Qiyam and Tahajjud: Timing, Number of Units and the Last Third of the Night

Many people want to pray at night but stop at one practical question: when exactly? The answer is a number you can work out from the sunset and dawn times in your city, not a guess.

Qiyam and tahajjud: the same thing?

• Qiyam al-layl is broader: any worship at night, prayer, recitation or remembrance, starting after the night prayer.
• Tahajjud is narrower: night prayer performed after sleeping.
• Witr closes the night prayer with an odd number of units.

So whoever prays after isha and then prays witr has performed qiyam al-layl, even without waking from sleep.

The window: from isha to dawn

The time starts after the night prayer and lasts until dawn breaks. Once the dawn call is given, the night prayer's time is over; whoever wants witr should pray it before dawn.

The best part is the last third of the night, in view of the reported hadith about that hour and the answering of those who ask, recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

How to calculate the last third yourself

Night here begins at sunset (maghrib) and ends at dawn (fajr), not at twelve o'clock.

1. Subtract maghrib from fajr to get the length of the night.
2. Divide by three to get one third.
3. Subtract one third from fajr; the result is the start of the last third.
4. Midnight is the midpoint between maghrib and fajr.

Worked example

A city where maghrib is 6:45 pm and fajr is 4:45 am:

• Night length = 10 hours.
• One third = 3 hours 20 minutes.
• Start of the last third = 4:45 am minus 3:20 = 1:25 am.
• Midpoint of the night = 6:45 pm plus 5 hours = 11:45 pm.

Approximate range by city

The figures shift daily; this table shows how far the start moves between summer and winter:

Read the exact figure for today from prayer times after setting your city, or from a city page such as prayer times in Makkah, then apply the four steps above.

How many units

• There is no obligatory maximum; night prayer is in pairs, closed with witr.
• The best known practice of the Prophet, peace be upon him, was eleven units, and thirteen is also reported.
• Umar ibn al-Khattab is reported to have directed twenty units in Ramadan with witr, which is why mosque practice varies between eleven, twenty and twenty-three.
• Witr may be one, three, five, seven or nine units.

Presence of heart matters more than count: two unhurried units are better than twenty rushed ones.

Common mistakes and what is correct

Four steps that make it possible

1. Work out the start of the last third for tonight from your city's maghrib and fajr.
2. Set an alarm fifteen minutes earlier and form the intention before sleeping.
3. Start with two units and witr, then build up.
4. In Ramadan pair it with tarawih; see the Ramadan page to plan your night.