True
faith in the heart leads to sincerity in devotional worship, marking out true
believers from the rest. That is why, along with regular prayers in the day,
Islam prescribes supplementary prayers in the stillness of the night for the
truly devout who seek nearness to God. Indeed, according to the Holy
Qur'an, a clear sign of the true believers is their fervent seeking of Divine
forgiveness and mercy, leaving aside the comforts of rest in the night: ‘Those who spend
the night in devotion to their Lord, in prostration and standing.’ (25:65) 'Their sides shun their beds in order to pray to their Lord in fear and hope' (32: 17).
Divine commands exhort the believers: ‘Celebrate
the praise of your Lord before the rising and setting of the sun; proclaim His
praise in the night, and at the end of every prayer.’ (50:40-41) In other words, true believers are ‘[T]hose who spend the night in devotion to their Lord, in prostration and standing.’ (25:65)
‘Stand up in Prayer at
night except a small part of it–half, or a little less, or a little more–
and recite the Quran slowly and distinctly. Verily, We shall charge you with a
weighty Word. Verily, getting up at night for prayer is the most potent means
of subduing the self and most effective in speech.’ (73:3-7)
‘And
wake up for it (the Qur'an) in the latter part of the night as a
supererogatory service for you. It may be that Your Lord will raise you to an
exalted station.’ (17:80)
