What is the ruling on praying voluntary prayers in congregation, given that some of the Companions prayed the night prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), such as Ibn Abbas and Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman?
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The questioner : Regarding praying voluntary prayers in congregation, in some hadiths, such as the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) concerning the night prayer, where he stood to pray and Ibn Abbas stood with him, I mentioned this issue to one of the brothers, and he replied to me by saying, "It is in al-Bukhari, in the chapter on praying voluntary prayers in congregation," and he cited the hadith regarding the night prayer.
The Shaykh : Yes, and what about the daytime prayer?
The questioner : No, I am inquiring now, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : You are inquiring; the answer should be scholarly. It is not prescribed to pray in congregation for voluntary prayers, absolutely, whether that is at night or during the day, if it is done by mutual agreement, as I described to you earlier: they entered the mosque to pray the regular voluntary prayer and said, "Let's pray in congregation." This is mutual agreement. However, as I mentioned, the hadith of Ibn Abbas, the hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, and the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud contain reports that some of the Companions prayed the night prayer behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Ibn Abbas's hadith is well known; he narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed eleven rak'ahs that night, and there may be another narration of thirteen rak'ahs. The hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman in Sahih Muslim states that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began the night prayer with Surat al-Baqarah, and Hudhayfah followed him, but he (peace be upon him) lengthened the recitation until it approached one hundred verses, so Hudhayfah found the recitation long. However, he consoled himself by thinking that when the Messenger (peace be upon him) reached the hundredth verse, he would bow. So he continued, and the Prophet continued until he recited all of Surat al-Baqarah, then he began reciting Surat al-Nisa until he finished it, then he returned to Surat Ali 'Imran until he finished it, then he recited Surat al-Ma'idah in one rak'ah. You see that the man, Hudhayfah, had consoled himself at first that the Messenger (peace be upon him) would bow when he reached the hundredth verse, so he continued. Perhaps he said, "A second hundred," and continued, submitting to the reality and no longer consoling himself that the Messenger would shorten the recitation, until he prayed these long surahs in one rak'ah. Then he (peace be upon him) bowed, and his bowing was nearly as long as his standing. Then he raised his head from the bowing, and his standing was nearly as long as his bowing. Then he prostrated, and his prostration was nearly as long as his second standing. Then he sat between the two prostrations, and his sitting was nearly as long as his prostration. This is how he prayed that rak'ah. This was a night prayer, and Hudhayfah prayed behind him. But this was not like the tarawih prayer. Similarly, the story of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, "I prayed one night behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he lengthened the prayer until I was on the verge of doing something bad." They asked, "What were you on the verge of doing?" He said, "I was on the verge of leaving him and sitting down because of the length of the recitation." This was without mutual agreement; it was by chance. So, for example, there is a difference between a person who stands to pray at night and another who stands to follow him, versus people who agree and say, "We have now prayed 'Isha, and if Allah wills, we will stand after the latter half of the night and pray in congregation." This is contrary to the Sunnah. So in this example, perhaps the difference between what is permissible and what is not permissible has become clear.
The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the roots of the beard hair, is it true that some dirt from the hair clothing near the beard becomes impure?
The Shaykh : "Produce your proof, if you should be truthful."
The questioner : Is it not true?
The Shaykh : It is not true. The son of Adam does not become impure.
The Shaykh : Yes, and what about the daytime prayer?
The questioner : No, I am inquiring now, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : You are inquiring; the answer should be scholarly. It is not prescribed to pray in congregation for voluntary prayers, absolutely, whether that is at night or during the day, if it is done by mutual agreement, as I described to you earlier: they entered the mosque to pray the regular voluntary prayer and said, "Let's pray in congregation." This is mutual agreement. However, as I mentioned, the hadith of Ibn Abbas, the hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, and the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud contain reports that some of the Companions prayed the night prayer behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Ibn Abbas's hadith is well known; he narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed eleven rak'ahs that night, and there may be another narration of thirteen rak'ahs. The hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman in Sahih Muslim states that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began the night prayer with Surat al-Baqarah, and Hudhayfah followed him, but he (peace be upon him) lengthened the recitation until it approached one hundred verses, so Hudhayfah found the recitation long. However, he consoled himself by thinking that when the Messenger (peace be upon him) reached the hundredth verse, he would bow. So he continued, and the Prophet continued until he recited all of Surat al-Baqarah, then he began reciting Surat al-Nisa until he finished it, then he returned to Surat Ali 'Imran until he finished it, then he recited Surat al-Ma'idah in one rak'ah. You see that the man, Hudhayfah, had consoled himself at first that the Messenger (peace be upon him) would bow when he reached the hundredth verse, so he continued. Perhaps he said, "A second hundred," and continued, submitting to the reality and no longer consoling himself that the Messenger would shorten the recitation, until he prayed these long surahs in one rak'ah. Then he (peace be upon him) bowed, and his bowing was nearly as long as his standing. Then he raised his head from the bowing, and his standing was nearly as long as his bowing. Then he prostrated, and his prostration was nearly as long as his second standing. Then he sat between the two prostrations, and his sitting was nearly as long as his prostration. This is how he prayed that rak'ah. This was a night prayer, and Hudhayfah prayed behind him. But this was not like the tarawih prayer. Similarly, the story of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, "I prayed one night behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he lengthened the prayer until I was on the verge of doing something bad." They asked, "What were you on the verge of doing?" He said, "I was on the verge of leaving him and sitting down because of the length of the recitation." This was without mutual agreement; it was by chance. So, for example, there is a difference between a person who stands to pray at night and another who stands to follow him, versus people who agree and say, "We have now prayed 'Isha, and if Allah wills, we will stand after the latter half of the night and pray in congregation." This is contrary to the Sunnah. So in this example, perhaps the difference between what is permissible and what is not permissible has become clear.
The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the roots of the beard hair, is it true that some dirt from the hair clothing near the beard becomes impure?
The Shaykh : "Produce your proof, if you should be truthful."
The questioner : Is it not true?
The Shaykh : It is not true. The son of Adam does not become impure.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.