وَمِنَ ٱلَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِۦ نَافِلَةً لَّكَ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَّحْمُودًا
50:41; 52:50; 73:3-5; 76:27.
Important Words:
فتھجد به (wake up for it in the latter part of the night). تھجد is derived from ھجد (hajada). ھجد (hajada) and ھجد (hajjada) and تھجد (tahajjada) mean the same thing i.e. (1) he slept or slept in the night or in the latter part of the night; (2) he remained awake or was sleepless or wakeful in the night; (3) he awoke from sleep to pray or for some other purpose; (4) he prayed in the night. Hence praying in the latter part of the night is called تھجد (tahajjud). Some say that ھجود which is the noun infinitive from ھجد means, to sleep in the day and ھجوع means, to sleep in the night or simply to sleep (Lane & Aqrab).
نافلة (as a supererogatory service) is derived from نفل. They say نفل الرجل i.e. he presented to the man a thing for which he desired no return or reward. نفل الامیر الجند means, the commander gave to the soldiers the booty. نفل (nafal) is to do more than one is bound to do by duty or of which the doing is not obligatory. نافلة means, what accedes to or exceeds the original; a voluntary gift by way of alms or as a good work; a gift; a deed beyond what is incumbent or obligatory; grandson or grandchild; supererogatory Prayer (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The words نافلة لک (as supererogatory service for thee) refer to the Tahajjud Prayer offered in the latter part of the night. The word نافلة, as its meanings show, implies that the Tahajjud Prayer is not obligatory for Muslims. The verse may also be taken to indicate that this Prayer was obligatory only for the Holy Prophet, and not for any other Prophet. The word نافلة further means a special favour and signifies that Prayers are not a burden to weary the flesh but a privilege and a favour from God.
The expression, It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to an exalted station, embodies a great prophecy. Perhaps no other person has been so much maligned and abused as the Holy Prophet of Islam and certainly no other person has been the recipient of so much Divine praise and the object of the invocation of so many Divine blessings and favours upon him as he. The implied prophecy was that whereas the sons of darkness would abuse and condemn the Prophet, the good, the noble and the righteous would invoke God’s blessings upon him and God Himself would proclaim his praises from His Exalted Throne. Thus the Prophet’s praise by God and His Elect would far outweigh the undeserved abuse heaped upon him by the sons of darkness.
The expression مقاما محمود (exalted station) may also be understood to imply the special prerogative of شفاعة (intercession) which God bestowed upon the Holy Prophet. There is a well-known hadith that the followers of all other Prophets, having despaired of the intercession of their own Prophets on the Day of Judgement, will seek the Holy Prophet’s intercession and he will intercede for them, and thus they will acknowledge his greatness. The advent of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi is another manifestation of this مقام محمود(exalted station) of the Holy Prophet. When denunciation of him reached its climax, and he was also deserted by his own so-called followers and friends, God raised the Promised Messiah and Mahdi from among his followers and through him vindicated his honour. The Promised Messiah refuted and rebutted the charges of his enemies, and by imparting to his followers true knowledge of the manifold excellences and beauties of his teaching and character, inspired them with a new love and veneration for him. The mention of the grant of the مقام محمود after the command for obligatory and supererogatory Prayers implies the hint that the real remedy for him who receives mockery and abuse from the people of the world is not to retaliate with mockery and abuse but to turn to God and seek His help. This is sure to turn enemies into friends, as happened in the Prophet’s case. His bitterest enemies became his most devoted followers. Of the many exalted stations the Holy Prophet was destined to obtain, the first was his possession of Medina from where spread his praise and holiness to the ends of the earth. This is why the next verse refers to his Migration to Medina.
50:41; 52:50; 73:3-5; 76:27.
In addition to the meaning given in the text Nafilah means a special favour, and signifies that Prayers are not a burden to weary the flesh but a privilege and a special favour from God.
Perhaps no other person has been so much maligned and abused as the Holy Prophet of Islam and certainly no other person has been the recipient of so much Divine praise and the object of the invocation of so many Divine blessings and favours upon him as he. The Tahajjud Prayer is best suited for the believer’s spiritual exaltation as in the stillness of the night, being all alone with his Creator, he enjoys special Divine communion.