Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 79

79. And during the night, perform Tahajjud (the night prayer) [98]—an additional (prayer) for you [99]. It may be that your Lord will raise you to a praised station [100].

[98]
The Rak‘ahs of Tahajjud Prayer:

The literal meaning of Tahajjud is simply to wake up during the night after having slept once, and in the Shari‘ah, it refers to the prayer that is performed after sleeping at night, in any part of the night after half the night has passed, but before the break of dawn. For the number of rak‘ahs and the time of this prayer, consider the following ahadith:
1. Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Abbas ؓ says that one night I stayed at the house of my maternal aunt, Umm al-Mu’minin Maymunah (bint Harith). I lay down across the width of the bed, and the Prophet ﷺ and his wife lay lengthwise. The Prophet ﷺ rested for a while, and around half the night, he ﷺ got up, sat and rubbed his eyes, then performed ablution thoroughly and began to pray. I also got up, performed ablution, and stood on his ﷺ left side. The Prophet ﷺ placed his right hand on my head and took hold of my right ear, moving me (from behind) to his right side. The Prophet ﷺ prayed two rak‘ahs, then two, then two, then two, then two, and then two (a total of twelve rak‘ahs), then prayed witr, then lay down until the mu’adhdhin came to him ﷺ. Then the Prophet ﷺ prayed two light rak‘ahs, then went out and led the morning prayer. [بخاری، کتاب الوضوء باب قراءۃ القرآن نیز کتاب العلم۔ باب السمر بالعلم]
2. Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar ؓ says that a man asked the Prophet ﷺ about the night (tahajjud) prayer. The Prophet ﷺ said: Pray two rak‘ahs at a time. Then when someone fears that dawn is near, let him pray one rak‘ah, which will make all the prayer odd-numbered. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar ؓ used to say that the Prophet ﷺ commanded that witr should be prayed at the end of the night prayer. [بخاری، کتاب الصلوٰۃ۔ باب الحلق والجلوس فی المسجد]
[99] That is, the tahajjud prayer remained obligatory upon the Prophet ﷺ for his entire life. Before the event of Mi‘raj and the obligation of the five daily prayers, the tahajjud prayer was obligatory upon the Muslims, as is clarified in the first section of Surah al-Muzzammil. Then, when the five daily prayers were made obligatory, tahajjud was no longer obligatory for the general Muslims, as is clear from the second section of Surah al-Muzzammil: ﴿فَاقْرَءُوْا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْاٰنِ﴾, and for the Prophet ﷺ this prayer remained obligatory according to this verse. When, as a result of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, Surah al-Fath was revealed and in it Allah gave the Prophet ﷺ the glad tidings that Allah had forgiven all his past and future shortcomings, the Prophet ﷺ began to stand in this prayer even longer than before. Thus, according to the narration of Bukhari, due to the long standing in tahajjud, the Prophet’s ﷺ feet would become swollen. The Companions said, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Allah has forgiven all your past and future shortcomings, so why do you endure so much hardship?” In reply, the Prophet ﷺ said: ﴿اَفَلاَ اَكُوْنَ عَبْدًاشَكُوْرًا﴾ “Should I not then be a grateful servant to Allah in return for this favor and grace of Allah?” [بخاری، کتاب التہجد۔ باب قیام النبی اللیل حتی ترم قدماہ]
For the Ummah, although this prayer is nafl (supererogatory), and its obligation was lifted due to hardship, it has great merit and much encouragement has been given for it. In our established Shari‘ah terminology, it is considered a Sunnah Mu’akkadah (emphasized Sunnah).

Tarawih Prayer or Qiyam al-Layl:

It should be clear that Tahajjud prayer is also called Qiyam al-Layl, as is evident from the chapter heading in Bukhari. And in the month of Ramadan, Qiyam al-Layl is called Tarawih, which is generally performed in congregation immediately after the ‘Isha prayer during Ramadan. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led this tahajjud (or qiyam al-layl or tarawih) prayer in congregation only for two nights in Ramadan. Then, on the third or fourth night, when people again gathered for prayer, the Prophet ﷺ did not come out for the congregation, and after the morning prayer, he ﷺ explained to the Companions the reason for not coming out for the congregation: “I feared that this prayer might be made obligatory upon you,” and this incident occurred in Ramadan. [بخاری، کتاب التہجد باب تحریض النبی علی قیام اللیل، نیز کتاب الصوم باب فضل من قام رمضان]
And the Prophet ﷺ always performed eleven rak‘ahs for this prayer: eight rak‘ahs of tarawih and three rak‘ahs of witr, as is clear from the following hadith: Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman says that I asked Sayyidah ‘A’ishah al-Siddiqah ؓ how many rak‘ahs the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray in Ramadan. Sayyidah ‘A’ishah al-Siddiqah ؓ replied that whether in Ramadan or outside of Ramadan, the Prophet ﷺ never prayed more than eleven rak‘ahs. He ﷺ would first pray four rak‘ahs, and how excellent and lengthy they were! Then he ﷺ would pray another four rak‘ahs, and how excellent and lengthy they were! Then he ﷺ would pray three rak‘ahs. Sayyidah ‘A’ishah al-Siddiqah ؓ said: I asked, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, do you sleep before praying witr?” He ﷺ replied: “O ‘A’ishah! My eyes sleep, but my heart does not sleep.” [بخاری، کتاب التہجد، باب قیام النبی باللیل فی رمضان وغیرہ]
Now, regarding the congregational tarawih prayer, consider the following hadith: ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Abd al-Qari says that one night in Ramadan, I went with Sayyiduna ‘Umar ؓ (during his caliphate) to the Prophet’s Mosque. We saw that people were performing tarawih in separate groups. Some were praying alone, and some groups were praying behind one imam. Sayyiduna ‘Umar ؓ said, “If I gather them all behind one imam, it would be better.” After making this decision, he appointed Sayyiduna Ubayy ibn Ka‘b as the imam for all the people. Then, on another night, I went to the mosque with Sayyiduna ‘Umar ؓ and saw that all the people were praying behind their reciter (Ubayy ibn Ka‘b ؓ). Sayyiduna ‘Umar ؓ said, “What a good innovation this is (ni‘mat al-bid‘ah hadhihi),” and also said to the people, “The part of the night in which you sleep is better than the part in which you are praying,” and people would perform tarawih (qiyam al-layl) at the beginning of the night. [بخاری، کتاب الصوم، باب فضل من قام رمضان]

Sayyiduna ‘Umar ؓ and Congregational Tarawih Prayer:

From this hadith, the following points are evident:
1. When Sayyiduna ‘Umar ؓ ordered the congregational tarawih prayer, neither he himself nor his companion ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Abd al-Qari participated in it. Similarly, when he inspected on another night and saw the congregation, neither he nor his companion joined it, which shows that they did not consider this congregation necessary or superior; otherwise, he would have joined it himself.
2. Sayyiduna ‘Umar ؓ also clarified that the first part of the night, in which people were praying tarawih in congregation, is not superior for qiyam al-layl or tarawih; rather, the last part of the night is superior, and Sayyiduna ‘Umar ؓ himself used to pray alone in the last part of the night.
3. When he ؓ said, “This is a good innovation,” he only meant the current form, i.e., that praying together is better than praying separately. Otherwise, in the legal and technical sense, it was not an innovation (which is always misguidance), because the Prophet ﷺ himself performed qiyam al-layl, and so did the Companions ؓ. Moreover, for at least three days, the Prophet ﷺ led the congregation, so there were two bases for it established from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. Therefore, it cannot be called an innovation in the well-known sense. And according to the narration of Muwatta’ Imam Malik, when he ordered the congregation for tarawih, he ordered eleven rak‘ahs (including witr). Among us, congregational tarawih after ‘Isha is common. There are two benefits in this: first, it gives the huffaz (memorizers of the Quran) an opportunity to revise, and second, it is convenient for the people at this time; otherwise, the superior time is the one clarified by Sayyiduna ‘Umar ؓ.
[100]
Various Interpretations of Maqam Mahmood:

By Maqam Mahmood is meant such a rank that all people begin to praise you ﷺ. There are several interpretations of this: one is that such a rank of honor and praise was granted to you ﷺ by Allah in this world during the last part of your life; another is that in Paradise there is a lofty station called Maqam Mahmood, which will be granted to you ﷺ; and third, that on the Day of Judgment, when people will be terrified by its horrors, they will wish for someone to intercede for them before Allah. They will go to Sayyiduna Adam ؑ, and then successively to all the Prophets, but each Prophet will recall some shortcoming and excuse himself. Eventually, all the people will come to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and you ﷺ will accept their plea and intercede for them before Allah. (For details, see the notes on Surah al-Baqarah, verse 255.) According to this interpretation, Maqam Mahmood means the Station of Intercession, as the Prophet ﷺ himself explained. Thus, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud ؓ says that someone asked the Prophet ﷺ about Maqam Mahmood, and he ﷺ replied, “It is the Station of Intercession.” [ترمذي، ابواب التفسير]
At that time, all tongues will be praising you ﷺ. Also, in the supplication taught to us after the adhan, every person prays for the Prophet ﷺ to be granted Maqam Mahmood, from which it is also incidentally understood that a person of high rank can ask someone of lower or lesser rank to pray for him, and the prayer of a lower or lesser person can be accepted for someone of higher rank.