The Meaning of "Until He Departs" in the Hadith on Night Prayer, and the Difference Between the Poor and the Needy

The questioner : A questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, I swear by Allah that I love you for the sake of Allah. What is meant by the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), "until he departs," in the hadith narrated by the people of the Sunan, where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: even if he is sleeping in his bed? Does this departure refer to leaving the prayer, or the imam rising from the pulpit?

The Shaykh : I say: May Allah love the one who loves us for His sake, and I ask Allah to make us all among His loved ones, His awliya (close friends of Allah), and His party. As for the first issue, which is His statement (peace and blessings be upon him), "until he departs," the meaning is that he departs from the prayer. It does not mean that he stands up and leaves, but rather that he departs from the prayer. For this reason, the scholars said that if the imam says the taslim, whether in tarawih or otherwise, he should not prolong his standing facing the qiblah. Rather, when he says, "I seek forgiveness from Allah" three times, and "O Allah, You are Peace and from You comes peace, Blessed and Exalted is He, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor," he departs so as not to detain the people. As long as the imam has not turned toward them, the people are commanded to remain. However, he should not detain them; he remains only for the duration of saying, "I seek forgiveness from Allah" three times, "O Allah, You are Peace and from You comes peace, Blessed and Exalted is He, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor," and then he departs. This is what is meant, and I have informed you of it. Now, as for his statement that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "It is written for him the standing of a night, even if he is sleeping in his bed," the phrase "even if he is sleeping in his bed" is an insertion, meaning it is not part of the original hadith. The meaning, however, is correct. When the Companions stood with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Yes.

The questioner : A questioner says: What is the difference between the poor (faqir) and the needy (miskin)? And why... I would like to point out here that some people think that if a man follows the imam in the witr prayer, then stands up after the imam's taslim and performs a rak'ah to make the witr even, that this contradicts the statement "until he departs."

The Shaykh : We say that this is a mistake. His statement "until he departs" means that if the imam says the taslim and you perform a rak'ah after him, you have remained until he departed. The departure is the upper limit. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say, "and departed with his departure," such that we would say that if you make it even, you have contradicted the hadith. Rather, he said, "Whoever stands with the imam until he departs." And whoever remains with the imam until he says the taslim, and then comes after with a rak'ah, has remained with him until he departed. There is no doubt in that.