Night Prayer Through the Eyes of a Pious Child

During Ramadan, Muslims are more active in performing sunnah prayers, including the night prayer often referred to as Tarawih. The duration can vary; some establish it with eight rak’ahs, while others choose twenty. Mosques become busier after the evening prayer in this holy month, with worshippers filling houses of worship. The congregants are not limited to adults and the elderly; children participate as well. Salaf scholars had patterns for raising their sons and daughters to love the night prayer. Intriguingly, many of them had offspring with a keen zeal for worship. Those children are often the ones who wish to learn more about and observe these sunnah prayers.

For example, the story recounted by Sheikh Ibn Zhafar al-Makki about Abu Yazid Thaifur’s childhood — when the boy was memorising the Qur’an. That night, the boy reached the first and second verses of surah Al-Muzzammil, which read: ‘O you who is enveloped in sleep, arise to pray at night, except for a little.’ The boy then asked his father, ‘O Father! Who is the one Allah Ta’ala refers to in this verse?’ The father replied, ‘O dear child, the one referred to here is the Prophet Muhammad SAW.’