[abomokhtar]

What is the difference between night vigil prayer and tahajjud prayer?
Answer
Night starts at sunset and continues until true dawn. Qiyamul-Layl (night vigil prayer is only performed after ‘Isha prayers.
Difference between Qiyamul-Layl and Tahajjud
1- - Qiyamul-Layl is spending the night, or even a brief period of it, praying or performing another act of worship. It can be performed either before or after sleeping. Qiyamul-Layl does not necessarily have to be comprised prayers or that it takes up the majority of the night. Additionally, it is not a condition to be preceded by sleep. Whoever spends the night or a brief portion of it reading the Qur`an, or listening to hadiths or glorification of Allah, or in invoking peace and blessings upon the Prophet, whether before or after he has slept for a portion of the night, is considered to have performed Qiyamul-Layl.
2-- Tahajjud is one of the forms of Qiyamul-Layl. It is performed by praying at night after sleeping. It is specific to prayers that are preceded by sleep. If Tahajjud is not preceded by sleep and does not comprise prayers, it is not considered Tahajjud but Qiyamul-Layl. Tahajjud is the optimal form of Qiyamul-Layl. This is because the Prophet (pbuh) used to perform Tahajjud. Allah the Almighty says, “And during the night, wake up and pray, as an extra offering of your own” [17:79).
The best time to perform Tahajjud is the latter part of the depths of the night. This is due to the report of Amr Ibn Absa who said, “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! During which part of the night are prayers most likely to be answered?’ he replied, ‘The middle of the latter portion of the night, so pray at that time with whatever you wish’” [recorded by Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhi).
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