How to Pray Tahajjud: A Step by Step Guide for Beginners
In short: tahajjud is a voluntary prayer at night, ideally after waking from sleep. Pray it any time between Isha and Fajr, best in the last third of the night, in units of two rakats. The Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) usually prayed eleven rakats including witr, but even two rakats count.
- Time: after Isha until Fajr begins
- Best time: the last third of the night
- Rakats: from 2 up to 8 or more, then witr
- Recitation: anything from the Quran you know
What tahajjud is
The word comes from hujud, sleep, and tahajjud means giving up sleep for something. In the Quran, Allah told the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم): "And from part of the night, pray tahajjud with it as an extra for you" (17:79). The broader term qiyam al-layl, standing at night, covers any night prayer after Isha. Many scholars use "tahajjud" especially for night prayer offered after sleeping, though in everyday use the two words are interchangeable.
Its virtue is clear. The Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) said the best prayer after the obligatory prayers is the prayer at night (Sahih Muslim 1163). He also said that Allah descends to the lowest heaven in the last third of every night and asks who is calling on Him so that He may answer (Sahih al-Bukhari 1145).
What you need before you begin
- An alarm, set before you sleep.
- Wudu. If you slept, you will need to renew it.
- A clean place and clean clothes, as for any salah.
- A few short surahs or ayat you know well. Long recitation is a bonus, not a requirement.
- A rough idea of when the last third of your night begins. In Lahore in October, for example, Maghrib is around 5:40 pm and Fajr around 4:55 am. The night is roughly eleven hours, so its last third starts at about 1:10 am. Adjust for your city and season.
Step by step
Step 1: Sleep early with the intention to wake
Pray Isha, avoid long screen time, and sleep with the sincere intention of waking for prayer. If you do not wake up, you are still rewarded for the intention.
Step 2: Wake up and remember Allah
The Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) taught that Shaytan ties three knots on the back of the head of a sleeping person. One knot comes undone when he wakes and remembers Allah, the second when he makes wudu, and the third when he prays (Sahih al-Bukhari 1142). On waking, say: "Al-hamdu lillahil-ladhi ahyana ba'da ma amatana wa ilayhin-nushur" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6312).
Step 3: Use the miswak and make wudu
When he got up at night, the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) cleaned his mouth with the miswak (Sahih al-Bukhari 245). Then make a careful wudu.
Step 4: Make the intention
The intention is in the heart: that you are praying two rakats of tahajjud for Allah. There is no fixed wording you must say aloud.
Step 5: Start with two light rakats
The Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) would begin his night prayer with two short rakats (Sahih Muslim 768). This helps you warm up after sleep.
Step 6: Continue in pairs
Night prayer is prayed two by two (Sahih al-Bukhari 990). Pray as many pairs as you can, with Surah Al-Fatihah and whatever you know in each rakat. Make the standing, ruku and sujud long and calm.
Step 7: Make dua, especially in sujud
The last third of the night is a time of answered prayer. Ask for anything in your own language in sujud and after the salam.
Step 8: End with witr
Close your night prayer with witr. If you already prayed witr after Isha, do not repeat it. The Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) said that whoever fears he will not wake at the end of the night should pray witr at its beginning (Sahih Muslim 755).
What to recite
There is no fixed recitation. Recite what you know, slowly. Surah 73 is a natural choice because it is the surah that commands the night prayer itself. If you cannot recite it from memory yet, learn a few of its ayat beforehand and add more over time. Reciting from a printed mushaf inside the prayer is a matter of difference: the main Hanafi position is that it invalidates the prayer, so in Pakistan it is safest to recite only what you have memorised.
Differences between the madhhabs
| Issue | Hanafi | Shafi'i and Hanbali |
|---|---|---|
| Status of witr | Wajib (necessary) | Strongly recommended sunnah |
| How witr is prayed | Three rakats with one salam, qunut before ruku in the third | One rakat or more; three may be prayed as two plus one |
| Rakats per salam at night | Two by two is preferred; four together is also permitted | Two by two |
| Reading from a mushaf in prayer | Not allowed, invalidates the prayer | Allowed in nafl prayer by many scholars |
Follow the school you normally follow, and ask a local scholar if you are unsure.
How many rakats?
'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) did not pray more than eleven rakats at night, in Ramadan or outside it (Sahih al-Bukhari 1147). That is usually understood as eight rakats of night prayer plus three of witr. Other narrations mention thirteen. There is no upper limit for voluntary prayer, and there is no minimum beyond two. If you are a beginner, two rakats and witr is an excellent start.
Troubleshooting for beginners
"I sleep through the alarm." Put the phone out of reach so you have to stand up. Sleep earlier, even by thirty minutes. Ask a family member to wake you, which is itself a good deed.
"I wake up but feel too tired." Set the alarm just twenty minutes before Fajr instead of the middle of the night. Pray two rakats, then Fajr. You are still in the last third.
"I have work early and cannot lose sleep." Pray your night prayer after Isha, before bed. It still counts as qiyam al-layl, and you can add witr at the end.
"Load-shedding and heat make it hard." Keep a small rechargeable light and a fan on UPS if you can. In summer the night is short, so even ten minutes counts.
"I do it for a week and then stop." Choose one or two fixed nights a week instead of every night. The most beloved deeds to Allah are the consistent ones, even if small (Sahih al-Bukhari 6464).
A sample 20 minute tahajjud
- Wake up, say the waking dua, use the miswak and make wudu: 5 minutes.
- Two light rakats with short surahs: 3 minutes.
- Two longer rakats, for example with a surah you have memorised: 6 minutes.
- Witr, if you have not prayed it after Isha: 4 minutes.
- Dua and istighfar until the adhan: the remaining time.
Where to go next
If you want to plan your night more carefully, our guide on choosing the right hour for this surah explains the different parts of the night. And before you sleep, the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) had his own short routine of surahs, which we list in our bedtime recitation guide.
The Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) stood in prayer until his feet swelled. When asked why, since he was forgiven, he replied: "Should I not be a grateful servant?" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1130). Tahajjud is, at its heart, gratitude.