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Is it correct to use an alarm clock to wake up at night and then say "ta'aar" (the Arabic term for waking up naturally and stirring in the night)?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Al-Bukhari narrated a hadith from 'Ubada ibn al-Samit - may Allah be pleased with him - that the Prophet - peace and blessings be upon him - said: "Whoever awakens at night and says: 'None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, alone, without partner. To Him belongs all sovereignty and praise, and He is over all things competent. All praise is due to Allah, and glory be to Allah, and Allah is the Greatest, and there is no might or power except with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great,' then says: 'O Allah, forgive me,' or supplicates, his supplication will be answered. And if he performs ablution and prays, his prayer will be accepted."

The meaning of "ta'arra" (تعارَّ) is, according to most scholars, to wake up, and it may be accompanied by a sound or speech. The secret behind choosing this word instead of "istaqadha" (استيقظ - woke up) or "intabaha" (انتبه - became alert) is for someone who has accustomed themselves to remembrance (dhikr) and finds comfort in it, to the extent that it becomes their inner thought in their sleep and wakefulness.

The apparent meaning of the hadith includes whoever wakes up, whether by an alarm or without one.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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