However...

However, for the Shaf’i prayer, it is recommended to recite Surat al-Fatiha with Surat al-Nas (chapter 114) in the first rak’ah (unit) while Surat al-Fatiha with Surat al-Falaq (chapter 113) is recommended in the second rak’ah. For the Witr prayer, Surat al-Fatiha and the following three chapters of the Qur’an are to be recited respectively: Surat al-Ikhlas (3 times), Surat al-Falaq, and Surat al-Nas (once). Thereafter, a supplication (i.e., Qunut) is recited [14] .

For surely, Y ou are the All-Forgiving, the All-Compassionate. Thereafter, the prayer should be completed and immediately after the ‘ Tasleem ’, the Tasbih az-Zahra (i.e., Allahu Akbar [ 34 times ] , Alhamdulillah [ 33 times ] , and Subhanallah [ 33 times ] ) is highly recommended. Impediments to Observing the Late-night Prayer Communicating with God in solitude, particularly in the middle of the dark night is one of the distinguished attributes of the special servants of God.

They forgo their sleep and pleasure simply to gain the pleasure of God while the nonchalant ones remain heedless and the negligent ones sleep throughout the night.

The Qur’an while describing these special servants of Allah says: “ Their sides vacate their beds to supplicate their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend out of what We have provided them [15] .” However, some people were deprived of this special and unique opportunity of communicating with their Lord at night either due to some spiritual or non-spiritual factors.

According to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), telling lies is one of the sins that serve as an impediment to observing the late-night prayer.