Guidance for Imams Regarding Recitation in the Tarawih Prayer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Honorable Shaykh, our father, with the approach of the month of Ramadan—may Allah grant you and us success in meeting it in safety and faith—there are some observations regarding some of the imams. Among them is that they recite a very small amount, claiming it is to avoid burdening the ma'mum (those praying behind the imam) and so that the largest possible number of people can pray with them. Among them?
The Shaykh:
Among them.
The questioner:
Among them is that some imams recite a very small amount in the Tarawih prayer, claiming it is to ease the burden on the people so that the largest possible number can pray with them. What is your guidance for these imams?
The Shaykh:
The purpose of the Tarawih prayer and the obligatory prayer is not for the largest number of people to pray with you. The purpose is to perfect the prayer. The purpose is to perfect the prayer, whether the number is large or not. Perfecting the prayer is what is required. And the Tarawih prayer in Ramadan: from the beginning of the month to the end, the Qur'an is divided among the nights. It is completed at the end of the month, and no hardship arises from this. No hardship arises if a person balances his recitation in all the nights and divides the Qur'an from the beginning of the month to the end. In this way, the recitation of the Qur'an is achieved, and the burden is eased for the worshippers.
As for lengthening the recitation in some nights and shortening it in others, this is an error. Balance is required in the nights so that the prayer is not compromised and the ma'mum are not burdened. This was the way of the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them). They would complete the recitation of the Qur'an in the Tarawih at the end of the month and divide it among the nights with a fair division.
Also, their recitation was moderate, between hadd (hasty recitation) and hithramah (excessive slowness), and between stretching out and exaggerating in the elongation of letters. It would burden himself and those behind him. Rather, the reciter should be moderate in his recitation. Between hadd and hithramah, he is between hadd and speed; he is between exaggerating in the rules of tajwid (Qur'anic recitation), which burdens himself and burdens others. By doing this, he combines the two benefits. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Honorable Shaykh, our father, with the approach of the month of Ramadan—may Allah grant you and us success in meeting it in safety and faith—there are some observations regarding some of the imams. Among them is that they recite a very small amount, claiming it is to avoid burdening the ma'mum (those praying behind the imam) and so that the largest possible number of people can pray with them. Among them?
The Shaykh:
Among them.
The questioner:
Among them is that some imams recite a very small amount in the Tarawih prayer, claiming it is to ease the burden on the people so that the largest possible number can pray with them. What is your guidance for these imams?
The Shaykh:
The purpose of the Tarawih prayer and the obligatory prayer is not for the largest number of people to pray with you. The purpose is to perfect the prayer. The purpose is to perfect the prayer, whether the number is large or not. Perfecting the prayer is what is required. And the Tarawih prayer in Ramadan: from the beginning of the month to the end, the Qur'an is divided among the nights. It is completed at the end of the month, and no hardship arises from this. No hardship arises if a person balances his recitation in all the nights and divides the Qur'an from the beginning of the month to the end. In this way, the recitation of the Qur'an is achieved, and the burden is eased for the worshippers.
As for lengthening the recitation in some nights and shortening it in others, this is an error. Balance is required in the nights so that the prayer is not compromised and the ma'mum are not burdened. This was the way of the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them). They would complete the recitation of the Qur'an in the Tarawih at the end of the month and divide it among the nights with a fair division.
Also, their recitation was moderate, between hadd (hasty recitation) and hithramah (excessive slowness), and between stretching out and exaggerating in the elongation of letters. It would burden himself and those behind him. Rather, the reciter should be moderate in his recitation. Between hadd and hithramah, he is between hadd and speed; he is between exaggerating in the rules of tajwid (Qur'anic recitation), which burdens himself and burdens others. By doing this, he combines the two benefits. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
لقاء مفتوح — alfawzan.live (37:58)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.