Why did Abu Bakr not revive the Tarawih prayer during his caliphate?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Now, if someone were to say, regarding 'Umar’s revival of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) Sunnah of gathering the Muslims for the Tarawih prayer, how did Abu Bakr al-Siddiq overlook the fact that he should gather the people for the Tarawih prayer?
The Shaykh : I do not think anyone would actually say this word. Even if you are quoting it from someone else, I do not think that person would say it either. No one says that Abu Bakr overlooked it.
Another questioner : Abu Bakr followed.
The Shaykh : Perhaps it was an unintended word, and the intended meaning was the opposite, so we hope for clarification.
The questioner : The reality of the matter is that 'Umar, who gathered the people, and before 'Umar gathered the people...
The Shaykh : There is no disagreement on this, but how do we say that Abu Bakr overlooked it?
The questioner : It is merely an explanation of the issue.
The Shaykh : An explanation of what issue?
The questioner : We do not accuse Abu Bakr of this. If someone were to say, since this is the Sunnah and it is so, why was it not established in the time of Abu Bakr? Before 'Umar gathered the people, they were praying in small groups in the mosque: four, five, six...
The Shaykh : It is known.
The questioner : It appears that the situation was like that in the time of Abu Bakr, that the people were praying in small groups.
The Shaykh : And that is correct.
The questioner : So, it does not mean that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) did not gather them, or that 'Umar did not suggest to Abu Bakr...
The Shaykh : This is like if the opposite were said. What is your opinion? Why did 'Umar gather them?
The questioner : The answer, as I said, is that this is the Sunnah, and the cause had ceased.
The Shaykh : Now, if we do not know...
The questioner : The cause ceased with the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh : Now, no problem. If we do not know why so-and-so did not do it, what is the consequence? Nothing.
The questioner : The issue is that it is the Sunnah for Muslims to gather for the night prayer in Ramadan. This is the Sunnah. And the issue for which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left gathering the people was the fear that it would become obligatory upon them. This issue ceased with the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so the revival of the Sunnah remained...
The Shaykh : You are repeating what is agreed upon, but do not dwell on my answer to the issue you raised at the beginning of the question. If we do not know why Abu Bakr did not revive the Sunnah, what is the problem with that? There is no problem. We do not know, but we have learned and understood, and praise be to Allah, that 'Umar revived the Sunnah, and praise be to Allah, and the matter is concluded. However, the answer is known to the scholars, and therefore, without any blame, I disapproved of the word "overlooked." Even if it did not come from you, we should not say, "Why did Abu Bakr overlook reviving this Sunnah?" Rather, as I said at the end, "Why did he not revive this Sunnah?" The answer according to the jurists is that Abu Bakr’s entire caliphate was two and a half years, and he was occupied with establishing this caliphate, then his jihad against the people of apostasy, and so on. The duties of the caliphate, which were placed on his shoulders for the first time after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), occupied him with such matters. We want to give two answers: if we know the Sunnah, we revive it. If so-and-so did not revive it, the question of why he did not revive it is not of any concern to us. What matters is that this person revived it, and may Allah reward him well, and he established a good Sunnah in Islam.
The Shaykh : I do not think anyone would actually say this word. Even if you are quoting it from someone else, I do not think that person would say it either. No one says that Abu Bakr overlooked it.
Another questioner : Abu Bakr followed.
The Shaykh : Perhaps it was an unintended word, and the intended meaning was the opposite, so we hope for clarification.
The questioner : The reality of the matter is that 'Umar, who gathered the people, and before 'Umar gathered the people...
The Shaykh : There is no disagreement on this, but how do we say that Abu Bakr overlooked it?
The questioner : It is merely an explanation of the issue.
The Shaykh : An explanation of what issue?
The questioner : We do not accuse Abu Bakr of this. If someone were to say, since this is the Sunnah and it is so, why was it not established in the time of Abu Bakr? Before 'Umar gathered the people, they were praying in small groups in the mosque: four, five, six...
The Shaykh : It is known.
The questioner : It appears that the situation was like that in the time of Abu Bakr, that the people were praying in small groups.
The Shaykh : And that is correct.
The questioner : So, it does not mean that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) did not gather them, or that 'Umar did not suggest to Abu Bakr...
The Shaykh : This is like if the opposite were said. What is your opinion? Why did 'Umar gather them?
The questioner : The answer, as I said, is that this is the Sunnah, and the cause had ceased.
The Shaykh : Now, if we do not know...
The questioner : The cause ceased with the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh : Now, no problem. If we do not know why so-and-so did not do it, what is the consequence? Nothing.
The questioner : The issue is that it is the Sunnah for Muslims to gather for the night prayer in Ramadan. This is the Sunnah. And the issue for which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left gathering the people was the fear that it would become obligatory upon them. This issue ceased with the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so the revival of the Sunnah remained...
The Shaykh : You are repeating what is agreed upon, but do not dwell on my answer to the issue you raised at the beginning of the question. If we do not know why Abu Bakr did not revive the Sunnah, what is the problem with that? There is no problem. We do not know, but we have learned and understood, and praise be to Allah, that 'Umar revived the Sunnah, and praise be to Allah, and the matter is concluded. However, the answer is known to the scholars, and therefore, without any blame, I disapproved of the word "overlooked." Even if it did not come from you, we should not say, "Why did Abu Bakr overlook reviving this Sunnah?" Rather, as I said at the end, "Why did he not revive this Sunnah?" The answer according to the jurists is that Abu Bakr’s entire caliphate was two and a half years, and he was occupied with establishing this caliphate, then his jihad against the people of apostasy, and so on. The duties of the caliphate, which were placed on his shoulders for the first time after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), occupied him with such matters. We want to give two answers: if we know the Sunnah, we revive it. If so-and-so did not revive it, the question of why he did not revive it is not of any concern to us. What matters is that this person revived it, and may Allah reward him well, and he established a good Sunnah in Islam.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.