How to Muslim
Tahajjud is the prayer you get up for after you have already slept. Nobody is watching, nothing is owed, and it is the one the Prophet (peace be upon him) kept even when his feet swelled.
Indeed, the hours of the night are more effective for concurrence and more suitable for words. Indeed, for you by day is prolonged occupation. And remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with complete devotion.
Tahajjud, also called Qiyam al-Layl, is voluntary prayer offered at night after you have slept. That is what separates it from praying late before bed.
It is not obligatory. It is also the most emphasised of the voluntary prayers, and the one the Prophet (peace be upon him) never gave up.
The Quran addresses the night prayer directly:
"And from part of the night, pray with it as additional worship for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station."
— Quran 17:79Of everything you can pray beyond the five, this is the one that is named as the best. It costs sleep, nobody sees you do it, and there is no social reason to bother, which is exactly why it is worth what it is worth.
Two rak'ahs at 3am that nobody knows about will do more for you than a long list of things you tell people you do.
The night is quiet in a way the rest of the day is not, and asking for something at that hour feels different from asking for it in a rush between meetings. Most people who keep it say the same thing: the worry they took to bed is smaller by Fajr.
Any time after you have prayed Isha and before dawn breaks. For it to count as Tahajjud specifically, you sleep first and then get up.
The best window is the final third before Fajr:
Take the time from Maghrib to Fajr and split it into three. The final block is the last third.
Most prayer apps will show you this without the arithmetic. If you cannot manage the last third, praying earlier in the night still counts.
Sleep earlier, and set the alarm across the room. Start with two rak'ahs rather than eight, because the habit is the hard part and the length is not.
If you genuinely cannot wake, pray Witr before you sleep instead and let that be your night prayer.
Get up in the middle or last third of the night and make a fresh wudu.
Know in your heart that you are praying Tahajjud. That is the whole intention.
Say the takbir and pray two rak'ahs exactly as you would any other prayer: Al-Fatiha and a surah, bowing, prostrating, then the Tashahhud and salam.
Learn the standard prayer movements →Always two at a time, with a salam after each pair. The minimum is two.
Aisha described the Prophet's night prayer as eleven rak'ahs including Witr, and thirteen is also reported. That is the shape to aim at eventually, not a rule to start with. Two rak'ahs every night beats eleven once a month.
For voluntary prayers you are allowed to pray sitting even if you could stand. Standing is better, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said the prayer of one sitting is half that of one standing, but half of something at 3am is not nothing.
This is the part to actually stop for. Ask in your own language, out loud or silently, for whatever you need. The hadith above is an invitation to ask, so ask.
Witr is the last thing you pray at night. If you plan to get up for Tahajjud, leave Witr until after it rather than praying it before bed.
How to pray Witr →You do not need Arabic for this part. Ask for what is actually on your mind, in the language you think in. The memorised duas are there to help when you do not know what to say, not to replace what you want to say.
Browse duas by situation →Narrated by Ibn Abbas, this is what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said when he got up at night to pray:
"O Allah, to You belongs all praise. You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them. To You belongs all praise. You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them. To You belongs all praise. You are the Truth, Your promise is true, Your word is true, the meeting with You is true, Paradise is true, the Fire is true, the Hour is true, the Prophets are true and Muhammad is true.
O Allah, to You I have submitted, in You I have put my trust, in You I have believed, to You I have turned in repentance, by You I have disputed and to You I have referred for judgement. So forgive me what I have sent ahead and what I have left behind, what I have hidden and what I have made known. You are the One who brings forward and the One who puts back. There is no god but You, and there is no god other than You."
— Sahih al-Bukhari 1120For more praises like this to carry through your day, see the full collection of 33 Praises of Allah. You can also borrow one of the 40 duas straight from the Quran.
If you only take one thing from this page: the last third of the night is the time you are told your asking is answered. Whatever you have been carrying, that is the hour to put it down.
Tahajjud in Ramadan is prayed early in the night and in congregation, where it is called Taraweeh.
How to pray Taraweeh → Duas said inside the prayer →New to all of this? Start from the beginning.
Where to take this further.
A curated hub of Sunni videos, books, and dawah resources.
islamic-library.org · FreeResearch-driven answers to the doubts and questions Muslims actually have.
yaqeeninstitute.org · Free