Supplication for the completion of the Qur'an and traveling to attend it, and the crowding for 'Umrah

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah reward you. Do you know what happens in many of the Muslims' mosques, and especially in the two Holy Mosques in this time, regarding the eagerness to go and be present on the twenty-ninth night, or the twenty-ninth of the month of Ramadan every year, in order to attend the completion of the Qur'an? This happens even for those who do not pray the tarawih, because of the supplication that takes place after the completion of the Qur'an and the gathering of the worshippers in this state. It has even become a custom among many people. Is there any evidence from the Book and the Sunnah for this? And is the supplication for the completion of the Qur'an, and what happens in it regarding the lengthening of the supplication and the eagerness for it and following it, is this from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The Shaykh:
The supplication for the completion of the Qur'an, in this form of prayer, has no clear evidence from the Sunnah. However, the practice of the Salaf was in the time of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). He would pray behind the imam while he was supplicating, and Imam Ahmad would say "Ameen" to his supplication after the completion of the Qur'an. He said, "I have witnessed this from those I witnessed from the people of the Hijaz and the people of..." The statement of Imam Ahmad, as in the book al-Mughni, quoted from Imam Ahmad, indicates that it is from the practice of the Salaf, or from the practice of some of the Salaf. Therefore, it is not to be denied in the way that things are denied that are to be denied. But the exaggeration in the service and lengthening it, this is what is unbearable. Lengthening it, causing hardship for the people, this is not permissible. Rather, supplication should be made with concise, comprehensive supplications that do not burden the people; this is what is required. As for traveling for the purpose of the completion, there is no evidence for it, and it may be a bid'ah (religious innovation). But if one travels for the sake of 'Umrah, then 'Umrah is prescribed and recommended in Ramadan, and it is better. Traveling for 'Umrah, with the intention of 'Umrah, is good and prescribed, and there is virtue in it. But traveling solely for the sake of the completion, in my view, is a bid'ah.

Another questioner:
Yes.

The Shaykh:
And even though the completion is prescribed, or it is not denied for the one who does it given the transmission of it from the Salaf in the blessed centuries, despite this, the crowding in the Holy Mosque, and even the 'Umrah on the night of the twenty-seventh, even though 'Umrah is prescribed and recommended, but specifying the night of the twenty-seventh with the crowding and the danger, or that a person wastes his work, he sleeps in the mosque and leaves his mosque in order to attend the 'Umrah and the completion on the twenty-seventh, this is an excessive effort with no evidence for it. Remaining in his country, praying and performing tahajjud, and being an imam who leads the prayer, this is better than traveling for 'Umrah. So how much more so if there are dangers in the 'Umrah from the crowding and the risk?
Many issues come up where they say, "We entered the state of ihram, and when we arrived, we did not circumambulate or perform sa'y. We put on our clothes and returned. We have left the 'Umrah." You made a mistake in your travel first, in this state.
Second, abandoning the 'Umrah after you have entered the state of ihram for it is a great mistake. It is not permissible to refuse the 'Umrah and refuse the ritual after entering the state of ihram for it. One must perform it. But you wait until the crowding subsides. Especially on the night of the twenty-seventh, be patient until the night of the twenty-ninth, until the night of the thirtieth, until the entry of Shawwal, and perform the 'Umrah. You remain in your state of ihram until the space opens up and you perform the 'Umrah. As for you refusing it, this is forbidden. Allah the Exalted said: So whoever has entered the state of ihram for both must complete them, even if they were originally recommended. Yes, and Allah the Exalted knows best.