Is it permissible to recite the Qur'an from the mushaf in the night prayer?

The questioner : Is it permissible to recite the Qur'an from the mushaf in the night prayer?

The Shaykh : No. Briefly.

The questioner : Briefly.

The Shaykh : If you break the agreement, I will break it later.

The questioner : We recite from the mushaf in the tarawih prayers.

The Shaykh : No? Then it needs a lecture.
Abu Layla : Our Shaykh, the last lecture had speech and detail for you at Al-Taqwa Mosque.

The Shaykh : The situation is going well; they got the tape, if Allah wills.
Abu Layla : The tape is very important; we will send it with the young men later. "Indeed, the imam is made to be followed" — we have a complete tape on this topic.

The Shaykh : And "All good is in following those who came before, and all evil is in the innovation of those who came after." Imagine yourselves now praying the night prayer in the time of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. Who was leading them? Ubayy ibn Ka'b.

The questioner : We don't have Ubayy.

The Shaykh : Yes, and therefore we must find an Ubayy.

The questioner : Okay, until we find him, what do we do?

The Shaykh : And this method does not produce an Ubayy, nor even half an Ubayy. Therefore, from my lecture, I remind you of the well-known hadith, namely his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): "Keep practicing this Qur'an." He said (peace and blessings be upon him): Keep practicing this Qur'an. Those who lead the people in the mosques from the mushaf — I have no blame, with my respect for any imam who leads the people from the mushaf. I do not say that they are lazy; I say that at the very least, they have not implemented this Prophetic command. What does "keep practicing" mean? It is explained in the complete hadith: if the memorizer does not repeat what he has memorized of the Qur'an day and night, it will slip away from him just as a stray camel slips from its tether. Camels are known among camel owners for their nature, which is cited as a proverb, and it is said, "More vengeful than a camel." It is severe in its vengeance and severe in its straying, to the point that it will break the rope no matter how strong it is. Therefore, he said (peace and blessings be upon him), addressing the Arabs who were camel owners: "It is more likely to slip from the hearts of men than from its tether." If individuals among the Muslims are not concerned with this, and this is a collective obligation, if some of them fulfill it, it falls off the rest; if some of them fulfill it, it falls off the rest, they will be forced to resort to reading from the mushaf. Was this the way of the righteous Salaf? Of course, they were not like that. Therefore, we must have students who memorize the Qur'an and recite it well, and thus lead the people, even if they are children, while those following behind them are old men, because the criterion is the memorizer, not the scholar. Therefore, I often, and you see me approaching eighty years old, pray behind young men because they are more memorized of the Qur'an than I am, applying his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Where do I come in? In the third position, in the third position. The one who leads the people is the one most proficient in the Book of Allah. Therefore, the one who leads the people in the tarawih prayers must be the one most proficient in the Book of Allah. And when I say this, I know that there may be small boys there who memorize more than great men, but they may not be proficient in prayer. So following this path in applying this hadith is a legitimate means to teach some of these memorizing children how to pray, so that they pray with the congregation and lead the people in a prayer they perform well, as commanded by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And to conclude, I remind you of the hadith of a young man from the Companions named 'Umar ibn Abi Salama. His father, Abu Salama, was among the earliest of the Ansar who believed in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) before his migration (peace and blessings be upon him) to Madinah. And these Ansar used to go to Makkah performing 'Umrah to meet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and to receive from him whatever new legal rulings may have been revealed. So his father traveled once, and he returned with a group of the senior Ansar carrying a new ruling that the Messenger taught them, which was to pray in congregation. They had previously been praying individually. So they came carrying a new ruling, and the Messenger taught them this hadith: to the end of the hadith. 'Umar said, "So they looked in Madinah and found no one more proficient in recitation than me, and no one more memorized than me, and his age was between seven and nine, as the narration came, meaning at most he was nine years old. He said: So they put me forward to lead them in prayer. Great men with beards were praying behind a small boy of at most nine years old. And from his childhood, as came in the hadith, he had a shumla, meaning a heavy cloth garment. So when he would prostrate, this cloth would rise up from above him, and the women were praying behind the men as is the Sunnah, so some of his 'awrah was exposed. No sooner had this boy finished the prayer with the taslim than a woman shouted from behind the men: "Cover us! Cover your imam!" A child says: "So buy me a garment. I have not been pleased with anything as I was pleased with this garment." A child who, despite that, led the great men. So we must concern ourselves with memorizing the Qur'an and imitating our righteous Salaf. Yes.