The ruling on leading prayer for one who discourages people from standing in prayer during the last ten nights
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: If the imam prays eleven rak'ahs in the last ten nights with ease, is this action valid, or should he join the congregation in their prayer of tarawih and the final night prayer?
Answer:
A Muslim should not forbid himself [from worship] or be affected by the words of those who cause confusion among the people. These are the ones who have appeared in this time with an attitude of arrogance and knowledge, and they have been discouraging people from striving in the last ten nights. They tell them, "Pray tarawih and you will weep, or pray at the end of the night and that is sufficient for tarawih; do not pray at the beginning of the night and the end of the night." This is arrogance and ignorance, may Allah protect us from it, and it is depriving the people and casting doubt on these great virtues.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when the last ten nights entered, would keep his night awake. He kept it awake by talking and discussing, or by praying tahajjud? He would strive in it more than in any other time, because it is the end of the month, and because it is the most likely time for the Night of Decree. In it, he would strive in the last ten nights and distinguish the last ten nights with acts of worship he did not do in the first part of the month. So these people who discourage people from the last ten nights are casting doubt on them. Their words are not to be considered, and one should not pay attention to them. It is obligatory that the imam who does this action should resolve to distance himself from the imamate, because he has caused confusion among the people and deprived them of these great virtues, tahajjud at the end of the night, and tarawih prayer at the beginning of the night. He must distance himself from the imamate. How does he pray in the mosque or not pray, or, if Allah wills, not pray tarawih and not pray tahajjud? How does he forbid himself? As for him forbidding the people with him and causing confusion among them, this is not permissible. Some of them may do this out of good intention; he is an imam of a mosque and does not want to strain himself with tarawih and tahajjud, and he seeks in himself these cold feelings. In reality, he is not fit to be an imam for the people. The one who is fit to be an imam for the people is the one who encourages them to good and who keeps these nights alive, their beginning and their end, with prayer and tahajjud. This is the faith of the one who advises himself and advises the Muslims. As for this lazy person who discourages the people, causes confusion for them, or claims knowledge while he has no knowledge—if he referred to the Sunnah and saw the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he would realize that he is a Muslim in this Salaf. Yes.
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: If the imam prays eleven rak'ahs in the last ten nights with ease, is this action valid, or should he join the congregation in their prayer of tarawih and the final night prayer?
Answer:
A Muslim should not forbid himself [from worship] or be affected by the words of those who cause confusion among the people. These are the ones who have appeared in this time with an attitude of arrogance and knowledge, and they have been discouraging people from striving in the last ten nights. They tell them, "Pray tarawih and you will weep, or pray at the end of the night and that is sufficient for tarawih; do not pray at the beginning of the night and the end of the night." This is arrogance and ignorance, may Allah protect us from it, and it is depriving the people and casting doubt on these great virtues.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when the last ten nights entered, would keep his night awake. He kept it awake by talking and discussing, or by praying tahajjud? He would strive in it more than in any other time, because it is the end of the month, and because it is the most likely time for the Night of Decree. In it, he would strive in the last ten nights and distinguish the last ten nights with acts of worship he did not do in the first part of the month. So these people who discourage people from the last ten nights are casting doubt on them. Their words are not to be considered, and one should not pay attention to them. It is obligatory that the imam who does this action should resolve to distance himself from the imamate, because he has caused confusion among the people and deprived them of these great virtues, tahajjud at the end of the night, and tarawih prayer at the beginning of the night. He must distance himself from the imamate. How does he pray in the mosque or not pray, or, if Allah wills, not pray tarawih and not pray tahajjud? How does he forbid himself? As for him forbidding the people with him and causing confusion among them, this is not permissible. Some of them may do this out of good intention; he is an imam of a mosque and does not want to strain himself with tarawih and tahajjud, and he seeks in himself these cold feelings. In reality, he is not fit to be an imam for the people. The one who is fit to be an imam for the people is the one who encourages them to good and who keeps these nights alive, their beginning and their end, with prayer and tahajjud. This is the faith of the one who advises himself and advises the Muslims. As for this lazy person who discourages the people, causes confusion for them, or claims knowledge while he has no knowledge—if he referred to the Sunnah and saw the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he would realize that he is a Muslim in this Salaf. Yes.
Source
عدد ركعات صلاة التراويح — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.