- All it takes is Tahajjud. When the world slept, you stood awake in the quiet, whispering to your Lord. The night was your companion, And your Tahajjud was the secret between your soul and Allah, hidden from the eyes of the world, but noticed by the unseen. Habiba al Adawiya Rahimahullah used to stand up on her rooftop after Isha, and she would say, Illahi, gharatin najoom, wa namatil uayoon Wa ghalaqa til malook a'abwabahaa, wa baboka maftooh Wa khalaa quloo habibin bi habibihi Wa hada maqaami bayna yadayk "O Allah, the stars have vanished, the eyes have slept, the kings have locked their doors, but your door remains open, and every lover has found privacy with their beloved, and here I am standing before you." How beautiful a soul that already ascends to the Lord of the worlds in such a way that leaves the body completely still. Mansur ibn al Mu'tamir Rahimahullah also used to pray on the roof of his house. And when he passed away, one of his neighbors, a young boy, said to his mother, "What happened to that pole that used to be on the rooftop of Mansur's house?" And she replied and she said, "Oh my son, that was not a pole. "That was Mansur himself when he would pray at night, "and he just passed away yesterday." That's a boy who noticed a missing man. But imagine Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala noticing his presence. Now, as you probably had a night of worshiping Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala last night, how good was your nap after Fajr? You don't ever sleep like that in other times, do you? I always tell people that the best nap that you're ever going to have is that post-Hajj nap after you do Arafah and then Muzdalifah and then Tawaf and then the Jamaraat and then you knock out cold even in the middle of a tent. Now think about the Prophet Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam saying about the person who goes through all of the exhaustion of the first night in the grave that he will sleep the sleep of a bridegroom. The scholars say this means two things. For one, it'll be a deep sleep, but secondly, you will only be awakened to what you love most. You wake up and you see the garden that your qiyam planted last night, and without you even knowing it, some believer that was dead received forgiveness by the virtue of someone alive. And can now finally rest in peace because of that du'a. Salaamun hiya hatta matla il-Fajr (Qur'an, 97:5) But while your body is exhausted after all that prayer last night, how rested does your soul feel? Qiyam is the joy of the believers in this world. And that's not just in the last 10 nights of Ramadan, but because it yields a Jannah in the heart before the Jannah that we seek in the next life. Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī Rahimahullah said, loalal layl lamaa ahbabtul baqa'afidunya If it wasn't for the night prayer, I wouldn't wanna live in this Dunya a second longer. Now that doesn't mean you didn't cry, but even your tears are watering your garden in your grave. Abu Bakr ibn abi Maryam said, I saw Wafaa Ibn Bishr after his death. So I asked him, "What have you received?" And he said, "I've been saved "after striving for a very long time." So I asked, "And which deed did you find "to be the most superior?" And he replied and said, "My crying out of the fear of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. "Allah rewards your fear by bringing you near. "In the dream of Abu Yazid did Allah not say "and glad tidings to my servant, Mis'ar ibn Kidam, "who stood during the night worshiping me? "It is sufficient and honor for him "that he will now visit me, where I will reveal my noble face to him." At the end of Surah Al-'Alaq, right before Surah Al-Qadr Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, wasjud waqtarib so prorate and come near. And as many of the scholars mention, you'll never come near to Allah than Laylatul Qadr But on every other night of the year, you have that opportunity in the last third of the night to draw near to the Lord of the worlds. And in the Barzakh, He'll bring you even closer. Qubays ibn Uqba says, "I saw Sufyan al-Thawri in a dream after his death. "And I asked him, what has Allah done for you?" He said, "I beheld my Lord with my own two eyes. So he said to me, Haniyun ridha'i anka yabna sa'eed "be at ease, for I am pleased with you. "You were devoted to standing in prayer "when the night approached with the tears of one longing, "and the heart of one deeply attached. "Now you may choose any castle that you please "and you may visit me because you are not far away." Tahajjud is a lifestyle that can be more addictive than anything else in the world, and more rewarding than anything else in the world. And just as it's done in secret, it has its secrets in the soul as well. The best of gifts are the ones that are secret gifts from Allah to you, for which you haven't yet been rewarded with any praise in this Dunya. And that's why ibn Mas'ud Radiallahu anhu said, fadhlo salaatil layli a'ala salaatin nahari ka fadhli sadaqati sir a'alaa sadagatil a'alaniyah the virtue of the night prayer over the day prayer is like the virtue of giving charity in secret over giving it openly. And al- Hafidh ibn Rajab Rahimahullah said the night prayer is preferred over the day prayer because it is more private and closer to sincerity. While so many worry about the secrets that will confront them in the grave, you have a secret garden you've planted with Allah. And one of the companions of Rābiʼa al-ʼAdawiyya Rahimahullah, saw her in a dream and said, "Guide me to a deed which will bring me closer to Allah." And she said, "You must remember Allah frequently "because soon you will rejoice in your grave as a result." One of the righteous said, "I saw Abu Bakr al-Shibli in a dream, "where it appeared that he was firmly seated. "And then he approached me wearing fine clothing. "I rose to greet him and I sat before him where I asked, "Who are your nearest companions? "He said, those who are most devoted "to their remembrance of Allah, who honor His rights upon them and who do not hesitate to seek His pleasure." tatajafaa janubuhum a'anil madhaaji yadoun rabbahum khoufun wa ta'amuan wa mimma raraqna hum yunfeqoon "They forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord "in fear and hope, "and spend what we have bestowed upon them." Falaa ta'lamu nafsum maaa ukhfiya lahum min qurrati a'yunin jazaaa'am bimaa kaanoo ya'maloon And so no soul knows what is kept hidden from them of joy as a reward for that which they used to do. When Allah shows you what he had in store for you, for all of your devotion, wouldn't you wish you availed yourself of even more of the opportunities he put before you? La'alleee a'malu saalihan feemaa taraktu kallaa; innahaa kalimatun huwa qaaa'iluhaa wa minw waraaa'ihim barzakhun ilaa Yawmi yub'asoon (23:100 Quran) Closed captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)