The Shaykh’s account of the Prophet’s prayer in Ramadan and in other times

The Shaykh : The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed the night prayer in congregation for three nights in Ramadan. As you all know, he used to pray at night throughout the year, without singling out one night over another. However, he did not pray it in congregation; he used to pray it alone. If some of his Companions happened to be present, they would follow him (peace be upon him). As for gathering a large group and a great multitude with him, he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do this except in the last Ramadan of his life (peace and blessings be upon him), where he led the people in prayer for three nights, starting with the first night.

The questioner : The Tarawih prayer?

The Shaykh : Excuse me, excuse me.

The questioner : Tarawih. He is asking about Tarawih. He is asking about the night prayer: is it Tarawih?

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, it is, it is. I mentioned earlier what people today call the Tarawih prayer. In any case, I hope that anyone who has a question in mind will note it in their memory, so that we may answer it, if Allah wills, after I finish my talk.

The questioner : If Allah wills.

The Shaykh : So, he (peace be upon him) used to pray in every night of the year, praying alone. But a man might come and see him standing in prayer, and he would follow him. However, it did not happen that a large group followed him except in the last month, in the last Ramadan of his life (peace and blessings be upon him). He went out and prayed alone, and some of the people in the mosque saw him, so they followed him. On the second night, the news had spread among the people that the Messenger had prayed the night prayer recently with people behind him. When the news spread on the second night, a larger group than the first gathered. And so it was on the third night, the mosque was filled with worshippers. The news became widespread and famous, so the people gathered on the fourth night, wanting to seize the opportunity to pray behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They waited and waited, and he (peace be upon him) did not come out, until the patience of some of them ran out—perhaps they were among the new converts to Islam, who had not yet been trained in the etiquette of Islam. They were fed up with waiting, so some of them took pebbles from the mosque and began to strike the door of the Messenger. Truly, it was an extreme lack of etiquette, but they are excused. Why? Because they were rough Arabs who had not been trained in the etiquette of Islam except over time. It appears that these were among those who struck the door of the Messenger, pelted it with pebbles, and stoned it with stones. It is a very strange matter, were it not that the report is authentic and in the most authentic book after the Book of Allah, which is "Sahih al-Bukhari," we would not give it any weight. But this is how it was. So he (peace be upon him) came out to them angry and said: . After that night, the people used to pray in the mosque individually and in small scattered groups. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away and ascended to the highest companion, and he did not reach the second Ramadan, because he died, as you know, in Rabi' al-Awwal. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq took over the caliphate after him for two and a half years, and the people were praying in the mosque in this scattered manner.