Sahih Muslim (1259) records from Abu Hurayra that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Within the night there is an hour which no Muslim servant encounters while asking Allah for any good of this world or the Hereafter without His granting it to him.”

Al-Tirmidhi (3472) relates that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Hold fast to the night vigil, for it was the practice of the righteous before you. It brings you closer to your Lord, wipes away sins, and keeps one from wrongdoing.”

The Qur’anic verses, hadiths, and reports that praise the night prayer and encourage it are many and well known; all praise is due to Allah.

The night vigil of Ramadan

What is intended here is the tarawih prayer. Al-Bukhari (1873) and Muslim (1270) transmit from ʿAʾisha who said: “The Prophet ﷺ prayed one night in the mosque during Ramadan, and some people prayed behind him. The second night he prayed again, and the congregation grew larger than the first. On the third—or the fourth—night the mosque was filled to overflowing, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not come out to them. The people began calling him, and he said, ‘I was well aware of your presence, but I feared that it might be made obligatory upon you.’” Al-Bukhari adds in another wording: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away while the matter remained as it was.”

Al-Nasaʾi (1586), through Yunus ibn Yazid from al-Zuhri, states explicitly that the night on which the Prophet ﷺ did not come out was the fourth.

Al-Tirmidhi (734) narrates with an authentic chain from Abu Dharr who said: “We fasted Ramadan with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he did not lead us in night prayer for any part of the month until seven nights remained. Then he led us until a third of the night had passed. When five nights remained, he led us until half the night had passed. I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, would you not grant us the rest of this night?’ He replied, ‘When a man prays with the imam until the imam departs, it is recorded for him as though he had spent the whole night in prayer.’ When three nights remained, he gathered his family and the people and led us until we feared we would miss al-falah.’ The narrator said, ‘I asked, “What is al-falah?” He answered, ‘Suhoor (the pre-dawn meal).”