Encouraging the Night Prayer of Ramadan and the Prescribed Sunnah in It
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As for the night prayer of Ramadan, which we call tarawih, it is called tarawih because the Salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) did not pray the night prayer of Ramadan as we do now; rather, they lengthened it completely. So when they prayed four rak'ahs—Meaning: with two taslims—they would pause and rest, then resume the prayer by praying four, then rest, then resume the prayer by praying three, but in pairs of two rak'ahs each. So we should strive to perform this night prayer seeking the reward of Allah and following the example of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Sunnah is to pray it in congregation in the mosques, because this was the practice of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).He led them in prayer for three nights, then he delayed and said: (I feared it would be made obligatory upon me) The fear of it becoming obligatory is not applicable now, because the time of legislation has ended, so it is not applicable.
The imam should not exceed thirteen rak'ahs, either eleven or thirteen, and it is not permissible for him to combine the rak'ahs,Meaning: to pray four all together and four all together, because this is not from the Sunnah.Rather, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (The night prayer is in pairs) Also, it may be difficult for people if he combines four rak'ahs all together; it is difficult for people, why? Some people may be confined and need to relieve themselves, or be occupied with a necessary task, or something similar. This is of the same kind as the action of Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) when he lengthened the prayer for his people in the 'Isha' prayer, so the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him.
But one might say: What do you say about the hadith of A'ishah: (The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not exceed eleven rak'ahs in Ramadan or otherwise. He would pray four, so do not ask about their beauty and length, then he would pray four, so do not ask about their beauty and length, then he would pray three)?We say: She narrated the number of the night prayer as eleven,Then she detailed it and said: four and four and three,And the meaning of that is: that when he prayed four, he would pause, then pray four. This is the established meaning. It cannot be interpreted as four continuous rak'ahs for two reasons: The first reason is that this summary in the hadith of A'ishah was detailed by A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) herself: (He would pray two, then two, then two, then two, then three).
Second: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) himself said: (The night prayer is in pairs) Whoever understands from some people that he combined the four has misunderstood and has not reconciled the texts.
Likewise: We do not see that it is permissible for a person to perform witr with seven or nine continuous rak'ahs in tarawih;Because some people said: I perform witr with five all together or nine all together to teach people the Sunnah.It is said: Are you more eager to convey the Sunnah and the Shari'ah from the Messenger?The answer is certainly: No, did the Messenger lead people in prayer in this manner? No, he only performed witr by himself in his house. He performed witr with five and did not say taslim until the end, and with seven he did not say taslim until the end, and with nine he did not say taslim until the end. He did not lead people in prayer in this way.
The person who leads people in prayer must consider the conditions of the people. Have you seen a man who comes to pray in the mosque and prays nine all together with them? What would that be? It is a hardship for the people. A person may need to relieve himself, or a person may enter thinking it is two rak'ahs, intending to pray two or four rak'ahs and then go home for a need. Then when he enters now, what does he intend? Because these five, seven, or nine will be witr or qiyam? Witr. What does the one who enters intend? The one who enters will intend that it is tahajjud qiyam, because he does not know about the imam. So the intention differs, and then this one who enters will be tired, and then we say: You did not perform witr, because you did not intend witr.
Therefore, it is obligatory for imams to consider the conditions of the people and to combine the Sunnah with each other so that the matter becomes clear.
Then when he said: I want to teach people the Sunnah.We say: May Allah reward you with good. Convey the Sunnah to people by word.Say: The Messenger performed witr with five all together, and seven all together, and nine all together. Inform people with this wording.And as for saying: Inform them of something that is difficult for them, and its practice is not from the guidance of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). This is an error.
Therefore, I encourage my brother imams, as well as those who are not imams: They should encourage people to these tarawih, and I encourage the imams to pray tarawih with a prayer of tranquility, without haste or rushing.Because Allah the Exalted says: [Al-Mulk:2] He did not say: Which of you is fastest in action. People in Ramadan like to be very tranquil in ruku', sujud, and tashahhud. Now, many imams, as we hear, in ruku' they glorify three times quickly.And the ma'mum says, the imam: May Allah hear the praise of those who praise Him before they glorify once. Because the ma'mum will begin ruku' after the imam reaches ruku', so the imam stands up before the ma'mum stands up from his ruku'. How is this? Similarly, in the tashahhud, no sooner do the people reach saying: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, than the imam says taslim. I seek refuge in Allah. Let the people complete the prayer upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) as the Messenger taught them. The Messenger taught them how to pray upon him.What did he say when they said: How do we pray upon you?He said: Say: (O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. You are Praiseworthy and Majestic. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. You are Praiseworthy and Majestic).
Then he commanded his Ummah (peace and blessings be upon him) that when they recite the final tashahhud, they should say: (I seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of the Hellfire, from the punishment of the grave, from the trial of life and death, and from the trial of the Dajjal).
Many imams, unfortunately, in the night prayer of Ramadan do not pray beyond this limit. You find the ma'mum confused whether to say taslim before completing the tashahhud or to remain and complete the tashahhud, and then the imam has already recited al-Fatihah from the second taslim.
So I hope our brother imams will consider this.
And I ask Allah the Exalted to make us and you among those who reach Ramadan and fast it with faith and seeking reward, and that He accept from us and from you.
Perhaps this gathering will, if Allah wills, contain benefit.And tafsir is not limited in time so that we say: It is necessary, if Allah wills. We are in the days ahead, and we ask Allah to help us with good and obedience.
The Sunnah is to pray it in congregation in the mosques, because this was the practice of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).He led them in prayer for three nights, then he delayed and said: (I feared it would be made obligatory upon me) The fear of it becoming obligatory is not applicable now, because the time of legislation has ended, so it is not applicable.
The imam should not exceed thirteen rak'ahs, either eleven or thirteen, and it is not permissible for him to combine the rak'ahs,Meaning: to pray four all together and four all together, because this is not from the Sunnah.Rather, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (The night prayer is in pairs) Also, it may be difficult for people if he combines four rak'ahs all together; it is difficult for people, why? Some people may be confined and need to relieve themselves, or be occupied with a necessary task, or something similar. This is of the same kind as the action of Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) when he lengthened the prayer for his people in the 'Isha' prayer, so the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him.
But one might say: What do you say about the hadith of A'ishah: (The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not exceed eleven rak'ahs in Ramadan or otherwise. He would pray four, so do not ask about their beauty and length, then he would pray four, so do not ask about their beauty and length, then he would pray three)?We say: She narrated the number of the night prayer as eleven,Then she detailed it and said: four and four and three,And the meaning of that is: that when he prayed four, he would pause, then pray four. This is the established meaning. It cannot be interpreted as four continuous rak'ahs for two reasons: The first reason is that this summary in the hadith of A'ishah was detailed by A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) herself: (He would pray two, then two, then two, then two, then three).
Second: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) himself said: (The night prayer is in pairs) Whoever understands from some people that he combined the four has misunderstood and has not reconciled the texts.
Likewise: We do not see that it is permissible for a person to perform witr with seven or nine continuous rak'ahs in tarawih;Because some people said: I perform witr with five all together or nine all together to teach people the Sunnah.It is said: Are you more eager to convey the Sunnah and the Shari'ah from the Messenger?The answer is certainly: No, did the Messenger lead people in prayer in this manner? No, he only performed witr by himself in his house. He performed witr with five and did not say taslim until the end, and with seven he did not say taslim until the end, and with nine he did not say taslim until the end. He did not lead people in prayer in this way.
The person who leads people in prayer must consider the conditions of the people. Have you seen a man who comes to pray in the mosque and prays nine all together with them? What would that be? It is a hardship for the people. A person may need to relieve himself, or a person may enter thinking it is two rak'ahs, intending to pray two or four rak'ahs and then go home for a need. Then when he enters now, what does he intend? Because these five, seven, or nine will be witr or qiyam? Witr. What does the one who enters intend? The one who enters will intend that it is tahajjud qiyam, because he does not know about the imam. So the intention differs, and then this one who enters will be tired, and then we say: You did not perform witr, because you did not intend witr.
Therefore, it is obligatory for imams to consider the conditions of the people and to combine the Sunnah with each other so that the matter becomes clear.
Then when he said: I want to teach people the Sunnah.We say: May Allah reward you with good. Convey the Sunnah to people by word.Say: The Messenger performed witr with five all together, and seven all together, and nine all together. Inform people with this wording.And as for saying: Inform them of something that is difficult for them, and its practice is not from the guidance of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). This is an error.
Therefore, I encourage my brother imams, as well as those who are not imams: They should encourage people to these tarawih, and I encourage the imams to pray tarawih with a prayer of tranquility, without haste or rushing.Because Allah the Exalted says:
And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days - and His Throne had been upon water - that He might test you as to which of you is best in deed. But if you say, "Indeed, you are resurrected after death," those who disbelieve will surely say, "This is not but obvious magic."
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاًThen he commanded his Ummah (peace and blessings be upon him) that when they recite the final tashahhud, they should say: (I seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of the Hellfire, from the punishment of the grave, from the trial of life and death, and from the trial of the Dajjal).
Many imams, unfortunately, in the night prayer of Ramadan do not pray beyond this limit. You find the ma'mum confused whether to say taslim before completing the tashahhud or to remain and complete the tashahhud, and then the imam has already recited al-Fatihah from the second taslim.
So I hope our brother imams will consider this.
And I ask Allah the Exalted to make us and you among those who reach Ramadan and fast it with faith and seeking reward, and that He accept from us and from you.
Perhaps this gathering will, if Allah wills, contain benefit.And tafsir is not limited in time so that we say: It is necessary, if Allah wills. We are in the days ahead, and we ask Allah to help us with good and obedience.