The ruling on leaving off the tarawih and limiting oneself to the tahajjud
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Question:
The questioner says: The question is about the one who prays the 'Isha' and leaves off the tarawih, limiting himself to the tahajjud prayer, and this is his belief regarding the number of rak'ahs, which is eleven. What is the ruling on his action?
Answer:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not specify the night prayer; he was lenient regarding the night prayer and did not set a limit. He saidSahih al-Bukhari 37, and he did not specify the number of rak'ahs. He said Jami` at-Tirmidhi 806Sahih (Darussalam), and he did not specify. The scope is open, praise be to Allah. Do not make things difficult for yourselves. Pray what is easy for you with the worshippers in the mosques. As for specifying eleven rak'ahs, that is not what the Messenger did. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not specify eleven rak'ahs. Rather, he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray eleven rak'ahs. But what is the prayer of the Messenger, my brother? You do not look at the number; you look at the quality. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lengthen the recitation and the standing, and he would lengthen the bowing, and he would lengthen the prostration, to the extent that when Hudhayfah prayed with him on some nights, he was about to sit down because of the length of the Messenger's (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer. The Messenger would lengthen his recitation, reciting al-Baqarah and al-Nisa' and Aal 'Imran in two rak'ahs. Do you do this?
The prayer of the Messenger is not bearable; no one can bear it except the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Allah gave him strength for that. So you pray with the Muslims. Do not look at the number of rak'ahs. Pray with them, and they pray. Seek an imam who is proficient in prayer, who perfects the prayer. Specifying the number of rak'ahs depends on the type of prayer. If the prayer is long, the number of rak'ahs is reduced, and if the prayer is light, the number of rak'ahs is increased. This is the balance in the action of the Muslim. As for the one who takes the number and leaves the quality, he has no proof and no argument. Take the number and the quality. Yes, that is right.
The questioner says: The question is about the one who prays the 'Isha' and leaves off the tarawih, limiting himself to the tahajjud prayer, and this is his belief regarding the number of rak'ahs, which is eleven. What is the ruling on his action?
Answer:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not specify the night prayer; he was lenient regarding the night prayer and did not set a limit. He said
Whoever establishes prayers during the nights of Ramadan faithfully out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's rewards (not for showing off), all his past sins will be forgiven.
من قام رمضان إيمانا واحتسابا غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبهIndeed, whoever stands (praying) with the Imam until he finished, then it is recorded for him that he prayed the whole night.
من قام مع الإمام حتى ينصرف كتب له قيام ليلةThe prayer of the Messenger is not bearable; no one can bear it except the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Allah gave him strength for that. So you pray with the Muslims. Do not look at the number of rak'ahs. Pray with them, and they pray. Seek an imam who is proficient in prayer, who perfects the prayer. Specifying the number of rak'ahs depends on the type of prayer. If the prayer is long, the number of rak'ahs is reduced, and if the prayer is light, the number of rak'ahs is increased. This is the balance in the action of the Muslim. As for the one who takes the number and leaves the quality, he has no proof and no argument. Take the number and the quality. Yes, that is right.
Source
لقاء مفتوح 21-09-1435هـ — alfawzan.live (17:55)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.