Night fell, silence settled over the universe, the blue sky turned grey, and the darkness of the night kept intensifying until the advent of the blessed hour during which the Merciful descends to the lowest heaven, in a manner befitting His Majesty. A fortunate young man left his bed, liberated himself from the shackles of sleep, purified his body through ablution, and stood before his Lord enjoying the feeling of being unique and select, as his Lord chose him from among all those who were asleep to enable him to stand before Him in this magnificent hour. He shed tears out of subservience and a feeling of awe while receiving the divine gift. After he had finished he looked towards the sky and said, “O night I love my tears during your hours.”
In the darkness of the night, there are lights:
The night is the favorite time of the righteous people, the oasis of the pious and the nightly discourse of the diligent worshippers.
There is a strong relationship between them and the night, and they have great hopes in it.
During the night, they get rid of their cares to focus only on their meeting with their Lord.
They find tranquility in its silence, where they can make Tasbeeh (saying Subhanallaah) and Tahleel (saying Laa ilaaha illa Allah).
Their bodies do not cling to the beds when they hear (what means): {they used to sleep but little of the night} [Quran 51:17], and they are encouraged when they heard the praise of Allah The Almighty, Who Says (what means): {They arise from [their] beds; they supplicate their Lord in fear and aspiration.} [Quran 32:16]; and they want to achieve union between their hearts and tongues when they know that {the hours of the night are more effective for concurrence [of heart and tongue] and more suitable for words.}[Quran 73:6]
Their longing urges them when they know that: “Allah, Our Lord, descends (in a manner befitting His Majesty) to the lowest heaven during the last third of the night and Says, ‘Is there anyone to call upon Me so that I shall respond to him (fulfill his supplication)? Is there anyone to ask of Me that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone to seek My forgiveness so that I shall forgive him?.’” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
They respond to the advice of their Prophet, , who said: “The closest the Lord can be to the slave is in the last portion of the night. So if you are able to be among those who remember Allah in this hour then be among them.” [Al-Albaani: Saheeh]
These are the hours of the lights, and no one can win them effortlessly; rather, one should be awake so that his soul is engulfed with this illumination, like Al-Hasan Al-Basri who was asked, “Why do the people who regularly perform the night prayer have the most cheerful faces?” He answered, “Because they meet The Merciful in private, and He endows them with some of His light.”
Tears in the depths of the night:
The most precious thing during the night is the tears that are shed in its depths to wash one’s heart from the filths of sins, and to release the soul from worldly shackles. These tears plant the seeds of devotion during the night to be harvested during the day.
These tears elevate and refine the slave’s soul and their sweetness is incomparable.
These tears are the making of the true worshippers and warriors.
These tears made the Poet of Islam, Muhammad Iqbaal say:
Be what you want to be in knowledge and wisdom,
But all this will be useless unless you shed some tears at early dawn.
Iqbaal was of the view that these tears are the capital of the scholar, wise or ascetic person, and the intellectual. This view was reflected in his poetry in which he expressed the great status of these tears in his sight. He addressed his Lord saying:
O Lord! Take from me whatever You want,
But, please do not deprive me of the pleasure of shedding tears at early dawn,
Do not deprive me of its bliss.
‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr ibn Al-‘Aas, may Allah be pleased with him, realized the great status of these tears when he said, “It is dearer to me to shed a tear out of fear of Allah The Exalted than to give one hundred thousand Dirhams in charity.”
The tears of the night flow when the heart becomes humbly submissive, and when the skin quivers after experiencing a surge of faith that is gifted to those who have determination and give precedence to what pleases Allah The Exalted. These tears are meant to escape the Divine reproof stated in the Quranic verse in which Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the Remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth?} [Quran 57:16]
Those people have lit the night with their tears, and become moons of the night. Humble submissiveness and longing spurred them on; the Quran grasped their hearts, which hovered around the signs of the universe. Thus, the pearls of the night [i.e., tears] welled forth from their eyes.
The most precious tears:
These are the tears of the beloved Prophet, , whose tears are the most precious that have ever flowed or wetted the earth.
His beloved wife in this world and the Hereafter, ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, told us about his condition during the night. ‘Ataa’ and ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr entered upon ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, and said: “‘Tell us about the most amazing thing that you saw from the Prophet .’
She wept and said,
The Prophet woke up one night and said: “O ‘Aa’ishah, let me worship my Lord.” I said to him, “O Messenger of Allah, I love to be near you, but I also love what pleases you.” Then, he performed ablution and started praying and weeping until he wet his lap, then he wept until he wet his beard and went on weeping until he wet the ground. When Bilaal came to wake him up to perform Al-Fajr Prayer and saw him weeping, he said, “O Messenger of Allah! Why are you weeping while Allah The Almighty has forgiven you your past and future sins?” The Prophet replied: “Should I not be a grateful slave to Allah! Today, a verse was revealed to me; woe to whoever reads it and does not reflect upon it. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding. Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], “Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.} [Quran 3:190-191]’” [Al-Albaani: Saheeh]
The weeping lion:
‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him, is the lion of Islam, who showed extraordinary courage in the battlefield and was the best example of courageous fighting. However, in addition to this courage, he was endowed with another form of power: the power of the tears that liberated him from earthy restraints. Our hero is ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him, who ascended the highest peak of courage.
Dhiraar ibn Dhamrah Al-Kinaani described him before Mu’aawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, saying,
By Allah, he was far-sighted and very strong. He spoke with truthful finality, so that, through him, the truth became distinguished from falsehood. He ruled justly, and knowledge gushed forth from him, as did wisdom. He felt an aversion to the world and its pleasures. He felt comfortable with the night and its darkness (meaning he prayed a lot). By Allah, he would cry profusely (from fear of Allah); he would spend long periods of time in contemplation, during which he would converse with his soul. He showed a liking for coarse garments and simple food. By Allah, it was as if – in his humility — he was one of us: when we asked him a question, he would answer us. Yet, in spite of his closeness to us, we would not speak (freely) with him out of reverence.
I swear, by Allah, that on certain occasions, I saw him in his place of prayer when the night was dark and few stars could be seen; he would be holding his beard and crying in the way a very sad person cries. And I would hear him saying, “O my Lord, O my Lord (begging Him)”, then he addressed the world saying, “O world, O world, are you offering yourself to me? Do you desire me? Never! Never! Deceive someone other than me, I have divorced you thrice, so that you cannot return to me (metaphorically, of course; he is alluding to the fact that, in Islam, the third divorce is final). Your life is short, the existence you offer is base, and your danger is great. Alas, for the scarcity of sustenance (good deeds), the great distance of the journey, and the loneliness of the road!
Upon hearing this description, Mu’aawiyah’s eyes filled with tears, and not being able to hold them from gushing forth, he was compelled to wipe them with his cuffs; and the same can be said of those who were present. Mu’aawiyah then said “May Allah have mercy on the father of Al-Hasan, for he was, by Allah, just as you described him.”
