(212) Chapter: Excellence of Standing in Prayer at Night

'Abdullah bin Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Mention was made before the Prophet (ﷺ) of a man who slept throughout the night till morning. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) remarked, "He is a man in whose ears Satan urinated." [Al- Bukhari and Muslim]. Commentary: This Hadith holds inducement for Qiyam-ul-Lail and highlights its merits. It also urges one to perpetuate his good actions, follow the practice of the righteous and avoid the way of those who are negligent or become negligent in the performance of virtuous deeds. Urination of Satan in a person's ear or ears can be literally true (although we cannot perceive it) because if a person does not seek the protection of Allah against Satan, then Satan joins him in food and other activities, as is evident from other Ahadith. Therefore, urination of Satan is also possible. Some people think it is a metaphor to the effect that he who does not get up at night for prayer and goes on enjoying his sleep, Satan `closes' his ears until he does not hear the remembrance of Allah. Some others consider it a metaphor for the contempt and insult of Satan. In either case, we learn from this Hadith that missing the Qiyam-ulLail is disliked because it provides Satan an opportunity to create mischief, and he succeeds in creating obstructions in the worship and obedience of Allah.