The Night Prayer - Qiyam al-Layl
In the early years of Islam, Qiyam was obligatory. Not just upon the Prophet ﷺ, but upon the Sahaba too.
It was later abrogated for the Sahaba and the Ummah, but remained obligatory upon the Prophet ﷺ.
Think about the wisdom behind this.
Allah ﷻ knew what was coming.
He knew the weight of the mission that would rest on their shoulders. The persecution. The battles. The responsibility of carrying this deen after the Prophet ﷺ was gone.
So before all of that, the Sahaba were being built.
He strengthened their foundations. He purified them. He prepared them for something they couldn't yet see.
And when the Prophet ﷺ passed away, those same people carried Islam to every corner of the earth.
In this is a lesson for us.
If we want to follow in their footsteps, this is where we start, and this is one habit we must work on and develop.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is prayer at night." [Sahih Muslim 1163]
If you don't know where to begin, start small.
Set your alarm 20 minutes before Fajr. Wake up, make wudu, and pray just 2 rakats. That's it.
Build the habit first, then build on top of it.