How to Pray Tahajjud: Time, Rakats and Virtue

Night is when the world falls quiet and most people withdraw into sleep. To rise in that stillness and stand before your Lord is among the most sincere expressions of servitude. The tahajjud prayer is the name of this night vigil. In this guide we explain what tahajjud is, its time, how many rakats it consists of and how it is prayed, and then its virtue in the Quran and authentic hadith, with sources.

What Is the Tahajjud Prayer?

The word tahajjud comes from an Arabic root meaning "to wake from sleep." As a technical term it refers to the voluntary night prayer offered after sleeping for a while following the Isha prayer. As the Turkish Religious Foundation's Encyclopedia of Islam (TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi) notes in its "Teheccüd" entry, the sense of "waking with difficulty" carried in the root points to the effort of leaving the sweetness of sleep to stand in worship.

What gives this prayer a special standing is that the Quran encourages it directly. In Surah al-Isra, Allah addresses the Prophet:

And during the night, wake for prayer as an additional act of devotion for you; perhaps your Lord will raise you to a Praiseworthy Station.

Commentators generally interpret the "Praiseworthy Station" (al-Maqam al-Mahmud) as the great station of intercession granted to the Prophet in the Hereafter. A key aspect of the verse is that tahajjud is described as "an additional act of devotion" — that is, a voluntary surplus added on top of the five obligatory prayers, drawing the servant still nearer to the Lord.

When Is the Time of Tahajjud?

The time of tahajjud begins after the Isha prayer and lasts until true dawn (the entry of the Fajr time). What distinguishes tahajjud from other night prayers, however, is that it is prayed after sleeping for a portion of the night and then waking. While voluntary prayers offered right after Isha, before sleeping, are broadly counted as night prayer, the literal meaning of tahajjud requires waking.

The most virtuous time is the last third of the night. The Prophet announced the blessing of this hour in the following hadith:

Our Lord descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: "Who is calling upon Me, that I may answer him? Who is asking of Me, that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?"

This "descent" does not mean attributing place to Allah's essence; the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah understood it as a particular manifestation of the answering of supplication and of mercy at that hour. For this reason the last third of the night is held to be the most precious window both for the tahajjud prayer and for supplication and seeking forgiveness. You can learn your local Isha and dawn times from the prayer times page and work out the last third of the night.

How Many Rakats Is Tahajjud?

Tahajjud has no fixed, unchangeable number of rakats. According to the explanation of the High Board of Religious Affairs (Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu), it is recommended to pray between two and eight rakats in even numbers, and one may pray more if they wish. It is narrated that the Prophet usually prayed his night prayers two rakats at a time, giving the salam after every two.

• Minimum: Two rakats. Scholars agree that the least tahajjud can be is two rakats.
• Recommended: Praying two rakats and giving the salam is more virtuous than giving the salam after four.
• Upper limit: No strict upper limit is set; based on the Prophet's practice, eight rakats is generally taken as the norm.

How to Pray Tahajjud Step by Step

In its manner of performance, tahajjud is no different from any other two-rakat voluntary prayer. After making wudu, it is prayed as follows:

1. Intention: Intend in the heart to pray the tahajjud prayer for the sake of Allah. The intention is essentially an act of the heart; voicing it only serves to support the heart.
2. First rakat: Begin with "Allahu akbar," recite the opening glorification, then the Fatiha followed by a surah or a few verses, and complete the bowing and prostrations.
3. Second rakat: Stand again, recite the Fatiha and a surah, complete the bowing and prostrations, then sit.
4. Sitting and salam: Recite the testimony and the prayers upon the Prophet, then give the salam, first to the right and then to the left.
5. Continuing: If you wish to pray more, continue two rakats at a time in the same way. After praying more than two rakats, you need not renew the intention as long as nothing contrary to prayer (such as speaking or eating) intervenes.

For the general steps of prayer, see our how to perform salah guide. The supplications made after tahajjud and the Quran recited in this quiet hour carry a distinct blessing.

The Virtue of the Tahajjud Prayer

The night prayer is mentioned in the Quran as a praised quality of the believers. In Surah al-Furqan, among the traits of the devoted servants of the Most Merciful, it is said:

And those who spend the night before their Lord, prostrating and standing.

The Prophet too made clear that after the obligatory prayers the most virtuous prayer is the night prayer:

The most virtuous fast after Ramadan is in Allah's month, al-Muharram, and the most virtuous prayer after the obligatory is the night prayer.

Tahajjud is not only an act performed alone; it is a blessing that embraces the family. The Prophet gave glad tidings to the one who wakes their spouse to pray together:

When a man wakes at night and rouses his wife, and they pray two rakats together, they are recorded among the men and women who remember Allah much.

This narration shows that night worship is not merely an individual discipline but a source of spirituality shared within the household. Taken together, these texts present tahajjud as a means to nearness to Allah, the answering of supplications, the forgiveness of sins, and high stations in the Hereafter.

Is Tahajjud Obligatory or a Sunnah?

Tahajjud is not obligatory for the community. As reported in the Encyclopedia of Islam, the majority of scholars hold that the command to rise at night at the start of Surah al-Muzzammil was initially directed at the Prophet and, to a degree, at the believers, and that this duty was later lightened. As a result, tahajjud is regarded as an emphasized Sunnah (or recommended) for believers, and as a voluntary act that the Prophet observed constantly.

The information given here is general guidance; for a binding ruling on your personal situation, it is appropriate to consult a competent religious authority such as the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet). For more texts on night worship, see the hadith section of our site.

References

1. Surah al-Isra, 79 — kuran.diyanet.gov.tr (Presidency of Religious Affairs translation).
2. Surah al-Furqan, 64 — kuran.diyanet.gov.tr (Presidency of Religious Affairs translation).
3. Sahih Muslim, Book of Fasting, Hadith no. 1163 — sunnah.com (from Abu Hurayrah).
4. Sahih al-Bukhari, Tahajjud, Hadith no. 1145 — sunnah.com (from Abu Hurayrah).
5. Sunan Abi Dawud, Witr, Hadith no. 1451 — sunnah.com (from Abu Hurayrah and Abu Sa'id al-Khudri).
6. "Teheccüd" entry, Turkish Religious Foundation Encyclopedia of Islam (TDV) — islamansiklopedisi.org.tr.
7. "How Is the Tahajjud Prayer Performed?" — High Board of Religious Affairs, kurul.diyanet.gov.tr.