Surah As-Sajda (32) — Ayah 16

(Ayah 16) ➊ {تَتَجَافٰى جُنُوْبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ …:} That is, for the sake of prayer and remembrance of Allah, they leave their comfortable beds and sweet sleep. Its highest level is Tahajjud, as Allah Almighty has said: «اِنَّ الْمُتَّقِيْنَ فِيْ جَنّٰتٍ وَّ عُيُوْنٍ (15) اٰخِذِيْنَ مَاۤ اٰتٰىهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ اِنَّهُمْ كَانُوْا قَبْلَ ذٰلِكَ مُحْسِنِيْنَ (16) كَانُوْا قَلِيْلًا مِّنَ الَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُوْنَ (17) وَ بِالْاَسْحَارِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُوْنَ» [ الذاریات : ۱۵ تا ۱۸ ] "Indeed, the righteous will be among gardens and springs, receiving what their Lord has given them. Indeed, they were doers of good before that. They used to sleep but little of the night. And in the hours before dawn, they would seek forgiveness." In addition, there are many verses and hadiths regarding the virtue of standing in prayer at night, and in praise of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
{يَبِيْتُ يُجَافِيْ جَنْبَهُ عَنْ فِرَاشِهِ ¤ إِذَا اسْتَثْقَلَتْ بِالْمُشْرِكِيْنَ الْمَضَاجِعُ}
"He spends the night in such a state that he keeps his side away from his bed, while the beds of the polytheists weigh heavily upon them." [ بخاري، التھجد، باب فضل من تعار من اللیل فصلّی : ۱۱۵۵ ]
But here is a question: when it is said that only those people who possess these qualities believe in Our verses, does it mean that a person who does not pray Tahajjud does not believe in the verses of Allah Almighty? The answer is that indeed, the highest rank of faith is for those who, in addition to the obligatory prayers, are diligent in the voluntary night prayer, but this is a special grace of Allah Almighty that a person who does not sleep after Maghrib while waiting for Isha, but performs Isha in congregation, then at Fajr time leaves his comfortable bed and sweet sleep to perform prayer in congregation, he too is not deprived of this virtue. Because his side also left the bed for the sake of prayer, and even if he slept, he slept in its anticipation. Abdur Rahman bin Abi Amrah says that Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) entered the mosque after Maghrib prayer and sat alone. I sat with him, and he said, "Nephew! I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: [ مَنْ صَلَّی الْعِشَاءَ فِيْ جَمَاعَةٍ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَامَ نِصْفَ اللَّيْلِ وَمَنْ صَلَّی الصُّبْحَ فِيْ جَمَاعَةٍ فَكَأَنَّمَا صَلَّی اللَّيْلَ كُلَّهُ ] [مسلم، المساجد و مواضع الصلاۃ، باب فضل صلاۃ العشاء و الصبح في جماعۃ : ۶۵۶ ] 'Whoever prays Isha in congregation, it is as if he has stood in prayer for half the night, and whoever prays Fajr in congregation, it is as if he has stood in prayer for the whole night.'" Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), regarding the verse under commentary: «{ تَتَجَافٰى جُنُوْبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ }», says: [ نَزَلَتْ فِي انْتِظَارِ هٰذِهِ الصَّلَاةِ الَّتِيْ تُدْعَی الْعَتَمَةَ ] [ ترمذي، تفسیر القرآن، باب و من سورۃ السجدۃ : ۳۱۹۶، و صححہ الألباني ] "This verse was revealed about the prayer which is called Atamah (Isha)." And Abu Barzah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: [ أَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ كَانَ يَكْرَهُ النَّوْمَ قَبْلَ الْعِشَاءِ وَالْحَدِيْثَ بَعْدَهَا ] [ بخاري، مواقیت الصلاۃ، باب ما یکرہ من النوم قبل العشاء : ۵۶۸ ] "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked sleeping before Isha and talking after it."

➋ { يَدْعُوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَّ طَمَعًا :} That is, they call upon their Lord with fear of His grasp and hope for His mercy. They fear that their deeds may be rejected and also hope that they will attain the honor of acceptance. (See Al-Mu’minun: 57–61) Neither undue hope, which makes one inactive or evil-doing, nor so much fear that it leads to despair of Allah’s mercy and brings a person to disbelief. From this, it is clear that what some Sufis have said: "My heart desires to extinguish Hell and burn Paradise, so that people worship Allah not out of fear or greed, but solely for His pleasure." And some have said: "I wish that my Lord becomes pleased with me, then whether He sends me to Paradise or throws me into Hell." These are futile statements, because Allah Almighty has described the quality of His believing servants as those who call upon their Lord with fear and hope. Moreover, it is ignorance on the part of these people to separate Allah’s pleasure from Paradise and Hell, whereas Paradise will be given to the one with whom He is pleased, and Hell will be the abode of the one with whom He is angry. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a man: [ كَيْفَ تَقُوْلُ فِي الصَّلاَةِ؟ ] "What do you say in prayer?" He said: [ أَ تَشَهَّدُ وَ أَقُوْلُ، أَللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّيْ أَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَ أَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ، أَمَا إِنِّيْ لَا أُحْسِنُ دَنْدَنَتَكَ وَلَا دَنْدَنَةَ مُعَاذٍ ] "I recite the Tashahhud and say: O Allah! I ask You for Paradise and seek refuge with You from the Fire. Yes! I cannot murmur as eloquently as you or as Mu’adh does." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ حَوْلَهَا نُدَنْدِنُ ] [ أبوداوٗد، الصلاۃ، باب تخفیف الصلاۃ : ۷۹۲، و صححہ الألباني ] "We too are murmuring about the same." So when all the striving of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions is to be saved from Hell and to attain Paradise, then who can desire Allah’s pleasure more than them? One of our poets has said:
O preacher, the goal is attained by complete renunciation.
If you have left the world, then leave the Hereafter as well.
This is not a trade, it is the worship of Allah.
O ignorant one, even abandon the desire for reward.
So this is the result of being influenced by that Sufism whose teachings are fundamentally against Islam itself. Islam has taught to say {’’ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَّ فِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَّقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ‘‘}. Muslims abandoned jihad and handed the world over to the disbelievers and became content with slavery, then indulged in luxury and lost the Hereafter as well, and some poor souls, like monks, left the world to please their Lord, chanting "Hu, Haqq" in monasteries, forests, and huts, while the onslaught of disbelief continued to subjugate Islam and Muslims. [ إِنَّا لِلّٰہِ وَ إِنَّا إِلَیْہِ رَاجِعُوْنَ ]

➌ { وَ مِمَّا رَزَقْنٰهُمْ يُنْفِقُوْنَ :} For its explanation, see the commentary of Surah Al-Baqarah, verse (3).

16-1. That is, they rise at night to perform Nawafil (Tahajjud), engage in repentance and seeking forgiveness, glorification and praise, and supplication with earnestness and humility.

16-2. That is, they also hope for His mercy and grace and favor, and at the same time, they fear His wrath, anger, accountability, and punishment. They do not merely rely on hope to the extent that they become heedless of actions, as is the habit of those who are inactive or act badly, nor do they let the fear of punishment overwhelm them to the point of despairing of Allah’s mercy, for such despair is also disbelief and misguidance.

16-3. That is, in spending, both obligatory charity (زکوٰۃ) and general charity and alms are included; the believers take care of both according to their ability.

16. Their sides forsake their beds [18]; they call upon their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend from what We have provided them [19].

[18]
The Command to Maintain Good Expectations of Allah Despite Fearing Him:

This does not mean that they do not sleep at all during the night. Rather, it is that just as worldly people work hard all day and then spend the night in enjoyment, organizing gatherings of dance and music, indulging in drinking, heading to cinemas and clubs, or at the very least, entertaining themselves with television—servants of Allah, on the contrary, spend their time in the remembrance of Allah. This is their recreation. They stand in worship of Allah during the nights, and the amount of time that worldly people spend in disobedience to Allah, the servants of Allah spend in His obedience and worship. They call upon Allah out of fear of the punishment of Hell and hope for Paradise, or they worship Allah hoping for His mercy and kindness. Yet, at the same time, they remain fearful that there may be some shortcoming in their actions, and that their deeds may not be accepted by Allah. However, the aspect of having good expectations of Allah or hope in His mercy and kindness always prevails in them, and this aspect remains dominant throughout their lives. As the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "None of you should die except while having good expectations of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic." [مسلم۔ کتاب الجنۃ۔ باب الامر بحسن الظن باللہ تعالیٰ عند الموت]

Although it appears from this verse that what is meant by staying away from beds and calling upon Allah is the Tahajjud prayer, which is mentioned with great virtue in the hadiths, some scholars have interpreted it as referring to the Fajr prayer, some to the Isha prayer, and some to the voluntary prayers between Maghrib and Isha. However, the preferred opinion seems to be the one mentioned first.

[19]
It is Necessary for Poor and Destitute People to Give Charity as Well:

This refers only to lawful wealth, because Allah Almighty has never attributed unlawful wealth to Himself, nor does He accept charity from such wealth. Spending here does not mean spending on luxuries, but rather spending in lawful ways, whether it is on oneself, on one's family, on fulfilling the needs and necessities of relatives and other needy people. And if one does not have the means to spend on others from lawful wealth, one must still avoid unlawful earnings, be content with what one has, and be grateful to Allah. And from that, even if it is very little, one must spend something, because the poor also need purification of the soul. Their hearts too must be cleansed from the disease of miserliness. That is why the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Protect yourselves from the Fire, even if it is with half a date." [بخاری۔ کتاب الزکوٰۃ۔ باب اتقو النار و لو بشق تمرۃ]