What is your opinion regarding those who argue for increasing the prayer beyond eleven rak'ahs by stating that Aisha narrated a practical Sunnah but did not narrate a verbal Sunnah, and is it correct that 'Umar prayed twenty rak'ahs?

The questioner : There is a question where some people argue for increasing the tarawih prayer to twenty rak'ahs because Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated a practical Sunnah but did not narrate a verbal Sunnah. What is the answer to that? And is the hadith about 'Umar praying twenty rak'ahs authentic?

The Shaykh : This question still requires [clarification regarding] tarawih. First, it is not authentic from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab that he prayed, or that the prayer was performed during his time, the standing prayer which the later generations call the prayer of tarawih, in twenty rak'ahs. This is not authentic. Some narrations exist regarding this, but none of them is free from a decisive defect. On the contrary, it is reported in the Muwatta of Imam Malik, with a sound chain, that they prayed the standing prayer in eleven rak'ahs by the order of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b, one of the reciters from the great Companions, to lead the people in eleven rak'ahs. If it is not authentic from 'Umar that he prayed, or that twenty rak'ahs were prayed during his time, and rather the opposite is authentic from him, then this which is authentic from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, which he ordered, is something from which he could not have deviated, because he knew, as the Lady Aisha knew, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not pray the standing prayer in Ramadan or outside of Ramadan more than eleven rak'ahs. This is in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and this is sufficient for you regarding those narrations I mentioned earlier which do not escape a decisive defect in the science of hadith. It is sufficient for you to know that none of them is, in any way, in the two Sahihs. And in the two Sahihs is the following hadith from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she was asked about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in Ramadan at night, so she answered in the wise manner. The wise manner is that one is asked about something and answers with more than that. This is the affair of the scholar who overflows with knowledge, who abounds in knowledge. It is not necessary that for every issue directed to him, he presents the answer before the question comes to him. This was the way of the earliest Salaf. The Lady Aisha, answering the questioner who asked her about the standing prayer of the Messenger in Ramadan, said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not increase in Ramadan or in any other month beyond eleven rak'ahs. But listen: 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." This which the Lady Aisha narrated, there is no doubt that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was aware of it, so he ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b to lead the people in eleven rak'ahs following his (peace be upon him) guidance. Then we add to the answer to reassure our brothers of the Sunnah who are eager to preserve it. I do not say "all of it," because this is impossible. It is not possible for any of us to do what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did. This is impossible. But the matter is as it was said: "So imitate them, even if you are not like them, for imitating the noble ones is success." Who is the one who can stand in one rak'ah and recite in it Surat al-Baqarah, Surat Ali 'Imran, and Surat al-Ma'idah, then Surat al-Nisa? Four of the long surahs in one rak'ah? And not only that, but his bowing would be nearly as long as his standing. And not only that, but when he raises his head from the bowing, his standing would be nearly as long as his bowing. And not only that, but when he prostrates, his prostration would be nearly as long as his second standing. And when he sits between the two prostrations, raising his head from the first prostration, his sitting would be nearly as long as his prostration. And this second prostration would be nearly as long as his sitting between the two prostrations. Who can do this? If the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him) could not manage his prayer, then who are we? He stood in this prayer. Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman prayed behind him (peace be upon him). He woke up one night and saw the Messenger praying alone in the mosque, so he followed him. He began with Surat al-Baqarah, and it fell from his hands—this is the psychological state of Hudhayfah as he relates to us his hadith with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So he reassured himself that the Messenger (peace be upon him), however long he recites, is going to bow. He is going to bow at the end of a hundred verses. This is how he told himself. He said: He did not bow, so he continued. Ah, so at the second hundred, he continued. He finished all of al-Baqarah. He surrendered to the reality, and he no longer said, "Now he will bow, now he will bow." He left the matter to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. He recited after al-Baqarah, as you heard, Ali 'Imran, then al-Ma'idah. This was how it was. Then he returned to al-Nisa. This is the Companion who is the keeper of the secret of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman. And the other noble Companion, 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, prayed one night behind him (peace be upon him). He said: "He prolonged and prolonged until I was on the verge of doing something bad." They asked him: "What were you on the verge of doing?" He said: "I was on the verge of leaving him standing, sitting down, and resting." So the point is that no one can ever do the action of the Messenger and worship in the worship of the Messenger. But as I said earlier, "So imitate them, even if you are not like them." Now we pause here for a short moment, perhaps to ask: Can imitating the Messenger mean increasing upon him? Whether in quantity or quality? As for quality, it is impossible. As for quantity, this is a reality. Now, people preserve tarawih in twenty-three rak'ahs, contrary to the number of rak'ahs of the Messenger (peace be upon him). Some of them, and this is a reality, unfortunately, without any motive, pray the prayer of twenty-three rak'ahs in twenty minutes. Better than that is half an hour, or a lot, an hour. Okay, brothers, if you pray eleven rak'ahs instead of twenty minutes, instead of thirty minutes, instead of sixty minutes, this is better for you than these rak'ahs in which there is no tranquility, and in which 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, and he said: "I was on the verge of doing something bad." He was speaking about the prayer in travel. Is it shortening to two rak'ahs or four? He said: "The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is two rak'ahs in travel," as Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out from Makkah to Madinah and did not cease to pray two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs, until he returned to Madinah." 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud says: "What is the point? I wish, I wish, that I had from my prayer two accepted rak'ahs. I pray four, I contradict the Messenger. The Messenger prayed two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs, from when he set out from Makkah to Madinah until he returned to Madinah, and he was praying two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs. You want to pray four? I wish I had from my prayer two accepted rak'ahs." So which is more guided in path and more upright in speech? Those who pray tarawih, we do not say in twenty or thirty, in an hour, they pray twenty-three rak'ahs, and these pray eleven rak'ahs. There is no doubt that these are closer in imitation to the Messenger. I do not say that these brought the Sunnah and put it in your minds. It is impossible that we can bring the Sunnah, but we imitate the one who legislated for us this Sunnah, or established for us this Sunnah. Because it is not permissible for us to say about the Messenger that he legislated, because Allah is the Legislator. But we say He established for us, so we imitate the one who established for us to pray the standing prayer in eleven rak'ahs only. So, brothers, do not delve into [the debate]: "The Messenger used to pray, did he pray eleven or did he pray twenty-three?" You pray eleven in the place of twenty-three, in the time of twenty-three, you will be more successful and closer to imitating the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I think that is what remains of the question, which had three branches. One branch remains, which is the argument with the generality of his (peace be upon him) statement. Where it came in the question that some of them argue that the Lady Aisha narrated his action, but she did not narrate his statement. They mean by his statement (peace be upon him) in the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both), as it came in the two Sahihs from Ibn 'Umar, he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is an argument whose appearance is strength and whose reality is the utmost weakness. And the truth is, this is a very important rule. I hope our brothers present, and especially those among them who are students of knowledge, that they understand it and memorize it well, because it will help them understand many jurisprudential issues in which scholars may differ, recently and perhaps in the past. And the people of innovation may argue with it to smooth out their innovations. So I say, in truth, this is a general text. He did not say "ten rak'ahs," and the last rak'ah is only the witr. Rather, he said: So we say, and here lies the precision in the matter, so I hope you pay attention. Every general text includes many, and very many, particulars. And we know that a part of this general text was not acted upon by the practice of the Messenger (peace be upon him). So acting upon this part, while it falls under the general text, is an innovation. This is a matter of precision, but perhaps some examples will clarify it. Before these examples, we say: The origin of every innovation on the face of the earth is clinging to generalities that were not acted upon in their generality in the early era. Take, for example, the adhan. The adhan in many Islamic countries has a beginning and an end. In our region in the Levant, they call the beginning "al-tadhkir" (they flip the dhal to a dal, saying "al-tadhkir"). The end is the prayer upon the Messenger (peace be upon him). And in this prayer, there are additions from what invalidates the truth, such as their calling out by saying "O first of Allah's creation." All of this is practiced in Syria, and perhaps in Egypt, and perhaps this has been abrogated, and praise be to Allah, there. The important thing is to take the sensitive issue: the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after the adhan. This falls under the generality in the Qur'an and in the hadith of the Messenger (peace be upon him): Does any Muslim deny this verse? If you deny it, you have committed disbelief. No one denies it. Okay, what do we say about those who argue with this verse and say, "Why do you deny the prayer upon the Messenger after the adhan, when Allah says so and so?" And not only that, but there are hadiths, among them his (peace be upon him) saying: So I, the mu'adhdhin, love to pray upon the Messenger. Why do you prevent us? And so, by analogy, many, and very many, things. In the Levant, we also have the prayer upon the Messenger after all the obligatory prayers. These are things that were not in the era of the Messenger (peace be upon him). So here, one of two things: either the understanding of these innovators in their application of these texts relies on their generalities, or they are mistaken. So what would the Salaf be, and at their head the Messenger of Allah? They would be mistaken. And whoever says this has exited from humanity as the hair exits from the dough. And no one says this. So there remains something else, and no one can say it either: "We are more eager for obedience than the righteous Salaf." And this, if it is not disbelief, is similar to disbelief. We are more eager for obedience to Allah than the righteous Salaf. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said in many hadiths, among them what came in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This was said by him (peace be upon him) in a hadith in Sahih Muslim. And there is a hadith in the two Sahihs regarding the three men who came to the wives of the Prophet, or came to the house of the Prophet, and did not find him, so they asked his wives about his fasting (peace be upon him) and his standing in night prayer and his marriage to women. So they informed them of what they knew. They said: "He stands the night and sleeps, and he fasts and breaks the fast, and he marries women." So they said, and here is the great error in their wording: "This is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); Allah has forgiven him what came before of his sin and what came after." The implication of their speech is: What is the matter that he does not stand the whole night? What is the matter that he does not fast the whole year? What is the matter that he does not abstain and marry women, two, three, and four, and more? This is a special privilege for the Messenger. As for us, from where do we have that Allah forgives us? So we must exaggerate in obedience to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. So they agreed among themselves, and the wives of the Messenger heard. One of them said: "As for me, I will not marry women." The second said: "As for me, I will fast the whole year." The third said: "As for me, I will stand the night and not sleep." And they left. And the Messenger (peace be upon him) came and was informed of the news of the three men. He entered the mosque and gathered the people and said, and here is the point: So it is very important for interpreting general texts that we know his (peace be upon him) practical Sunnah. It came in the question, due to the ignorance of some...The questioner : He says that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) completed the account of his (peace and blessings be upon him) actions, but did not speak about his words. But do you see if his practical Sunnah contradicts his verbal Sunnah? And in the Qur'an If the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) clarifies the words of Allah by his action, and not only by his action but also by his approval (taqrir) when he sees a person doing an act—whether it is an act of worship, in which case he approves it and it becomes a well-known act of worship, or he sees an ordinary act and approves it, in which case that act becomes permissible—then the clarification of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) of the words of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), let alone his own words, is done by his application of these words and by detailing them through verbal and practical clarification. So, on this basis, this...The questioner : ...who says that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) spoke about his actions but not about his words: her report about his (peace and blessings be upon him) actions is a clarification of his words: The proof is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lived for twenty years conveying the Shari'ah of Allah to His servants. I seek forgiveness from Allah, but I say he did not miss a single night; he would pray twenty rak'ahs, he would pray thirty rak'ahs, just as they sometimes do in the Sacred Mosque, where they would sometimes pray forty rak'ahs, and not once did he do so. So, the continuation of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the night prayer of eleven rak'ahs means that he clarified his own words: And I will bring this closer with an example and conclude the answer. Allah the Exalted said: If we were to follow the path of these innovators, or rather this...The questioner : ...one who erred in his question when he said that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) clarified his (peace and blessings be upon him) actions but not his words, meaning that his words are more comprehensive than what he practiced. Look with me now: the hand in language, as is well known, is used for the palm, the forearm, and the upper arm; all of these are called a hand. And Allah says: Do you see from where? From here, from here, from here, and so on. All of it is a hand. And before that, the thief who steals a hen's egg is a thief; whoever steals, regardless of the value of the stolen item, is a thief; and whoever steals loaded camels is a thief. Is the hand of every thief cut off? The answer, according to the methodology of the innovators, or rather according to the methodology...The questioner : ...of the one who said that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) clarified his actions but not his words—may Allah forgive you—his (peace and blessings be upon him) words were clarified by his (peace and blessings be upon him) actions. So the word does not contradict the action, and the action does not contradict the word. Now, what did he (peace and blessings be upon him) cut from the thief's hand? Here, if his action contradicted the generality of the Qur'anic text, not the generality of the Prophetic text, would it be said that this contradicted...? What is the precise, scientific jurisprudential expression? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he cut the hand of the thief at the wrist, clarified the generality of the words of Allah the Exalted, or the absolute words of Allah the Exalted: So it is necessary that we take the word as explained and clarified by the action, even if the word is in the Noble Qur'an, let alone the words of the Noble Messenger. Add to this that regarding the thief, the Messenger did not cut the hand of every thief, but he also clarified that by his well-known saying in the two Sahihs: So the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is of two, or rather three, parts: verbal, practical, and by approval. They should be taken in all three parts, and we should not negate one with another. Now, we are discussing the night prayer. It is true that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And this includes ten rak'ahs, twenty, thirty, and so on. But what did he (peace and blessings be upon him) practice of this word? Eleven rak'ahs. In brief, I now say: the meaning of the hadith, O Muslim, if you intend to stand in the night and pray the night prayer—the night prayer, the prayer of standing, the Tahajjud prayer, all these names refer to the same thing—pray two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs, but do not rush in them. Read in them whatever you wish from the Qur'an, and lengthen the standing, the bowing, and the prostration. We return to say: "So imitate the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." Then, if you fear... but I say, with regret, this address today is not directed to Muslims, because, because I personally, may Allah preserve me, judge people by myself. Personally, I do not imagine that a person who stands in the night and prays two rak'ahs to which what Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said about the four rak'ahs applies. So do not ask: "What about their goodness and length?" Lengthen the reading in the two rak'ahs, lengthen it, and lengthen it, then pray two more rak'ahs, lengthen it, lengthen it, and fear that the Fajr prayer will break. The Messenger says: "So if you fear the Fajr prayer, make it odd with one rak'ah." Where is this long prayer? So we take from this hadith that, O Muslim, if you want to stand in the night, pray two good rak'ahs, two good rak'ahs, two long rak'ahs, long rak'ahs. Is there still night ahead of you? Pray two more rak'ahs. If you fear that the Fajr prayer will break, pray one rak'ah. Does the meaning of the hadith imply praying ten rak'ahs and then adding whatever you wish? Far be it from Allah. This is the answer to the question. This is enough, if Allah wills, to preserve the recording, and we have a session with America.

The questioner: Also

Another questioner: That is enough, my brother. May Allah be pleased with you.

The Shaykh: Go back tomorrow. He is merciful to...The Shaykh : I am speaking about him. He is merciful to me. I am saying a word that I thought you would agree with. I say he is merciful to...The Shaykh : So I am not with him!

The questioner: If, I mean, truly, what concerns us here is...The Shaykh : He has many lectures. It is not just in this lecture. Tomorrow he has, as you heard, or the day after tomorrow.

The Shaykh: The rest of the week.

The questioner: But our hope is great. But if you would be kind and answer briefly, only the summary, and the details would burden you with effort and fatigue, so if you would please answer briefly, what do you say?

The Shaykh: By Allah, in any case, we learned in Sham that what does not come with you, come with it. Bring it, let us see. Rely on Allah.