As-Sajda (The Prostration)

17. “And no person knows what (important reward) is hidden for them of the joy of the eyes, in recompense for what (good) they were doing.”

The act of being vigilant at midnight, the midnight prayer, and helping the needy and deprived people bring the best rewards, Imam Sadiq (as) said:

“The reward of every good deed has been mentioned in the Qur’an except the reward of the midnight prayer and none knows its reward but Allah.”

Then he recited this verse.¹

However, this holy verse refers to the great and important reward of the true believers who have the signs and qualities mentioned in the previous two verses. With an interesting statement which denotes to the extraordinary importance of their reward, it says:

“And no person knows what (important reward) is hidden for them of the joy of the eyes…”

This extraordinary great reward is the recompense of the good deeds that they used to do. The verse continues saying:

“…in recompense for what (good) they were doing.” The application of “no person knows” and the application of the Arabic phrase: /Qurrat-i-’a‘yun/ (of the joy of the eyes) show the endless dignity of these rewards, specially with regard to this fact that the Arabic word /nafs/ has been mentioned in the form of an undefined noun and with a negative style which denotes to generality and it encompasses all of the souls, even the Divine near-stationed angels and the friends of Allah.

The application of the Arabic phrase: /qurrat-i-’a‘yon/ (of the joy of the eyes) without annexation to the word /nafs/ points to this fact that these Divine bounties, which have been appointed for the abode of Hereafter as the rewards of the true believers, are in such a state that they are the cause of the joy of the eyes of everybody.

The Arabic word /qurrah/ is derived from /qurr/ in the sense of ‘cold’ and ‘coolness’, and since it is known that the tear of joy is cold and the tear of sorrow is warm, then the application of /qurrat-i-’a‘yon/ in the Arabic language means something that causes the man’s eyes to become cold; that is, it makes the tear of joy flow down from his eyes, and this is a tender allusion for the utmost happiness.

A Few Traditions Upon Midnight Prayer

1- Imam Sadiq (as) in a tradition said:

“There is not any good deed but there has been stated a reward for it except the midnight prayer that Allah, the Mighty, has not stated its reward for the sake of its importance and He has said: ‘And no person knows what (important reward) is hidden for them of the joy of he eyes…’”2

But besides all of these things, as we said before, too, the world of Hereafter is an extraordinary vaster world than this world, and it is even vaster than the life of this present world comparing the world of foetus in Mother’s womb, and in principle, its vastness is not comprehensible for us, the prisoners of this world, and it is not imaginable for anyone.

We only hear something about it and see an adumbration of it from far distance, but it is impossible for us to understand its importance until we get a kind of seeing and understanding resembled to that of that world, as supposing the child in the mother’s womb had a complete intellect and wit he could never understand the merits and bounties of this world.

This very meaning has been cited about the martyrs in the way of Allah.

When a martyr falls on the ground, the ground says:

“Well done for the pure soul that flies from a pure body. This glad tiding is for you that you will have a thing that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no man’s heart has ever perceived.”3

2- The Messenger of Allah (S) said:

“The two-unit prayer that a person establishes in the middle of night is better for him than the world and what is in it; and if it were not difficult for my Ummah I would certainly enjoined those two on them.”4

Imam Rida (as) said:

“Be aware of the midnight prayer. There will not be any servant who gets up at the end of night and establishes eight units of night prayer, two units of Shaf‘ prayer, and one unit of Watr prayer and in his Qunut (personal prayer) seventy times asks forgiveness from Allah except that Allah will save him from the punishment of the grave, the punishment of the Fire and prolongs his lifetime, and enlarges his living for him.”

Then he (as) said:

“The houses wherein night prayer is established at night, its light glitters for the inhabitants of the heaven in the same way that the light of stars glitters for the inhabitants of the earth.”5