Quran and Sunnah

Good Sleep, Good Health, and Tahajjud: Sh. Yaser Birjas

Published

December 21, 2011

Our very own Shaykh Yaser Birjas posted a short video, which we at MM thought was a reminder important enough to share.

The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said,
“The best ṣalāh after the obligatory/farḍ ṣalāh is the qiyām’l-layl.“

“Good Sleep, Good Health, and Tahajjud” In 3 Minutes!! By Shaykh Yaser Birjas

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_Am2R38dpc[/youtube]

But we might be thinking, “Who am I to make qiyām’l-layl? I haven’t memorized nearly enough to do that on my own!”

I took Fiqh of Salah in SoCal with Shaykh Yaser Birjas last year, and a convert asked the question, “How can I make qiyām’l-layl when I only know one or two sūrahs?” His response was, “Stand there and read ‘Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad’ 50 times in one rak‘ah if you have to.”

We shouldn’t let the amount of Qurʾān we’ve memorized keep us from making tahajjud /qiyām’l-layl / night prayer. The important thing to remember is that with making qiyām, we are supposed to stand for a long time and recite whatever we know, even if it’s just a few sūrahs on repeat. Imagine how much Allāh would love for us to be so excited to make qiyām and to stand there in front of Him, even if it means that we just end up reading that sūrah (or any other sūrah) over and over again!!

Bilāl (raḍyAllāhu ‘anhu) was asked by one of the ṣaḥābi, “When you were being tortured, why did you keep saying ‘aḥadun, aḥadun (one, one)’?” He responded by saying, “If I had known anything else at the time, I would have said it.“

Bilāl (raḍyAllāhu ‘anhu) was one of the greatest companions of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and one of the men who left behind one of his own practices in ṣalāh that earned him a special place in Jannah and one that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) himself asked him about and accepted into his own Prophetic Sunnah that we still follow today (making 2 rak‘ah ṣalāh every time after making wuḍū’.)

If Bilāl (raḍyAllāhu ‘anhu) had to put to use what little he had at the beginnings of his growth in Islam, who are we to feel too insignificant or not good enough or not qualified enough and not use what we’ve got? And who are we to not continue to keep growing, to not want to grow into the kind of Muslim that Bilāl (raḍyAllāhu ‘anhu) was?

Don’t forget! Short days. Long nights. We all have something to pray for.

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Sh. Yaser Birjas

Sh. Yaser Birjas is originally from Palestine. He received his Bachelors degree from Islamic University of Madinah in 1996 in Fiqh & Usool, graduating as the class valedictorian. After graduating, he went on to work as a youth counselor and relief program aide in war-torn Bosnia. Thereafter, he immigrated to the U.S. and currently resides in Dallas, Texas. He is also an instructor at AlMaghrib Institute, where he teaches popular seminars such as Fiqh of Love, The Code Evolved, and Heavenly Hues. He is currently serving as an Imam at Valley Ranch Islamic Center, Irving, Texas. Sh. Yaser continues to enhance his knowledge in various arenas and most recently obtained a Masters of Adult Education and Training from the University of Phoenix, Class of 2013. In addition to his responsibilities as an Imam, Sh. Yaser is a father of four children, he’s an instructor at AlMaghrib Institute, and a national speaker appearing at many conventions and conferences around the country. He is very popular for his classes and workshops covering a wide range of topics related to the youth, marriage, parenting and family life among other social matters related to the Muslim community. His counseling services, in office and online, include providing pre-marital training, marriage coaching and conflict resolution for Muslims living in the West.

11 Comments

Pingback: Good Sleep, Good Health, and Tahajjud: Sh. Yaser Birjas | Health
Fezz

December 21, 2011 at 4:36 AM

Considering this, how many hours of sleep should we aim to obtain in general?

Reply
- amatullah
  
  December 21, 2011 at 3:36 PM
  
  Assalamualaykum warahmatullai wabarakatuh
  
  JazakAllah Khayr for this important reminder Sister Meena! Many of us feel like we can’t pray tahajjud without memorizing long surahs. SubhanAllah, it’s such a mercy from Allah azza wa jal that we can repeat the shortest of surahs.
  
  My tafsir teacher said that we shouldn’t calculate how many hours we should sleep. Rather we should sleep according to how much our body requires to function well. There are some people who can do everything by just having 4 hours of sleep while there are others who need 8 or 9 hours of sleep.
  
  And taking a nap is something highly recommended according to the sunnah and also according to some recent research (no doubt whatever is recommended by AllahSwt and His Messenger (PBUH) is beneficial indeed!)
  
  So you have to find out how much sleep you require. A doctor once told that getting sleep between 9pm and 3am is the best for the body.
  
  And Allah Knows best.
  
  Reply
Hira Amin

December 21, 2011 at 5:19 AM

Excellent reminder alhamdolilah

Reply
talwar

December 21, 2011 at 7:44 AM

It is often the case that mosques inadvertently discourage Tahajjud (and nafil fasting) by routinely delaying the Fajr salah till its final time. If one gets up for Tahajjud and then Fajr comes in, he is forced to wait another 40mins to over an hour to catch the jama’.

Tahjjaud is challenging as it is, we do not need mosques putting more barriers!

Reply
- anon
  
  August 25, 2012 at 4:43 AM
  
  but someone else could say that they want the prayer jamaat to be later so it is easier for the people to make it to the prayer, i think that’s why they make it later
  
  Reply
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Abu Ibrahim Ismail

December 22, 2011 at 3:28 PM

Alhamdulillah, this was good advice.

Making Tahajjud is really not all that difficult. The difficulty comes in doing it regularly.

We’ve all heard the same advice: “It’s better to make two rakaats in Tahajjud consistently, than to make 40 rakaats in one night and never go back again.”

It’s important that we try to do whatever little we can every night (to the best of our abilities). Perhaps one reason many Muslims are hesitant to take on this sunnah is that they’re afraid they’re going to quit after a few nights.

This fear is from the Shaytan. It’s better to try and fail then never try at all.

Furthermore, this is one of the most sincere acts of worship we can do. It’s very hard to “show-off” your tahajjud since it’s usually just you and the darkness.

Reply
muhammad Ameenah

December 27, 2011 at 12:10 AM

tahajjud is made easy wen u take a nap in d day time,and also go to bed early at night.

Reply
Zia-e-Taiba

October 31, 2016 at 8:05 AM

Everybody should read the article OnceA unique way of sleeping of Ala Hazrat

Reply
doa sebelum tidur

November 28, 2017 at 1:47 AM

Subhaanallah, thank you for this article, tahajjud naafilatan lak ..

Reply