
You can create the scene, set the scene.
The kids are most likely sleeping.
They should be sleeping at that time.
It's just you and Allah.
The rules of Qiyamullail are not as rigid, and I don't say that in a negative way.
With the mandatory prayers, there are certain things you can and can't do.
But with the Qiyam, you can spend the whole night with one or two ayats
you can allocate certain times to your prostration, certain times to your standing up.
It's a moment of joy.
And when the scholars spoke about it, that's what they say.
It's very interesting because just like with fasting,
you always start reading about these studies
to try to make you feel better about your faith
and you don't need to, right, the benefits of fasting.
It just it feels good, right?
when you hear about the physical benefits and things of that sort as well.
Basically, these studies confirming
what you already have been acting upon because it was prescribed by your Lord.
And so you read these studies about mindfulness meditation;
20 minutes a day,
25 minutes a day.
But don't do it all at one time
because you need to break up your mindfulness meditation throughout the day
because it will reset the cycle for you and get you back to where you need to be
and put between those breaks, those meditation breaks,
everything in perspective, and it will improve the quality of your sleep.
And if you improve the quality of your sleep,
then you're energized during the day.
.... like these people just need Salah.
They just need prayer.
We have something prescribed to us that is so beautiful.
That doesn't mean that times of Dua..
and dihkr and introspection are not good as well.
But Salah really offers that vehicle
and improves the quality of a person's day and a person's night.
And when you think about the unique stress relief.
Abu suleiman.. (Rah),
he said, people spend the entire night binge watching movies or
hanging out.
And there are ways to spend time as well, Right?
But there is a certain relaxation.
I need some relief tonight.
So I'm going to spend some time and
I'm going to just kill some time and feel good.
And sometimes if it's halal, it's good for you.
But what he was saying is
that people who have established this night prayer, even if it's a small portion
that they are in more joy than the people of lahu / fun with their lahu,
Now we're not even talking about people of sin, right?
That's a whole nother level.
And he said as if I could see my heart
laughing when a person enjoys that night of prayer.
That had it not been for Qiyamullail,
I really wouldn't see any use in living in this life.
I don't think about anything in life as giving me as much joy as I do; Qiyamullail.
Thabit al bunani (Ra),
He used to say, I have not found anything in my life
that is just sweeter, gives more pleasure.
That's how they're speaking about it than Qiyamullail.
Al-Fudayl (Rah),
He said that I love the night prayer or I love the night because that's when I
get to meet my Lord, that's when I get to spend time with Allah.
And we were talking about the last few weeks,
how people can be exhausting, he said, in the daytime,
I'm not so crazy about because I have to meet the creation of Allah,
dealing with the Lord at night, dealing with people during the day,
there is a peace and a tranquility that comes from that.
That makes what comes throughout the day more bearable.
And that joy is freshening, that joy is replenishing, that joy is meaningful.
People are searching for it here and there,
and it's in those few moments at night.
And I'm going to get to this at the end.
But that doesn't mean praying all night.
That means those few moments.
That 10/ 15 minutes.
That 20 minutes of recalibrating every single night
at some point in the night between you and Allah (swt).
Imam Hasan al-Basri (Ra) said,
how come the people that sleep
the least at night have the freshest faces during the day?
It's as if they're energized.
Subhanallah, he said,
because they spent the night in seclusion with the most Merciful.
So Allah dressed them with His light.
Saeed ibn al-musayyib (Ra),
He said that a person spends the night praying to Allah
in seclusion with their Lord.
And so Allah Subhanawa gives them nur gives them light, gives them something
that would connect them with every single Muslim.
To the point when you talk about...
when we love each other for Allah, you see a brother.
You see someone in the masjid, brother seeing brother, sister, seeing sister,
and right away you love that person for Allah (swt).
So you know, there's a Sakina.
There's a tranquillity that is coming from that person.
A person would see that person for the first time.
He would say, you know, I really love that man for Allah (swt).
I don't know that person, but I love them for Allah.
Something is being emitted from that person,
and that is the time that they're spending with their Lord at night.
One of the things that the scholars also
mentioned particularly about this is that during the day,
the challenge of Salah is that you're thinking about what comes next,
the greatest distraction;
And that's how you treat the nafs that you learn what it is that ails it.
Most people get distracted in their prayers, as Ibn Qayyim (Rah) said
by the appointments of what comes next.
So you're in Salah, but you're planning your next step, your next.
I got to go do this at 04:00, 05:00.
You're going here, you're going there.
Your mind is racing ahead of the Salah.
Most people, that's what catches them and distracts them.
And you indeed have appointments.
You might have to squeeze in your prayer time.
Some of you right now are still at work thinking about your next thing.
It's natural, right?
That's your struggle.
But Subhanallah, what they say about Qiyamullail is that it's a gift from Allah (swt),
because you're not missing appointments.
You're not distracted by this immediate need that you have next.
It's at the quietest time of your existence.
And the only thing that you're giving up is sleep.
There's a very beautiful
example that was given the Tabi'in (the Follower) by the name of Shurayh b. Han (rah),
He likened it to physical exercise.
When you physically exercise initially there is an exhaustion of the body.
But then you realize that you're
exhausting the body for the sake of what the body.
You're exhausting the body for the sake of the body.
And so he said, when you give up sleep, you realize at some point
that your sleep is actually filled with more blessing has more baraka in it.
That 15 minutes or 20 minutes that
you compromise is not going to make you a groggy person throughout the day.
It's not going to mess things up for you.
The sleep has more blessing in it.
And what you gain from that time in Qiyamullail
makes the sleep the easiest thing to give up in this Dunya.
You're not giving up appointments. You're not thinking about;
I got this in ten minutes.
Hopefully you're not checking whatsapp
at 03:00 A.m. Or whatever it is at 04:00 A.m..
You have time, you can pause, you can focus.
It's quiet.
And the day has not yet started.
And that's wisdom from Allah (swt),
So whether it's in the beginning of the night,
when other people are going to sleep or the end of the night,
when most people are still asleep, you can dedicate.
And allocate that time.
And this is where we find this idea
of what it means to have closeness to Allah.
The brothers and sisters aim high; if you seek to be an average Muslim,
and that's why I despise it when people self label.
Say, I'm a nonpracticing Muslim.
You've basically sealed your Salah.
I'm a nonpracticing Muslim. That's what it means;
I don't pray five times a day. Aim high.
If you seek to be an average Muslim,
you're going to be a very deficient Muslim.
If you seek to be a person of Taqwa / Piety ,
then maybe you'll fall short and you'll sin sometimes.
But if seek to be a person of excellence,
There's one way there, and that's a personal connection with Allah.
Ihsan does not come except through personalizing that connection with Allah (swt).
And that's where you find the salafs say /
the pious predecessors say nothing establishes that connection like Qiyam.
It's too busy throughout the day, too much going on.
There is nothing that connects a person
to Allah like that time because Allah (swt) mentions
that He descends at that time in a way that befits Him (swt),
He's calling out to you
and He's saying, who wants to come close to Me?
Who has an appointment?
Allah has all the time for you.
Allah does not take slots.
It's not restricted for some religious people somewhere in the world, no.
The broken, the sinner, the righteous, the person who's trying to be righteous;
Everyone calling upon Allah that time of the night.
That's your time to get close to Allah (swt).
And Hassan (Ra),
He said, There is nothing. There is nothing.
He said to a person who asked him, what is it that brings a person closest to Allah?
He said, Nothing brings you closer to Allah than Qiyamullail.
Al-Fudayl (Rah), He also one time
he grabbed the shoulder of a man and he said to him,
Allah, Subhanawa Ta'ala comes down every single night to the lowest heaven
until the Lord says a person has not told the truth.
They have lied when they claim to love Me.
But when the night comes,
he sleeps on My appointment.
He sleeps when I come down to meet him, when I speak,
when I'm ready to listen to that person, ready to listen to Him or her.
And you say you love Allah (swt).
Allah says, Isn't it that every lover spends some time with their lover?
And he says, Here I am looking out to my servants when the night comes,
looking out to my lovers, those that love Allah (swt)
And He says, and tomorrow, when they come to me, then I will satisfy their eyes.
I will cool their eyes. I will fill their hearts with my jannah / paradise.
Those same people that I love.
You want to be from those who really love Allah (swt),
that's that only time.
No distractions, 15 minutes, ten minutes, something small.
And the greatest thing you can ask at that time is forgiveness.
That's the greatest thing. What am I going to ask Allah?
forgiveness.
The greatest Causer of stress is your sins,
because that's what puts the barrier between you and Allah.
And that's why that idea is always at the forefront of any discussion on Tahajjud.
Any discussion on the night prayer, from the Quran and from the Sunnah,
in those last moments of the night, they're seeking forgiveness from Allah.
The last ten nights of Ramadan Allah,
you're asking Allah for forgiveness.
Is there anyone that's seeking forgiveness so that I can forgive that person,
As Allah (swt) says to the Angels
as He sees that slave of his standing up at night.
Go see what he's asking.
Go see what she is asking me for.
Oh, my Lord, they're asking for Your pleasure and for Your forgiveness.
Allah says to the Angels, bear witness, O my Angels,
that I have, indeed, been become pleased with that person and forgiven that person.
That's your time to get close to Allah
and ask Allah for sins that sin that's wearing you down.
That sin that's bearing on your conscience.
It's sins that prevents qiyam.
And it's qiyam that prevents sin.
So you've got to take that first step of walking away from that sin.
And that step forward is going to be at the night prayer.
And that's where you say to Allah (swt), Ya Allah, I'm sorry
when everything's quiet when it's just me and you.
I'm sorry, Allah and I'm seeking Your forgiveness.
Don't belittle the small amounts of qiyam.
Beginning of the night,
end of the night, middle of the night, two units...
surah Ikhlas... surah Nas
don't belittle. It matters.
And that's why the Prophet said
in the authentic Hadith, whoever stands up and just reads ten ayats.
Ten verses
will not be written as a person of heedlessness,
heedlessness means you have a barrier.
You don't perceive God properly.
You don't understand your purpose properly.
If you're standing up and praying just with ten verses,
reading two short surahs,
and whoever stands up and recites 100 ayats, then they are written
from the exceedingly devout, the pious, and whoever stands up and recites 1000 verses,
which by the way, if you want to do it once in your lifetime,
the last two juzs of the Quran is 1000 verses.
Then they will be written amongst those who are piling up good deeds,
who have gone far ahead of everybody else with their good deeds.
Sometimes it takes that example.
Sometimes it takes reminding yourself
that the small thing counts while you're aiming to get better
while you're aiming for the bigger thing so that you don't think of Qiyamullail
as some sort of habit that's just reserved for this exclusive group of people.
No, it's not.
It's for the Muslims.
It's for those who want to stand up and pray,
those who want to enjoy that connection with Allah
seeking first and foremost His pleasure and His forgiveness.
And that's why Ibn Omar (ra),
in a narration from Abu Galib,
he says that Abdullah ibn Umar (Ra) used to come upon us in Mecca.
He used to pray at night, long prayers in the night.
But one night he said to me right
when fajr was about to come in said, Once you stand up and pray,
even if you're going to read just a third of the Quran,
what do you mean a third of the Quran?
Fajr is almost around the corner.
So I said to him....
Fajr is right around the corner. What do you mean?
How am I going to read a third of the Quran?
That's maybe something that you guys do.
We don't do a third of the Quran.
So he responded, surah Ikhlas
Surah Ikhlas is equal to one third of the Quran,
who would not want to meet Allah (swt),
saying, Every night I used to read a third of the Quran right before Fajr.
So dear brothers and sisters,
I know it seems like a distant habit, one for the exceedingly pious,
but it's a way to Allah (swt)
that cannot be replaced by any other way.
And Inshallah ta'ala those who are
struggling with their five prayers to pray them on time.
This will only help it with help of Allah, it's not in place of it.
It's a means of connecting yourself to the Lord that you call upon day and night.
We call upon Him for forgiveness and for Salvation.