Sayyiduna ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه is remembered for many things — his courage in battle, his mastery of knowledge, his role as the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph, his closeness to the Prophet ﷺ. But among the aspects of his character that the classical biographical tradition preserves with particular care is his night prayer — the tahajjud that he maintained through every season of his life, in war and in peace, in power and in hardship. The man who was the gate of the Prophet’s city of knowledge was also a man who stood before Allāh ﷻ in the darkness with tears on his face.
What the Classical Sources Record
The classical biographical and ḥadīth literature preserves specific accounts of Sayyiduna ʿAlī’s رضي الله عنه night worship. Those who lived near him or observed him at night describe a man who would enter prayer with a transformation visible to those around him — the same man who could face the greatest warriors of Arabia without flinching would tremble when he stood before Allāh ﷻ in ṣalāh. He reportedly said: “When prayer time enters, I feel a shaking in my body and a colour change in my face.” His awareness of the divine presence was so acute that it expressed itself physically.
His Weeping in Prayer
Among the most frequently cited characteristics of Sayyiduna ʿAlī’s رضي الله عنه worship is his weeping. The classical sources record that he would weep during his prayer — particularly during night prayer — with a depth and frequency that his companions noted and preserved. He is reported to have wept during his recitation of Qurʼān, particularly when the verses of divine majesty or the descriptions of the Day of Judgement were reached. His tears were not a performance — they were the natural expression of a heart that understood, more profoundly than most, what it meant to stand before Allāh ﷻ.
A Narration From the Night
Classical sources preserve a striking account of Sayyiduna ʿAlī رضي الله عنه during one of his night vigils, recorded by those who saw him in his garden alone, preparing for prayer. He addressed the stars, then the darkness, then Allāh ﷻ directly — in words of a man who understood the smallness of the human being and the greatness of the One before Whom he was about to stand. He said, in words preserved in classical sources: “O my God — how many a sin of mine You concealed that I did not display. How many a favour You showed that I did not thank You for. If You had made these apparent, I would have been the most disgraced of creation.” He then wept until dawn.
The Pattern Across His Life
From his childhood in the Prophet’s household ﷺ through his caliphate and until his martyrdom at the hands of a Kharijite in 40 AH, the night prayer was the constant of Sayyiduna ʿAlī’s رضي الله عنه life. The same man who governed the Muslim world, who raised Sayyiduna al-Ḥasan and Sayyiduna al-Ḥusayn رضوان الله عليهما, who transmitted hundreds of prophetic narrations — this man stood in prayer every night, weeping, in the private conversation between a created being and its Creator.
What is recorded about Sayyiduna ʿAlī’s night prayer?
Classical sources record that he maintained tahajjud — night prayer — throughout his life, that he would tremble and change colour when entering ṣalāh, and that he wept during his prayers with a frequency and depth his companions preserved in their narrations. His awareness of the divine presence was so acute it expressed itself physically.
Why is Sayyiduna ʿAlī’s weeping in prayer significant?
Because it reveals the interior dimension of the man the Prophet ﷺ called the gate of his city of knowledge. Sayyiduna ʿAlī’s رضي الله عنه courage in battle was known to all. His weeping in the night before Allāh ﷻ was the private reality behind that public courage — a heart so close to the divine reality that it could not remain dry in prayer.
What does Sayyiduna ʿAlī’s night devotion teach contemporary Muslims?
That knowledge and worship are inseparable in the Islamic tradition. The man who knew the most about the Prophet ﷺ also worshipped most deeply in private. His tahajjud was not separate from his knowledge — it was the source from which his knowledge drew its depth. The Muslim who loves Sayyiduna ʿAlī رضي الله عنه is called toward both: learning more and praying deeper.