Ruling on reading from the mushaf in the tarawih prayer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
I noticed during the recently past month of Ramadan—and this was the first time I prayed tarawih in the Hail region—that the imam would hold the mushaf and read from it, then place it beside him, and then repeat this until the tarawih prayer ended. He also does this in the night prayer (qiyam al-layl) during the last ten nights of Ramadan. This phenomenon caught my attention, as it is widespread in all the mosques of Hail, but I did not notice it in Madinah al-Munawwarah, for example, when I prayed there the year before.
What is on my mind is whether this practice existed in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or whether it is considered one of the innovations (bid'ah) in use that none of the Companions or the Tabi'un practiced. Also, is it not better to recite a small surah from the imam's memory instead of reading from the mushaf? The intention behind this method is to complete the recitation of the Qur'an by the end of the month, where the imam reads one part (juz') each day. If this matter is permissible, what is the evidence for it from the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?
Answer:
There is no blame on reading from the mushaf in the night prayer of Ramadan, because of the benefit of making the followers hear the entire Qur'an; and because the legal evidence from the Book and the Sunnah indicates the legitimacy of reciting the Qur'an in prayer, which encompasses reciting it from the mushaf and from memory. It is established from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she ordered her slave, Dhikwan, to lead her in the night prayer of Ramadan, and he used to read from the mushaf. Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned this in his Sahih as a suspended narration (mu'allaq) with a definitive ruling.
I noticed during the recently past month of Ramadan—and this was the first time I prayed tarawih in the Hail region—that the imam would hold the mushaf and read from it, then place it beside him, and then repeat this until the tarawih prayer ended. He also does this in the night prayer (qiyam al-layl) during the last ten nights of Ramadan. This phenomenon caught my attention, as it is widespread in all the mosques of Hail, but I did not notice it in Madinah al-Munawwarah, for example, when I prayed there the year before.
What is on my mind is whether this practice existed in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or whether it is considered one of the innovations (bid'ah) in use that none of the Companions or the Tabi'un practiced. Also, is it not better to recite a small surah from the imam's memory instead of reading from the mushaf? The intention behind this method is to complete the recitation of the Qur'an by the end of the month, where the imam reads one part (juz') each day. If this matter is permissible, what is the evidence for it from the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?
Answer:
There is no blame on reading from the mushaf in the night prayer of Ramadan, because of the benefit of making the followers hear the entire Qur'an; and because the legal evidence from the Book and the Sunnah indicates the legitimacy of reciting the Qur'an in prayer, which encompasses reciting it from the mushaf and from memory. It is established from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she ordered her slave, Dhikwan, to lead her in the night prayer of Ramadan, and he used to read from the mushaf. Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned this in his Sahih as a suspended narration (mu'allaq) with a definitive ruling.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.