THIRD SCIENCE · SECOND CHAPTER · SECOND SECTION · Second Article
Second Article
It conveys the virtues of rising at night for worship through hadith.
O dear one! It should be known that, out of his compassion for his umma, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged rising at night and conveyed the nightly call of God Most High.
Accordingly, in his hadiths that express metaphorical (mutashābih) meaning, he said: “Every night, when the last half of the night remains, God Most High descends to the lowest heaven (with His mercy) and says: ‘I accept the supplication (dua) of the one who supplicates. I grant the request of the one who asks something of Me. I forgive the one who seeks forgiveness from Me.’” And he said: “When the first third of the night passes, God Most High descends to the lowest heaven (with His mercy) and calls out until morning: ‘I am the Owner of everything. I accept the supplication of the one who supplicates. I grant the request of the one who asks something of Me. I forgive the one who seeks forgiveness from Me.’”
And he said: “When half the night passes, God Most High descends to the lowest heaven (with His mercy) and calls out until the sun rises: ‘Is there anyone who asks for something, so that I may grant it? Is there anyone who supplicates, so that I may accept it? Is there anyone who repents for his sin, so that I may forgive him?’” And he said: “In the last third of the night, God Most High descends to the lowest heaven (with His mercy) and says: ‘I accept the supplication of the one who supplicates to Me. I grant the request of the one who asks something of Me. Who will lend (to Me) without fear of poverty and without reproach?’”
Verse
He calls out to the souls at night, that Light of Lights:
The soul that turns to Me finds tranquility in the heart.
In contemporary Turkish
That Light of Lights calls out to all souls every night: “The soul that turns to Me finds tranquility in the heart!”
And he said: “My eyes sleep, but my qalb (the heart) does not sleep, nor does it become heedless of the Lord of those who sleep.”
Verse
He would lie on his right side, facing the qibla,
And with every breath, a thousand unseen doors would open to him.
In contemporary Turkish
He would lie on his right side, facing the qibla, and with every breath, thousands of unseen doors would open to him.
And he said: “Sleeping in the morning is an obstacle to the abundance of provision and gathers sorrows.” The muezzin of the Beloved of God (peace and blessings be upon him), Bilāl al-Ḥabashī (may Allah be pleased with him), would recite the following five verses with his beautiful voice every night at the time of dawn:
Poetry
1-Teyakkazū teyakkazū yā niyām
Kad hazima’l-fajru junūda’z-zilām
2-Yā nāʾimā min-nawmika fa’ntabih
Laylaka qad asra‘a fi’l-inhizām
3-Yā man qad istaghraqa nawmuhu
Anta tanāmu wa Rabbuka lā yanāmu
4-Rabbuka yad‘ūka ilā bābihī
Fa’s-alhu’l-ʿafwa bi-ghayri intiqām [213/a]
5-Ṣalli ʿalā sayyidinā’l-Muṣṭafā
Aḥmadna’l-hādiya ʿalayhi’s-salām
Translation of the poetry
1-Awake! Awake! O sleepers! The morning is overcoming the armies of the night.
2-O you who sleep, arise! Awaken from your sleep. Otherwise, the night will defeat you.
3-O you who have sunk into deep sleep! You sleep, but your Lord does not sleep.
4-Your Lord calls you to the door of (His) mercy. Ask Him for forgiveness, not retribution.
5-Send blessings upon our master Muḥammad al-Muṣṭafā (peace and blessings be upon him). Send salutations to Aḥmad, who has shown us the right path.
Verse
1-Fill the world with fervor after half the night,
Make the time after half the night a time of presence.
2-Since the moonlight of the night reflects the image of the pure wine of love,
Then after half the night, make its cup the lips of the houris.
3-Those whose qalb (the heart) is pure drink the wine of love at night.
Awaken, fill your heart with joy after half the night.
4-If the night is moonlit, gaze upon the wine of love.
If it is dark, then after half the night, be awake and make it light.
5-Since the radiance of the moon has become the Burāq of the people of the heart,
Then after half the night, make the ascension of the soul (ruh) necessary.
6-This pure earth is filled with the wine of unity (tawhid);
Make it the pure wine after half the night.
7-Do not sleep at night, look upon the world! O Haqqī!
Witness the beauty of love that appears after half the night.
In contemporary Turkish
1-Make the world abundant with love after midnight. Make the time after midnight a time of presence.
2-Since the moonlight of the night reflects the image of the pure wine of love, then after midnight, make its cup the lips of the houris.
3-Those whose hearts are pure drink the wine of love at night. Awaken and fill your heart with joy after midnight.
4-If the night is moonlit, gaze upon the wine of love. If it is dark, then after midnight, be awake and make it light.
5-Since the radiance of the moon has become the Burāq of the people of the heart, then after midnight, make the ascension of the soul necessary.
6-Fill this pure earth with the wine of unity. Make it the pure wine after midnight.
7-Do not sleep at night, look upon the world! O Haqqī! Witness the beauty of love that appears at midnight.