Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

is taraweeh and tahajjud the same? if we've already prayed taraweeh, is there any need to pray tahajjud?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Tarawih and tahajjud

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

First and foremost sister, allow us to clarify the different types of prayers: Fard, Nafl, and Sunnah:

Fard prayers: These are the five obligatory prayers at their appointed times of the day. If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, there will be a severe accounting and punishment.

Nafl prayers: These are the voluntary or extra prayers. If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, there is no sin.

Sunnah prayers: These are the Nafl or voluntary prayers which were prayed by the Messenger of Allah (saws), and thus they become his (saw’s) Sunnah for us. If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, there is no sin. The most that can be said of one who does not pray the Sunnah prayers is that he lost a great opportunity to earn huge rewards from Allah Subhanah.

The ‘tarawih’ prayers of Ramadan and the ‘tahajjud’ prayers of the night are both amongst the voluntary ‘Qiyaam-ul-layl’ extra night prayers; and both are considered Sunnah prayers in Islam.

If one chooses to offer both the ‘tarawih’ and the ‘tahajjud’ prayers in a night of Ramadan, that would obviously be best, and one would receive their due rewards for their worship.

If one chooses to offer only one of the two, they would receive their due rewards for their striving.

And if for any reason one chooses to offer neither of them, there is no sin upon them.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 1965 Narrated by Salman al-Farisi

Allah's Messenger (saws) said in a sermon which he delivered to them on the last day of Sha'ban: "A great month (Ramadan), a blessed month, a month containing a night which is better than a thousand months has approached you people. Allah has appointed the observance of fasting during it as an obligatory duty, and the passing of its night in prayer as a voluntary practice. If someone draws near to Allah during it with some (voluntary) good act he will be like one who fulfils an obligatory duty in another month, and he who fulfils an obligatory duty in it will be like one who fulfils seventy obligatory duties in another month. It is the month of endurance, and the reward of endurance is Paradise. It is the month of sharing with others, and a month in which the believer's provision is increased. If someone gives one who has been fasting something with which to break his fast it will provide forgiveness of his sins and save him from Hell, and he will have a reward equal to the one who observes the fast, without his reward being diminished in any respect."

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan