What time does Tahajjud start and end?
I keep reading about the last third of the night but I am not sure how to work out the exact times where I live.
Answer
Tahajjud is the voluntary prayer prayed at night after Isha, and its window closes when Fajr enters. The night for this purpose is counted from Maghrib to Fajr, so you split that span into three: the final third is the time the Prophet ﷺ singled out.
The Prophet ﷺ said that our Lord descends to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, saying: "Who is calling upon Me, that I may answer him? Who is asking of Me, that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?" (Bukhari 1145, Muslim 758).
A worked example: if Maghrib is 7:00 pm and Fajr is 5:00 am, the night is ten hours, each third is three hours twenty minutes, and the last third begins at about 1:40 am. Our Tonight page calculates this for your exact location so you do not have to.
If waking in the last third is not realistic for you yet, any prayer after Isha counts as Tahajjud once you have slept. Two rak'ahs prayed consistently are better than a long night you cannot repeat.
References
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1145
- Sahih Muslim 758
Answered by Tahajjud editorial team
This answer is educational and referenced — it is not a fatwa, and no ruling here is AI-generated. For a ruling on your personal situation, ask a qualified scholar you can speak to directly. Sources & accuracy policy
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