How is the Night Prayer (Qiyam al-Layl) performed?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
Night Prayer (Qiyam al-Layl) refers to the voluntary (Nafl) prayers performed by a person after the Sunset prayer (Maghrib) and before the Dawn prayer (Fajr). As for Tahajjud, it is the voluntary prayer performed during the night specifically after waking up from sleep, as an act of devotion to Allah. Allah the Exalted says {what means}: "And from [part of] the night, pray with it [i.e., recitation] as additional worship for you." (Al-Isra/79). Thus, in terms of reward,Tahajjud is superior to voluntary prayers performed before sleeping. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
Why was the exact date of Laylat al-Qadr concealed?
The wisdom behind this is to encourage Muslims to strive in worship throughout all the nights of Ramadan, or at least in the last ten nights. By doing so, they will earn the reward of observing Laylat al-Qadr as well as the reward of worshiping on other blessed nights.
How many Rak`ahs (unit of prayer) are offered in Witr prayer?
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds Witr (an odd number prayer performed between Isha`a and Fajr) is offered with a minimum of one Rak`ah, and a maximum of eleven, but offering three Rak`ahs is the minimum of its complete form. And Allah Knows Best.
Does sacrificing one sheep avail for the entire household?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
In Islamic jurisprudence, the sacrifice (Udhiyah) is considered a Communal Sunnah (Sunnah Kifayah) for the members of a single household who share the same financial support.
If one member of the household performs the sacrifice—even if they are not the primary breadwinner, such as the wife or one of the children—the religious request is fulfilled on behalf of the entire household. This is similar to the Funeral Prayer (Salat al-Janazah), where the obligation is dropped for the community if some perform it.
While the communal request is satisfied by one person's action, the specific spiritual reward (Thawab) for the act of worship belongs only to the person who sacrificed, unless that individual explicitly intends to include the other family members in the reward.
A single sacrifice also avails for a man who is married to more than one wife. And Allah the Almighty knows best.
