Tahajjud, the voluntary prayer offered after waking in the quiet of the night, is described as one of the best ways to draw near to Allah, seek forgiveness and purify oneself. RTV Online's religion page sets out its importance and method from the hadith and the Qur'an.
The Prophet said: "Hold fast to the night prayer, for it was the practice of the righteous before you, a means of nearness to your Lord, an expiation of sins and a barrier against wrongdoing" (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, hadith 2549). In another hadith he said the best prayer after the obligatory prayers is the prayer at night (Sahih Muslim, hadith 1163).
The Prophet prayed tahajjud even before the five daily prayers were made obligatory. In verses 1 to 4 of Surah al-Muzzammil, Allah tells him to stand in prayer for part of the night, half of it or a little less or more, and to recite the Qur'an slowly and clearly.
Time: tahajjud is a voluntary prayer, best offered by sleeping after Isha and rising in the last part of the night, especially before suhur, and finished before the time of Fajr begins.
Intention and units: there is no special formula of intention and it need not be said in Arabic; the wish in one's heart to pray tahajjud is enough. It is prayed two rakats at a time like other voluntary prayers, with no set surah. The Prophet recited at length, so long recitation is better for those able, and there is no fixed number of rakats.
The hadith also speak of worship with family at night: Allah has mercy on the man who rises at night, prays and wakes his wife so that she prays too (Sunan Abi Dawud, hadith 1308).
Source: RTV Online
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