Benefits of the Hadith (That the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out one night from the middle of the night and prayed in the mosque . . .)
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The Shaykh : And in this is evidence for a great benefit, which is that congregational prayer in the standing of Ramadan is prescribed by the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and is not a religious innovation. For this reason, whoever misses it while claiming it is an innovation and rebuking 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) when he said: "What a good innovation this is", and he (may Allah be pleased with him) approved of that, but this poor ignorant person said, "No, it is not a Sunnah; I will pray at home." It is said, "It is a Sunnah established by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he feared it would become obligatory upon them, so he left it. After his death (peace and blessings be upon him), this fear was removed because revelation had ceased, and the people remained in the time of Abu Bakr praying in scattered groups, a man with a man, and two men with a man, and there were only two [imams]. And in this is the time of 'Umar in the beginning of his caliphate (may Allah be pleased with him); the people were in this state. Then he ordered Tamim al-Dari and Ubayy ibn Ka'b to lead the people in eleven rak'ahs, as established in *Muwatta' al-Imam al-Malik* with the most authentic chain of narration, that he ordered Tamim al-Dari and Ubayy ibn Ka'b to pray with the people eleven rak'ahs. As for the hadith of Yazid ibn Ruman that the people in the time of 'Umar prayed 23 rak'ahs, this does not contradict the statement of 'Umar or the order of 'Umar to Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Tamim al-Dari to lead the people in eleven, because this is from his statement, and the hadith of Yazid ibn Ruman is from the action of the people in his time, and there is a difference between the two. Then, is it possible to use the action of the people in the time of 'Umar or any of the other caliphs as evidence? One might dispute this and say, "We do not use it as evidence unless 'Umar was aware of it and approved of it." As for in the time of the Messenger, what was done in his time is a proof, because Allah knows and sends down what He wills to send down if the matter is not beloved to Allah.
In any case, the hadith of Yazid ibn Ruman does not explicitly attribute it to 'Umar, and it is also a report with a broken chain. So what is established from 'Umar is that he ordered that prayer be performed in eleven rak'ahs and said, "What a good innovation this is." And it is a relative innovation, meaning relative to the people's leaving it between the time of the Messenger and the time of 'Umar, and this is clear.
In any case, the hadith is evidence that congregational prayer in the standing of the night in the month of Ramadan is among the established Sunnahs from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
And in it is also that if the people adhere to something in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), it may become a cause for it to become obligatory, because their acceptance of it, their commitment to it, and their eagerness for it resembles a vow in some respects, and when that happens, it becomes obligatory upon them. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) feared that and left the standing prayer.
And in it is evidence for leaving the more excellent for the less excellent out of fear of a harm that may occur, and Allah knows best.
Yes, Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) used this hadith as evidence that it is not a condition in congregational prayer for the imam to intend his imamate, because these Companions came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and prayed with his prayer without prior knowledge, but this requires reflection.
In any case, the hadith of Yazid ibn Ruman does not explicitly attribute it to 'Umar, and it is also a report with a broken chain. So what is established from 'Umar is that he ordered that prayer be performed in eleven rak'ahs and said, "What a good innovation this is." And it is a relative innovation, meaning relative to the people's leaving it between the time of the Messenger and the time of 'Umar, and this is clear.
In any case, the hadith is evidence that congregational prayer in the standing of the night in the month of Ramadan is among the established Sunnahs from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
And in it is also that if the people adhere to something in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), it may become a cause for it to become obligatory, because their acceptance of it, their commitment to it, and their eagerness for it resembles a vow in some respects, and when that happens, it becomes obligatory upon them. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) feared that and left the standing prayer.
And in it is evidence for leaving the more excellent for the less excellent out of fear of a harm that may occur, and Allah knows best.
Yes, Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) used this hadith as evidence that it is not a condition in congregational prayer for the imam to intend his imamate, because these Companions came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and prayed with his prayer without prior knowledge, but this requires reflection.