Atā said: “Whoever performs the five daily prayers with all their due observances is included in the words of Allah Most High: ‘the men who remember Allah abundantly and the women who do so.’1”2.

One of the qualities of such people is prayer during the night. Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, al-Hākim, and others narrated through an authentic chain of transmission—graded authentic by al-Hākim, al-Dhahabī, al-Nawawī, al-Irāqī, and others—the hadith of Abū Sa'īd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him), who reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If a man awakens his family during the night and they both perform—or each performs—two units of prayer, they shall both be recorded among the men who remember Allah abundantly and the women who do so.”3.

Abū Amr ibn al-Salāh was asked—as al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him) relates in his book al-Adhkār—what measure would make a servant one of the men who remember Allah abundantly and the women who do so. He replied: “If he consistently observes the established, transmitted remembrances morning and evening, at the various times and in the various circumstances, by night and day—which are set forth in The Book of Daily and Nightly Practice—he will be among the men who remember Allah abundantly and the women who do so.”4.

The eminent scholar Shaykh Abd al-Rahmān ibn Sa'dī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “At the very least, a person should consistently observe the morning and evening remembrances, those following the five daily prayers, and those prescribed for particular occasions and circumstances. He should maintain this at all times and in every state, for this is an act of worship through which one may outstrip others while at ease,