Is it good to choose Thursday Night (night before Friday) to pray Tahajjud and do special ibaadah?

by Asma bint Shameem

It is not allowed to specifically pick Thursday night for ibaadah and Qiyaam, etc. thinking that’s there’s any special virtue for doing so. All acts of ibaadah are tawqeefi. That means that you have to have PROOF of that act of ibaadah from the Qur’aan and/or authentic ahaadeeth. When we look at these two sources of Sharee’ah, we see NO PROOF of any “special virtue” or any “special rewards” to do ibaadah just because it’s the night between Thursday and Friday. In fact, the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam specifically FORBADE that. He Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said 🍃 “Do not single out the night of Friday for voluntary prayer to the exclusion of other nights. Do not single out the day of Friday for fasting to the exclusion of other days, UNLESS it is the ROUTINE of one of you.” (Muslim 1144) 🍃 Al-Nawawi said: This hadeeth clearly indicates that it is forbidden to single out the night of Friday from other nights for praying, and to single out that day for fasting. It is unanimously agreed (among the scholars) that this is makrooh.“ (Sharh Muslim, 8/20) Similarly, there is NO PROOF of any specific duaas to be recited or any special prayers to be read on this night. Anyone who claims that has to bring PROOF from the Qur’aan and/or authentic ahaadeeth. If the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam did it or taught it, we should do it too. Abd if he didn’t do it, we should not do it either. Remembe... ALL goodness lies in following the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam and his Sahaabah And all success and salvation comes ONLY by following them. However, as per the above hadeeth, if you’re USED to praying tahajjud every day, and it’s your ROUTINE, then you can continue with that, even if it’s a Friday. Or if you’re specifically praying on the night between Thursday and Friday because it’s more convenient for you because you’re off on Fridays or because it just so happened coincidentally WITHOUT associating any special virtues to it or thinking that ibaadah on this night has special meaning, then in that situation, it is allowed to single out the night between Thursday and Friday for ibaaah and prayers. 🍃Shaykh Ibn Baaz said: “ The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said: “Do not single out Friday for fasting, and do not single out the night of Friday for praying qiyaam.” So this hadeeth refers to singling it out, i.e., when a person does that JUST BECAUSE it is Friday or the night of Friday..”(Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 15/414) And Allaah knows best