Is tahajjud sunnah or nafl?

The four schools agree on this.

Explanation

All four schools agree that tahajjud (the night prayer) is voluntary. People get confused because two labels are used. Nafl means extra worship beyond the obligatory. Sunnah means the practice of the Prophet ﷺ. Tahajjud is both: it is extra, and he prayed it regularly. It is not a sunnah mu'akkadah (confirmed sunnah) in the way the two rakats before Fajr are, so leaving it is not blameworthy, but it carries great reward.

Can you pray it without sleeping? The word tahajjud refers to rising from sleep, so the ideal is to sleep after Isha and wake in the last third of the night. If you cannot wake, many Hanafi scholars say that nafl prayed after Isha and before you sleep still earns the reward of night prayer (qiyam al-layl), though the waking version is better.

• Rakats: any even number, commonly 2 to 12, prayed in pairs. There is no fixed minimum beyond two.
• Witr: if you trust yourself to wake, keep witr for the end. If you prayed witr before sleeping, you may still pray tahajjud later, but do not repeat the witr.
• Recitation: any surahs you know; longer recitation is better if you can manage it.

For the full method and the best times, read how to pray tahajjud, check tahajjud time tonight, and see the dua for tahajjud.

The evidence

Where the ruling is recorded

• Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Chapter on witr and nawafil, discussion of the night prayer. Night prayer is recommended, and tahajjud is the nafl prayed after sleeping.
• Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Chapter on nawafil. Night prayer is among the recommended prayers, best in the last part of the night.

This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.