What Is Tahajjud? A voluntary prayer offered during the night after sleeping
A plain-language definition of Tahajjud, its Arabic origin, and how Muslims use the term.
What Tahajjud means
Tahajjud is a voluntary prayer offered during the night after sleeping. The term belongs to the basic vocabulary Muslims use to describe pillars & acts of worship. It names a specific idea or practice rather than every part of the wider subject. That distinction matters because English translations can make several related Arabic terms look interchangeable when they are not.
Arabic origin and wording
Tahajjud is related to an Arabic verb concerning wakefulness after sleep. Transliteration into English varies, so the same word may appear with different apostrophes, vowels, or spellings. Those spelling differences usually point back to the same Arabic term; context is more useful than English spelling alone when identifying its meaning.
Tahajjud in daily Muslim life
In daily Muslim life, Muslims may rise before Fajr for quiet units of prayer, Quran recitation, and personal dua. People may learn the word at home, in a mosque, in a class, or while reading translated Islamic material. Local customs and scholarly vocabulary can affect how often it is heard, but the core definition remains the one given here.
Related Islamic terms
Two useful related terms are Salah and Dua. Tahajjud should be understood alongside them without being collapsed into either one. Together, the three entries provide a clearer map of the surrounding vocabulary and make it easier to recognize the term when it appears in prayer, study, or conversation.
Frequently asked questions
What does Tahajjud mean?
Tahajjud means a voluntary prayer offered during the night after sleeping. In Islamic usage, the surrounding context helps distinguish it from related terms.
How is Tahajjud used in Muslim worship?
Muslims may rise before Fajr for quiet units of prayer, Quran recitation, and personal dua. The term is also encountered in Islamic teaching and conversation.