What is the ruling on the Tarawih prayer and what is the virtue of standing in night prayer?
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Question : Honorable Shaykh! This questioner for the program says: What is the ruling on the Tarawih prayer, and what is the virtue of standing in night prayer?
Answer : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. The Tarawih prayer is a recommended practice (sunnah) established by the action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), where he prayed with his Companions for three nights in Ramadan, then he stopped. And he informed (peace and blessings be upon him) that he only... And he informed (peace and blessings be upon him) that he only stopped...
...out of fear that it would become obligatory upon us and we would be unable to fulfill it. Then the establishment of it as a congregation was left, and the people began to pray in groups: one man and another, and a man with two others. They remained in this state throughout the caliphate of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and the beginning of the caliphate of 'Umar.
Then 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Tamim al-Dari to lead the people in eleven rak'ahs. So he led the people in eleven rak'ahs. Then 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) went out one night and found the people praying with their imam, so he said (may Allah be pleased with him): "What a good innovation this is, and the sleep they miss is better than the standing they do," meaning in terms of time, meaning that the end of the night is better than its beginning. And the Muslims remained in this state.
So they revived a recommended practice (sunnah) that was left in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) out of fear that it would become obligatory. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) passed away, this fear was removed, as there is no new ruling after the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
And based on this, a person should maintain it. And he should not remain hesitating between mosques, praying in this one...?
...two rak'ahs, and in the second two rak'ahs, and in the third two rak'ahs, so he misses the reward. Rather, if he prays the 'Isha' prayer in a mosque, let him remain with them until they finish the Tarawih prayer with the Witr, due to the saying of the ProphetJami` at-Tirmidhi 806Sahih (Darussalam)
...and the recommendation of this is for men. As for women, it is better for them to pray in their homes. Good. Due to the saying of the Prophet And if...
...a woman chooses to go out and pray with the people in the mosque, it is not permissible for her to go out perfumed or adorned with jewelry, nor walking with the strong gait of a man. Rather, she goes out with tranquility, covering everything that is forbidden for her to expose, not perfumed and not arrogant.
Answer : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. The Tarawih prayer is a recommended practice (sunnah) established by the action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), where he prayed with his Companions for three nights in Ramadan, then he stopped. And he informed (peace and blessings be upon him) that he only... And he informed (peace and blessings be upon him) that he only stopped...
...out of fear that it would become obligatory upon us and we would be unable to fulfill it. Then the establishment of it as a congregation was left, and the people began to pray in groups: one man and another, and a man with two others. They remained in this state throughout the caliphate of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and the beginning of the caliphate of 'Umar.
Then 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Tamim al-Dari to lead the people in eleven rak'ahs. So he led the people in eleven rak'ahs. Then 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) went out one night and found the people praying with their imam, so he said (may Allah be pleased with him): "What a good innovation this is, and the sleep they miss is better than the standing they do," meaning in terms of time, meaning that the end of the night is better than its beginning. And the Muslims remained in this state.
So they revived a recommended practice (sunnah) that was left in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) out of fear that it would become obligatory. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) passed away, this fear was removed, as there is no new ruling after the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
And based on this, a person should maintain it. And he should not remain hesitating between mosques, praying in this one...?
...two rak'ahs, and in the second two rak'ahs, and in the third two rak'ahs, so he misses the reward. Rather, if he prays the 'Isha' prayer in a mosque, let him remain with them until they finish the Tarawih prayer with the Witr, due to the saying of the Prophet
(pbuh) led us in prayer until a third of the night had gone, then he did not lead us in prayer on the sixth. Then he led us in prayer on the fifth until half of the night had gone. We said to him: 'O Messenger of Allah! Wouldn't you lead us in prayer for the remainder of the night?' He said: 'Indeed, whoever stands (praying) with the Imam until he finished, then it is recorded for him that he prayed the whole night.
صلى الله عليه وسلم من قام مع الإمام حتى ينصرف كتب له قيام ليلة....and the recommendation of this is for men. As for women, it is better for them to pray in their homes. Good. Due to the saying of the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him and his family): "Do not prevent the women of Allah from the mosques of Allah, and their homes are better for them."
صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم لا تمنعوا إماء الله مساجد الله وبيوتهن خير لهن....a woman chooses to go out and pray with the people in the mosque, it is not permissible for her to go out perfumed or adorned with jewelry, nor walking with the strong gait of a man. Rather, she goes out with tranquility, covering everything that is forbidden for her to expose, not perfumed and not arrogant.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 543- ما حكم صلاة التراويح وما فضل قيام الليل/سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.